OUR CURRENT CONTEXT

Human action has negatively impacted the Earth’s climate and ecosystem to such an extent it has triggered a flood of environmental crises that threaten natural and human systems.
Global warming, water scarcity, pollution, and biodiversity loss are as much about environmental degradation as they are about the unjust social, political, and economic systems
which causes them.
The way the world is run is destroying our planet and we now face overlapping social, political, and ecological crises – racism, sexism, xenophobia, discrimination, poverty, food insecurity, hyper-exploitation, unemployment and job losses, land dispossession, warfare, authoritarianism, and the resurgence of fascism, the coronavirus pandemic, deforestation, desertification, droughts, floods, hurricanes, heatwaves, unprecedented wildfires, and ocean acidification.
The crisis we face demands a radical revision of attitudes and values, visionary new ideas, and decisive action leading to total social, economic, and political transformation.

EMG’S RESPONSE

EMG works to demonstrate the skills, ideas, strategies, and relationships necessary to nurture vibrant, self-governed, ecological communities that are free from hierarchy, social inequity, and ecological degradation.
We do change as a collective
Our focus is on enhancing people’s relationships with the environment and with each other, working to end inequality, establish participatory processes and build social justice related to the use and management of natural resources.
We work at the local level where the impact of climate change is most directly experienced and the potential for innovative and sustainable solutions is the greatest.
We work on a national and international level to learn from each other, scale impact, and transform systems.

We work to shape environmental, economic, and social laws and policies and to challenge politics that continue to disempower the majority of people and destroy the planet.
Our response to the climate disruption we’ve caused needs to be so much more than conserving and protecting the environment.
THEORY OF CHANGE

The starting point is at a community level where people’s lives intersect directly with the natural environment around them. With a focus on water and agroecology, we support existing community initiatives to develop Integrated Community Environment Programmes (ICEP) which challenge inequity and facilitate community-controlled change, ecological alternatives, and adaptability. Each ICEP we support differs based on the communities’ assets, issues, and priorities.
Working from the ground up, ICEPs contribute to the broader change people are already working towards by:
- Building Community:
  Supporting participatory organisation and community mobilisation.
- Conducting Action Research:
  Developing contextual understanding for action.
- Facilitating/Organising:
  Social learning processes and knowledge generation.
- Advocating/Networking:
  Creating relationships, amplifying voices, and building solidarity.

We recognise that ensuring justice and equity for all life requires systems change bridging the local-global divide.
We are committed to informing national and global policy with voices and views from the ground, connecting local and global change agents and efforts, and ensuring ICEPs are responsive to the global context.