And the greatest limitations?
The limitations for the organisations are mainly within the internal structure – these can be resource-related or management. An important barrier is the misunderstanding of roles such as activists, volunteers, and professionals. These adjectives can cohabit the same person – but that isn’t always the case. Those could represent steps in the personal and professional evolution of a person inside an organisation, but in any case, some requirements have to be met for each of these roles. Sometimes, with or without acrimony, organisations offer to very enthusiastic volunteers tasks that are more befitting to staff, without giving them proper tools by means of a specific training period. When it comes to environmental protection, for instance, nowadays there are a lot of volunteers carrying out environmental education programs without the proper background. The same thing is happening with lobbying, negotiations, and project management, where a qualified person with knowledge should be coordinating. The purpose of volunteers and activists is very important because they are spreading messages, supporting data collection, and contributing to making real changes; they are the backbone of an organisation, the voices of the campaigns. But they shouldn’t manage lobbying, fundraising and educational projects. This overlapping of roles ultimately undermines the organisation, affecting their reliability and threatening audience disengagement.
In the last 5 or 10 years, there has been a change in people’s mindsets concerning NGOs. Some years ago, a person concerned became a member of an organisation; nowadays, they set up a new one! I really don’t know if this is because the existing ones are unable to answer the demands of society or if setting up a new NGO is also a more interesting way to get income. Anyway, NGOs and associations are fast-growing and, in some cases, fracturing the potential of the actions and jeopardising their effectiveness. It’s a quite new phenomena appearing in the last 5 years and becoming stronger during the last economic crisis. With time, however, this could hamper the capability of organisations to lobby or even cause the loss of professionalisation inside NGOs.
All that being said, not all the weight should be left on the organisation’s shoulders – as well as governments, each individual must be held accountable and responsible for the changes they want to see. In your opinion, what are some actions the general public can – and should – take concerning the marine environment?
I like the word co-responsibility. The whole society is responsible for our planet at different levels. Public institutions, Research Centres, NGOs and citizens with various roles are in charge of the planet. As citizens, all activities, as well as all choices, affect the system and the planet. There is a general misconception of the idea that “We must act” in which a common interpretation is: great actions, set up an NGO, organise a protest or volunteering programme. Nevertheless, to become a change-maker our day-to-day life is crucial. Consequently, where people are buying and what they are consuming could transform the world. Advancing toward a zero-waste lifestyle or using sustainable means of transportation to get to work are more effective behaviours than occasional beach clean-ups. Likewise, the quantity of waste people are producing at home is affecting the sea and the magnitude of oil used threatens the planet – in this case, “oil” meaning plastic, electricity, and fuel. Therefore, being aware of the production and consumption system in which we are in is essential.
All our movements are activism: where we buy our bread, the TV- show we watch, the news we listen to, the brands we purchase, the restaurants where we eat and who we vote for. A responsible society is aware that all decisions are affirmations of human rights, planet conservation, democracy, etc. Each time you buy a product your statement is: “I’m OK with the social, environmental and economic topics of this brand”; “I’m going to use this item because I somehow need it”; “I’m alright with its (over)production”. People have the power but society is still learning how to use it. So, if someone wants to act, they can do so by supporting organisations as they can, helping their neighbourhoods and environmental surroundings, reducing, reusing and recycling, getting informed, always questioning, and little by little changing their habits.
