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Perspectives on Environmental Politics
Advocacy for Long-Term Environmental Change
by Susannah Lindberg
As environmental advocates, our ability to engage politicians, government employees, appointed officials, and whole bodies of elected representatives hinges on our strategic approach to building credibility, influence, and power. Without focusing on these principles in the short-term, we hinder our ability to bring about long-term, systemic change for the good of the environment. Specific battles should fit into a long-term strategy to insure that no matter what the partisan political atmosphere, the environment emerges as the winner every time.
There are many approaches to building credibility, influence, and power for environmental issues. Several of them seem obvious and simple but often are overlooked, especially during urgent campaigns. However, taking the time to implement these tactics into even the most pressing of campaigns will pay off in the long run and increase the chances of winning in the future.
Three approaches in particular - strategic targeting, power mapping, and the utilization of field organizers - are incredibly effective both in winning a short-term fight for a given issue, and building enduring networks of support.
Strategic targeting helps win environmental victories by allowing advocates to zero in on the person(s) and/or decision-making bodies that most determine success or failure on the issue. For instance, during a recent debate over a legislative bill that would have undermined manatee protection, seven Senators were on the key committee, representing seven different areas throughout Florida. Knowing that we did not have the resources to appeal to all seven, we carefully analyzed which members were most likely to vote our way, which members were "swing" voters, and which members would never vote our way. Once we determined that a certain Senator from Sarasota was "gettable," we focused all of our attention on generating editorials, letters from his constituents, and letters to the editor as a way to influence his vote. Through this narrow targeting, we were able to defeat the bill. In the process, we developed networks of activists and relationships with the media in his region.
Power mapping often reveals unknown allies who can be important to future efforts to protect the environment. Power mapping consists of "mapping" decision-makers' points of influence. During a student campaign to win the support of our university's president on a key funding mechanism, we obtained a copy of his resume and discovered that he used to be the dean of our law school. We then enlisted as many law student and law professor associations as we could to sign our letter of support. During our outreach effort, we contacted the head of the public interest law student association who also happened to be the president's personal legal research assistant. He helped us by writing a legal brief on why the president should support our funding system. The president was so impressed that we won his support the following day, even when the university's own legal counsel advocated against us.
Finally, doing strategic field organizing by generating letters, calls, faxes, and media attention in the districts of those decision-makers whom you want to influence will increase the likelihood of short-term victory while preparing your organization for future action. Activating and building networks of activists, developing relationships with local government officials and institutions, and establishing credibility with the local media are all part of building political power for the long-term. One example of a field mobilization effort is the Manatee Lobby Day that my group organized a year and a half ago. We recruited more than 50 citizens to travel to the capitol during the legislative session to lobby against a bad piece of legislation. That day, our activists - who had traveled from all over Florida - visited over 90 legislators and delivered the same message, "Defeat the anti-manatee legislation." The bill was stopped in its tracks and has not come up since that time. The highlight of the day was when 11 year-old Jamey Lynn Bayly silenced a committee meeting with her impassioned speech about her adopted manatee, "Howie." Never doubt the power of the field!
No political battle is the last battle. Our ability to win tomorrow hinges on our foresight, vision, and professional advocacy today.
Susannah Lindberg, ELP Fellow 2003-2004, is the executive director of the Wildlife Advocacy Project, where she coordinates the grassroots and media outreach of an 18-organization coalition dedicated to improving protections for the endangered West Indian manatee throughout peninsular Florida.
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