Intro: Great Lakes Protection Fund
When examining environmental actors, there are a variety of options from which to choose from to study. From NGOs to think tanks to government, the sectors where environmental actors reside are quite diverse. Since our group is focusing on managing the Great Lakes as a resource, there are tons of organizations to choose from that cover problems of the Great Lakes such as pollution, conservation, and treatment, so I began my search for a focus rather broadly, which is how I stumbled upon the Great Lakes Protection Fund. Unlike certain other organizations, which operate upon ideas without sound financial ground, GLPF sets up the capital resources necessary to facilitate environmental change. Although GLPF does not invent the specific environmental initiates itself, but rather relies on submissions for which to subsequently designate grants, the Fund makes change possible by generating the revenue to carry out these projects.
How long has this actor been around?
The Great Lakes Protection Fund was originally established in 1989, by the state monetary pledges of the governors of the surrounding states in an effort to preserve the Great Lakes as a resource and maintain the environmental structure of the surrounding area. The GLPF is unique in the fact that it is both private and non-profit, spurred by political leaders; it began when William Milliken, governor of Michigan in the 1980s, approached then-governor of Wisconsin, Anthony Earl, regarding the formation of a council of governors to protect and restore the Great Lakes.
How does it define the geographic scale and substantive scope of its activities?
The Great Lakes Protection Fund is, naturally, a regional project targeting issues such as pollution, invasive species, and water treatment, in states surrounding the Lakes. However, the buck doesn't stop in the Midwest: the GLPF strives to demonstrate its successes in order to show other areas of the United States what some positive modes of environmental governance look like, and how those technologies may be used elsewhere.
What is its role – that is, what are some of the things it does to solve or address the environmental problem or issue?
The Great Lakes Protection Fund provides approximately three million dollars each year toward research and execution of environmental projects concerning the Great Lakes. Those who receive grants from the GLPF use that funding to learn more about progressive technologies that can be expanded to solve environmental problems. In essence, the grants from the Fund are used to find out which technologies will prove effective, and which won't. GLPF uses a collaborative network-type mode of government, bringing together many different sectors, such as environmentalists and economists, people from different political and ideological backgrounds, who often maintain different viewpoints regarding environmental policy; ideally a completely bipartisan organization striving for a common goal: keeping the Great Lakes beautiful and healthy. The Fund seeks to help people understand the connection between their personal communities and the environment so that they feel motivated to take care of it. GLPF also strives to enhance the relationship between the free market and environmental protection through positive project funding and interaction. The GLPF also aids in encouraging the development of environmental policy; in fact, the organization laid influential foundation for the Great Lakes Compact. GLPF defines its mission as to "identify, protect, and promote regional action to protect and restore the health of the Great Lakes ecosystem."
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Sources:
http://glpf.org/get-funding/guidelines/
http://multipleinc.com/case-studies/great-lakes-protection-fund/
