|
media release everyone - Scotland's environment groups campaigning together (500,000 supporters, 26 organisations, ONE voice) ON WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY, NEW ENVIRONMENT PRESIDENT URGES SCOTS TO CAST THEIR EU VOTE
Fred Edwards, newly elected President of Scottish Environment LINK, takes up office this week with a plea to Scotland’s voters to go out and use their vote on 10 June. Full-time voluntary worker in a range of organizations involving ecology, conservation and social justice issues, Fred is particularly concerned at the forecast election deficit. “Scotland needs ordinary people to be more involved in the political process and not to underestimate the importance of these elections,” he urges. “We’re being warned of a 22% turnout – that would be a huge deficit in relation to the significance of Europe for Scotland and would really fly in the face of what we know about grass-roots action around environmental issues here in Scotland.”
LINK is the forum and collective voice for Scotland’s voluntary environment movement, whose members are behind the everyone campaign launched last year to raise environmental awareness. The campaign is now actively promoting the June election opportunity for voters in Scotland to influence the impact of European policy on their concerns. “This campaign is a great initiative in encouraging people to demonstrate their concerns,” Fred Edwards believes, “and plays an important role in highlighting the convergence between these and many international development themes.”
LINK’s Chair, Lloyd Austin, said: “Fred’s breadth of experience will be invaluable to a coalition like LINK where concerns range from climate issues and resource use, through planning, sustainability and participation, to landscape and the management of our great outdoors. And we’re particularly pleased to welcome him at this time, given the link between his interests - environment, international development and social justice - and the goals we are pursuing here in Scotland.” NOTES FOR EDITORS
2. Scottish Environment LINK is the forum for Scotland’s voluntary sector environmental organisations, enabling sharing of information and expertise and joint work in pursuit of environmental sustainability. Membership at June 2004 stands at 29 full and 7 associate member organisations. Between them these bodies represent around half a million people. LINK’s core funding is drawn from membership subscriptions and grants and donations from Scottish Natural Heritage, the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, the Scottish Executive, the Community Fund and WWF Scotland.
3. As well as monitoring Scotland’s environmental performance in relation to green commitments in the Partnership Agreement of 2003, the everyone campaign at www.everyonecan.org is promoting for the European elections in June, a number of environmental issues on which European politics will strongly influence what happens on the ground in Scotland. The campaign carries a list of all the European election candidates, with contacts, so that the public can contact candidates ahead of the elections to check out their environmental credentials. A key message to voters under this leg of the everyone campaign is to USE THEIR VOTE.
4. World Environment Day commemorated each year on 5 June is a key means by which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and action. It aims to give a human face to environmental issues; empower people to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development; promote an understanding that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes towards environmental issues; and advocate partnership which will ensure all nations and peoples enjoy a safer and more prosperous future. World Environment Day is a people's event with colourful activities such as street rallies, bicycle parades, green concerts, essays and poster competitions in schools, tree planting, as well as recycling and clean-up campaigns.
Lloyd Austin, LINK
Chair, Tel
0131 311 6506 |