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April 2000
Ed Liebow, Contributing Editor
Promoting a more active voice in environmental
policy is a high priority for Section President Pete Brosius. By all indications,
this is clearly something in which many A&E members hold a strong interest.
In this month’s column, Pete presents some preliminary observations, suggestions,
and questions as to how we might
proceed. In the interest of holding an open, deliberative, and
inclusive discussion, he has established a listserv dedicated exclusively
to the discussion of A&E public policy issues. You will find
instructions for how to join this on-line planning discussion at the end
of the column.
Planning for an A&E Public Policy Committee
By Pete Brosius (U Georgia, pbrosius@arches.uga.edu)
(1) Mission Statement
The first matter we should discuss is the mission and goals of the Public
Policy Committee. What is it that we want to accomplish and how can
we accomplish it? I believe we need a very clear mission statement.
Among the matters that might be addressed in such a statement is what we
consider “public policy” to be. I prefer the broadest possible definition,
one that extends beyond engagement with government agencies and/or
civic institutions and includes engagement with the advocacy/activist
community.
In defining the Committee’s mission, we need to consider is the diversity
of our section. While A&E has its roots in the desire of anthropologists
to address environmental concerns, and while there is strong support within
the section for such involvement, we nonetheless need to recognize that
not all members of A&E are
interested in environmental policy issues per se, not all members are
comfortable with an advocacy role, and not all members will necessarily
agree with the positions that members of the Public Policy Committee might
take. In short, we need to be alert to potential problems that might
arise when we presume to speak as a
Section, and consider how to address them before it becomes an issue.
Another important element of any mission statement we draft is to define
how we might work with, and complement the efforts of, any units whose
interests overlap with ours. In particular, I am thinking about the
SFAA Environmental Anthropology Project and the AAA Committee on Public
Policy. I think it is critical that we seek collaboration and complementarity
rather than overlap.
I have spoken to Peggy Overbey of the AAA Department of Government Relations,
who coordinates the AAA Committee on Public Policy. She is very enthusiastic
about our efforts to develop our capacity to address public policy issues
within A&E, and she reminded me that the Environment was one of five
priority areas identified by the AAA Committee on Public Policy.
I would encourage all of you to look at the AAA website, where the goals
of the Committee on Public Policy are described and where you will find,
among other things, an online survey form seeking information on anthropologists
with environmental expertise as well as feedback on environmental priorities
(www.aaanet.org/committees/ppc/brief/htm). Peggy seemed to feel that
there was a real opportunity for us to work in conjunction with the AAA
Committee on Public Policy.
2) Specific Functions
With a mission in mind, what is it that we actually want to do? Should
we be in the business of drafting position papers? Should we somehow
support efforts to craft certain kinds of legislation? Should we
seek partnerships with major environmental organizations? One suggestion
put forward by Section Board Member Tom Sheridan (U Arizona) is that we
develop a kind of “rapid response” capacity, perhaps in the form of a distribution
list, where we could quickly distribute information to members of A&E
or others on matters of environmental concern. Another idea might
be to develop a database of A&E member expertise that could be
distributed to media, government agencies or environmental organizations:
this seems to be an area of key interest to the AAA Committee on Public
Policy. Willett Kempton (U Delaware) has suggested that we might
want to provide A&E members with the resources to help them develop
policy-relevant research, and that we could also play a role in connecting
them to the public policy community. What other types of initiatives
might we develop? I see the Public Policy Committee as a kind of
steering committee, providing members of A&E with the means to make
their voices heard on issues that concern them, and building connections
between anthropologists and other actors in the environmental domain.
Obviously all of these initiatives require time and effort, and all of
us are limited in the amount of each that we can reasonably put forth.
So we need to think very hard about how we can be most effective with the
resources and time available: better to do one thing well than many things
badly.
(3) Structure
The third key issue for us is structure: what form should a Public Policy
Committee take that would allow it to accomplish its goals. The structure
we establish obviously has much to do with the functions we wish to perform
(there is a Radcliffe-Brown joke in here somewhere). Should this
be an ad hoc committee or should
we seek a more formal and/or permanent structure? Do we create
Working Groups on particular issues or should we function more as a network?
As to membership, my feeling is that a committee such as this should be
open to any member of A&E who has the interest to participate, and
I think we need to make a special effort
to encourage graduate student involvement in our activities.
Do we need someone to act as a coordinator for our efforts and, if so,
how should we select them? Are there certain kinds of resources (grants,
institutional support) that would allow us to create and/or maintain a
more effective structure. What kind of structure would
allow a bunch of overworked people to accomplish the most?
(4) Issues
A Public Policy Committee might address a broad range of environmental
issues, but again we need to consider how to prioritize. How do we
define key policy areas where we can have an impact? Which environmental
issues are most critical for us to address, and how broad or how narrow
should our focus be?
(5) Resources
In our discussions about the formation of a public policy committee, we
would no doubt benefit from input from those directly and professionally
engaged in the public policy domain. Do you know of individuals within
the public policy community that might be willing to take part in our discussions?
Are there particular organizations that have expertise that we might draw
upon? Are there other members of A&E who you think
should be in on our discussions?
(6) How to proceed
Once we arrive at some consensus on
the matters raised above, or other matters raised in our discussions, we
need to think about how we should proceed. Do we need to develop
a strategic plan? What other steps need to be taken to establish
the Public Policy Committee as a functioning body within A&E?
These are all complex questions, and I think it is important that we weigh
all the pros and cons as much as possible in trying to decide how we should
proceed. If you could take the time to sit down, reflect on the matters
I raise above, and share your thoughts, I would be most grateful.
The potential exists to mobilize A&E members to address critical environmental
issues by promoting their participation in the public policy realm.
Your insights into how we can develop our capacity in this way is central
to this effort.
I know full well that most of you likely
feel overwhelmed by the volume of email you must deal with and probably
avoid listservs like the plague. However, I think it is critical
that this not be a series of two-way conversations, and that we all have
access to what is being discussed. We have set up a special channel
devoted to discussing this initiative: the A&E Public Policy
Committee listserv is AEPPC-L@listserv.uga.edu. To subscribe, send
the message “Subscribe AEPPC-L” to list owner Christian Turner at cturner1@earthlink.net.
I look forward to your participation in what I hope will be some very fruitful
discussion.
------------------------------------
Send your Section news items to Ed Liebow (liebow@policycenter.com,
206/675-1002; fax: 206/675-1005).
And check the award-winning Anthropology/Environment web site regularly:
http://travel.to/anthenv