ECOLOGIA’s Mission and Programs

ECOLOGIA’s international network develops and implements programs for individuals and organizations working to solve ecological problems at the local, regional, national and global levels.

ECOLOGIA was founded in 1989 in order to support grassroots environmental groups across the Soviet Union. Its programs all focus on support that enables individuals to better make their own decisions. To accomplish this, ECOLOGIA maintains offices staffed by local partners in Vilnius, Lithuania; Moscow, Russia; Minsk, Belarus; Kolkhozabad, Tajikistan; Beijing, China and Tokyo, Japan; the US office is based in Middlebury, Vermont.

ECOLOGIA is a private non-profit non-governmental organization. It has received funding from a variety of sources, including the W. Alton Jones Foundation, Dreyfus Health Foundation,The Moriah Fund, Mott Foundation, Open Society Institute, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Trust for Mutual Understanding, UNICEF, USAID, and numerous individual donors. ECOLOGIA’s programs include: Nuclear Communities in Transition, the Virtual Foundation, the Baltic Mini-Grant Program, ISO 14000 Project, Exchange Programs, Citizens’ Water Monitoring Network, and the online Environmental Technical Information Project (E-TIP).

Replacing international conflict with environmental cooperation not only contributes to the solution of global environmental problems, it also encourages face-to-face encounters of people from different cultures and thereby increases the possibility that future generations will live in peace.

ECOLOGIA’s Baltic Commitment

Since their first visit to Lithuania in 1988, ECOLOGIA staff have supported Baltic colleagues; many ECOLOGIA programs had their inception in the interests and goals articulated by people in the Baltic region. For example, ECOLOGIA’s provision of a hand-held radiation detector enabled a Lithuanian physicist to independently measure radiation leaks around the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant in 1989, and to work with workers’ groups and officials to develop a more reliable system of radiation protection. Such successes led to the creation of small grants programs, information services, and citizens’ environmental monitoring networks. ECOLOGIA was one of the first international environmental organizations to provide direct aid to Baltic ecologists, and is committed to maintaining its involvement in the region even as some other international organizations prepare to leave.