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Fern (also ''Stichting Fern'' is a Dutch foundation created in 1995. It is an international non-governmental organization to keep track of the EU's involvement in forests and to coordinate NGO activities at the European level. Through its work, Fern aims to increase the political and economic opportunities for people to create a more balanced society in which human rights are fully respected and environmental and social values are fully integrated. Although Fern is known for its work on forests, since 2000 Fern has widened its scope beyond forests to also include work on general aid, trade and climate issues, as many of the decisions made in these areas have a direct or indirect impact on forests and forest peoples’ rights. Fern campaigns fall within the following areas: forests and climate, forest governance, biodiversity offsetting, bioenergy, and finance and trade. In all these areas, Fern works very closely with a large number of environmental groups and social movements across the world. Fern works as a non-hierarchical structure. Currently, the organisation has two offices (Brussels, Belgium; and Moreton-in-Marsh, UK) and sixteen staff positions. Fern's official mission statement describes the organisation and its aims thus: ''Fern works to achieve greater environmental and social justice, focusing on forests and forest peoples’ rights in the policies and practices of the European Union.''〔(European Commission site - )〕 ==History== Fern's origin lies in the World Rainforest Movement meeting in Penang in 1989. At this meeting Southern participants decided they needed closer co-operation with a network of like-minded European organisations to further their objectives. An already existing ad hoc European coalition of NGOs responded and adopted the name European Rainforest Movement. This movement changed its name into Forest Movement Europe in 1994 after linking up with the newly formed Taiga Rescue Network (1992) and widening its focus to all forests, including Russia. As most NGOs of the Forest Movement Europe were working at national level, and increasingly trade and aid decisions that impacted on forests were made at EU level, it was felt by most in the movement that more attention should be given to influencing the EU institutions. Hence, in March 1995 Saskia Ozinga (formerly working for Friends of the Earth in the Netherlands) and Sian Pettman (formerly working for the European Commission) created the organisation Fern with a mandate to monitor EU activities in relation to forests, inform and educate the Forest Movement Europe about these activities and facilitate joint advocacy work towards the different EU institutions. Starting with two part-time people in 1995, Fern has grown to an organisation with sixteen staff and its area of work has widened to include looking at climate change, carbon trading, finance, governance and development aid. Underlying issues such as lack of transparency, insufficient participation of civil society groups in decision-making at EU level and corruption are routinely addressed as part of all its campaigns.〔Fern (site ) and ()〕 Fern's way of working still reflects its origin, as in its activities the organisation aims to create ad hoc or permanent North-South, North-North or South-South NGO coalitions to jointly develop campaigns or activities, mostly –but not always- targeted at the EU institutions. Facilitation of the wider movement and supporting Fern's partners in the South remain Fern core activities. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「FERN」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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