Saving the planet after September 11

By Gary Strieker
CNN Environmental Correspondent

(CNN) -- The memo from the senior executive revealed that he was clearly concerned about the future. 'Signals are very mixed,' he warned, 'and this will be a period of uncertainty.'

For the scientists and field workers who received the memo from their boss, it was sobering proof that the tragedy of September 11 could have a severe impact on their mission to save the planet.

Like many corporate leaders, the senior executive and others like him who manage international nonprofit conservation organizations are facing troubled times. They're worried about their revenues and the safety of their staffers in distant and sometimes hostile lands.

There are dozens of major nonprofit organizations on the leading edge of the campaign to conserve the earth’s biological diversity. The World Wildlife Fund has the highest popular profile, but there are many less well-known groups with far smaller budgets that carry out critical international work on endangered species and threatened habitats including tropical forests, marine ecosystems and rivers.

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Most conservation organizations rely on donations from individuals and foundations to finance their operations. Some of them receive substantial funding for specific projects from government sources such as USAID and the European Union. In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks, revenue from all these sources could be cut.

Crashing stock market values could take their toll, according to John Robinson, a vice president at the Wildlife Conservation Society based at the Bronx Zoo in New York. 'Those foundations which are being affected by the stock market,' he says, 'may have to cut back pretty significantly.'

Other managers say they're concerned about changes in government priorities that would trim budgets for environmental projects in favor of expanding coffers for defense and security measures.

An informal survey of senior staffers in international conservation organizations based in the United States indicates a widespread feeling of cautious optimism that revenue sources will not be severely affected, but many of them are taking protective measures, just in case. They're reviewing their budgets, postponing projects, delaying hiring and avoiding non-essential travel.

At the Wildlife Conservation Society, they've saved more than $80,000 by postponing their Asia regional meeting. A decision like this only defers expenses until later, but it 'buys time and options for the future,' according to the manager who was organizing the meeting. By January or February, he says, 'we may have to make some hard decisions. But our financial actions over the next few months will determine how hard and how many decisions we'll have to make.'

If their fund-raising is severely affected in the months ahead, many of these organizations would be forced to cut their expenditures by canceling projects, firing staff and rolling back many ambitious programs that were launched when they were flush with donations in the past few years. If this happens, some conservation efforts could lose the momentum they've achieved, and may never recover.

In Indonesia, for example, during a momentous period of political change, some conservation groups are working behind the scenes to influence official policy on timber exploitation. The outcome could make the difference between life or death for that country’s forests and wildlife. If budget cutbacks cause the conservationists to falter, the consequences could be an irreversible setback, a major blow to the planet’s forest resources.

But it’s still far too early for these dire predictions, most executives agree. 'There is a strong cadre of people out there who believe in the importance of biodiversity as much as we do,' says Conservation International’s president Russ Mittermeier, 'And they will continue to support the kind of work that we are doing.'

Indeed some conservationists say they believe that overall philanthropic giving may actually increase in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks. This seems to be a minority view. But there’s wide agreement that in the United States that September 11 is certainly causing a new outlook on international issues that could result in greater support for conservation efforts in other nations.

'If the country does in fact re-engage with its global responsibilities and move away from the whole ‘fortress America’ mentality,' says Robinson, 'support for aid programs aimed at disenfranchised people and marginal and fragile areas may indeed increase. Conservation and development activities are a way to strengthen civil society, a way to engage with the disenfranchised people of the world, a way to stimulate good governance - and those activities might very well be up-valued in a post-September-11 world.'

This raises a point that is often not fully appreciated: Conservation of natural resources benefits people. Saving forests and coral reefs and clean rivers means a better life for local communities that rely on them for food, water and raw materials. Providing aid to impoverished nations cannot be separated from conservation of their natural assets.

Mittermeier says we cannot ignore 'the linkages between large-scale environmental degradation and increased poverty, disease and political instability. It may not be a coincidence that the Middle East is one of the environmentally most degraded areas on the planet.'

Beyond fund-raising, many conservation executives are now taking a hard look at security problems that might affect their personnel in the field. In some cases, practically all field work is carried out by local nationals, but often it is necessary to send in expatriates on special assignments that might take them to hostile areas. Under present circumstances the risks are even greater, especially for Americans and Europeans.

Conservation International’s CEO, Peter Seligmann, admits that for the time being he will avoid sending any technical support staff to Indonesia. 'I'll wait until things settle down there,' he says, 'because it’s a Muslim nation with a great deal of anger directed against the United States right now.'

Whatever happens in the widening wake of September 11, conservationists say their mission remains unchanged.

'All speculation aside,' says Mittermeier, 'life on Earth, as manifested by the amazing diversity of species, ecosystems and ecological processes that surround us, remains a unique phenomenon in the universe, and its irreversible loss must be seen as a true global crisis. Conserving biodiversity requires clear strategies, long-term commitment, and a deep-seated belief that this is indeed one of the most important issues of our time.

"The bottom line is that protecting biodiversity is no less important today than it was before September 11.'