[Coral-List] Fw: TNC Reef Resilience Project Manager Position Open

[Arlo Hemphill]

Dear Gene,

I'm a little confused by the confusion here.  IMy perspective is that  
government-private sector partnerships are the norm among the  
environmental NGO community, not the exception.  Governments, even  
relatively wealthy and big governments such as the U.S., have limited  
resources to apply to specific environmental, humanitarian, social and  
medical causes.  NGOs are wonderful at filling in the gaps where  
government's hands are either tied or purses are strapped.  An NGO has  
the ability to operate with less red tape and without approval of  
voters or a wider constituency.  And, in some cases, they can help pay  
for services where governments fall short.  While organizations such  
as TNC have specific programs that are government-NGO partnerships,  
other NGOs are specifically created for this purpose - The National  
Parks Foundation and the National Marine Sanctuaries Foundation come  
quickly to mind.

In the international arena, a great number of projects and initiatives  
managed by international conservation NGOs are in fact government  
funded projects via USAID, NSF, EPA and other agencies.  Looking  
beyond the U.S.,  this relationship between governments and NGOs grows  
even stronger.  When engaging smaller, less developed and less wealthy  
nations, large conservation NGOs often assume a partnership role  
similar to that of a collegial government.  Many "national" parks in  
the developing world are operated, maintained or co-funded by  
international and/or local NGO partners.  And with the recent surge of  
large marine managed areas, we're looking at government-NGO  
partnerships at their prime. Take the Coral Triangle Initiative for  
example.  This is an alliance between the governments of Indonesia,  
Malaysia and the Philippines which is also facilitated and given  
scientific and planning capacity via WWF, The Nature Conservancy and  
Conservation International, while funded by USAID, a U.S. government  
agency.  You couldn't cross more lines if you tried...

There is nothing unusual about the below advertised NOAA-TNC  
partnership and the fact that such partnerships exist does not imply  
collusion or corruption.  Now, of course  bad practices exist at all  
power levels worldwide - both inside governments and in the private  
sector, but the hope here is that the majority of these partnerships  
are simply alliances of convenience made of distinct partners with  
common objectives.

Best,

Arlo



On Oct 6, 2010, at 10:15 PM, Douglas Fenner wrote:

> Gene,
>    To reply to the first point in your message, I think churches are  
> treated as non-profit organizations in the U.S., hence for
> tax purposes they are treated the same way as other non-profits that  
> we
> generally call NGO's.  Saying that "NGO's operate pretty much like  
> churches"
> may might be misinterpreted by some as you saying that NGOs are  
> religious organizations or have
> other features of operation similar to churchs.  Some NGO's are  
> actually for profit organizations, and strictly speaking, businesses  
> are
> non-governmental organizations, though that's not what we usually  
> mean when we say NGO.   Better to say it the other way around,
> that churches in the U.S. are non-profits as are many other NGOs.
>
> Doug
>
>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Eugene Shinn" <eshinn at marine.usf.edu>
>> To: <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
>> Sent: Friday, September 24, 2010 7:30 AM
>> Subject: [Coral-List] TNC Reef Resilience Project Manager Position  
>> Open
>>
>>
>>>
>>> This Job advertisement on the coral-list has me a little confused.
>>> TNC (The Nature Conservancy) is an NGO (non governmental
>>> organization). It has always been my understanding that NGO's  
>>> operate
>>> pretty much like churches. Donations are tax deductible. This
>>> advertisement for a Reef Resilience Project Manager clearly states
>>> that it is to "provide technical and managerial support to the
>>> NOAA-TNC partnership." Partnership? I guess that means NOAA and this
>>> NGO will work hand in hand to address mutual goals which of course
>>> will ultimately be implemented and enforced by NOAA. I guess I just
>>> do not understand. I always thought that it was illegal to have such
>>> collusion between independent organizations and government
>>> organizations.
>>>     Back when I was concerned about The Center for Biodiversity
>>> suing NOAA to put Acroporid corals on the threatened list I  
>>> suspected
>>> there was collusion. I was told that was not so and received angry
>>> calls from a CBD lawyer because I maintained that "if you don't know
>>> what is killing it then you don't know what to protect it from." At
>>> the same time NOAA (NMFS) employees said they had no choice (as
>>> explained on the coral-list) but to follow the laws and that NOAA  
>>> had
>>> no choice because they lost the suit made by CBD. NOAA had no plans
>>> to put these species on the endangered list but were forced to do it
>>> because they lost the law suit. Now this advertisement seems to make
>>> it clear that NGO's, (which CBD is) in fact do work hand in hand to
>>> make decisions that ultimately turn into laws. One can conclude that
>>> it is clear that this collusion will enable the listing of 82 coral
>>> species which the CBD is petitioning NOAA to list as threatened.
>>> There will of course be unintended consequences and likely intended
>>> consequences. I would like for someone in the coral community to
>>> explain all of this in clear understandable language. The
>>> advertisement for the job does say it requires "Ability to simplify
>>> and explain complex scientific data to general audiences."
>>>     Incidentally the CBD recently lobbied a judge to place a
>>> moratorium on BOEMRE (formerly the Minerals Management Service)
>>> offshore leasing because their Environmental Impact Statements do  
>>> not
>>> adequately explain how they determine environmental "Sensitivity"  
>>> and
>>> "Resiliency" This clearly shows the power of NGO's. Meanwhile we
>>> import three fourths of our oil from some unfriendly sources and
>>> actions such as described will likely lead to increased imports. Is
>>> this good for our country and our coral reefs? Gene
>>>
>>> -- 
>>>
>>>
>>> No Rocks, No Water, No Ecosystem (EAS)
>>> ------------------------------------  
>>> -----------------------------------
>>> E. A. Shinn, Courtesy Professor
>>> University of South Florida
>>> Marine Science Center (room 204)
>>> 140 Seventh Avenue South
>>> St. Petersburg, FL 33701
>>> <eshinn at marine.usf.edu>
>>> Tel 727 553-1158----------------------------------
>>> -----------------------------------
> _______________________________________________
> Coral-List mailing list
> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list

************************************************
Arlo H. Hemphill
Communications Specialist
Center for Ocean Solutions
99 Pacific Street, Suite 155A
Monterey, CA    93940

831.333.2093 (w)
202.746.3484 (m)
E-mail: arlo at stanford.edu
Skype: arlohemp
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www.centerforoceansolutions.com