Earthtrust
 |
|
| Formation | 1976 Hawai'i |
|---|---|
| Founder | Don White |
| Type | Non-governmental organization |
|
Formerly called
|
Save the Whales Hawai'i |
Earthtrust is a non-governmental environmental organization based on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. Earthtrust was founded by in 1976 by Don White, a founding member and former international campaign director of Greenpeace International. Focusing mostly on marine conservation, Earthtrust is responsible for the largest-biomass conservation victory in history due to its critical role in ending large-scale high seas driftnetting. Earthtrust has been involved in a many high-profile activities; notably the pioneering use of genetic analysis to demonstrate the prevalence of pirate whaling, and being the first to take charge of the environmental disaster left by the retreating Iraqi army in the Gulf War. The organization was designed to have a high funding efficiency.
Earthtrust serves as an official observer at the International Whaling Commission. It also was among the founding organizations of the Species Survival Network.
Featured on the cover of National Geographic magazine, Earthtrust was the first environmental organization to enter Kuwait after the 1991 Gulf War to assess the environmental damage caused by the burning oil fields of Kuwait. The first on the scene, they quickly took charge; shutting off pipelines gushing into the ocean, deploying oil barriers to protect wetlands, and taking political action resulting in expediting the process of the fires being extinguished. This was memorialized in the internationally broadcast documentary Hell on Earth.
In the spring of 1990, alerted by their “eco eye” network of local videographers, Earthtrust campaigners from Hawaii, California, New Zealand, and Taiwan traveled to the island of Penghu, Taiwan to document the capture and slaughter of migrating dolphins. The kill was stopped and many of the captured dolphins were released after Earthtrust recruited the support of educational, religious, and political leaders in negotiating with the local fishermen, and quickly achieved a resolution ending dolphin drive kills in Taiwan’s executive Yuan. This was the last drive kill to ever take place in Taiwan; due to the broad support generated by the campaign the Taiwan Council of Agriculture added dolphins to the list of protected species covered by their Wildlife Protection Law. [1] It stands as the only long-running national drive-kill of dolphins which was brought to an end.
...
Wikipedia