[Note: The California Institute of Public Affairs (CIPA) became InterEnvironment Institute in February 2010. CIPA continues as a program of IE. See the home page for details.]

Conservation of Mediterranean-type ecosystems (2003-present): These ecosystems, characterized by mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers, are found in five regions of the world: parts of Australia, Chile, and South Africa, much of California and Baja California, and the Mediterranean Basin. They are extraordinarily rich in biodiversity and face greater immediate threats per unit of area than any other species-rich regions on earth. One of these threats is rampant urbanization. On this issue, CIPA has organized an international workshop in Malibu, California; secured passage of an IUCN resolution; and has contributed to several international meetings. Mediterranean-type ecosystems will remain a theme in CIPA’s work, including its work with IUCN on cities and conservation. More: Mediterranean-type ecosystems.

California natural resource agencies learning from other countries’ experience (1999-present): Several CIPA projects have looked at models in other countries that California natural resource agencies could learn from. These models include Groundwork, a highly successful British environmental partnership organization; European parks that protect large-scale working landscapes; and the Australian Healthy Parks Healthy People program mentioned above. Among publications resulting from this work are a report, An International Perspective on California State Parks (2000) and an article in the journal Parks, California’s Urban Protected Areas: Progress despite daunting pressures (2001).

A sustainable world: Defining sustainable development (1993-1995): For IUCN, CIPA organized an international workshop in Buenos Aires, Argentina, that produced A Sustainable World: Defining and measuring sustainable development (17 authors from five continents, 1995). Choice (American Library Association) said the book "should be read by anyone interested in the future of the world’s human/economic/environmental interactions." Lynton Keith Caldwell, then the dean of environmental policy scholars, wrote in Environmental Conservation that "This book provides perhaps the most coherent answer we have yet had to clarifying the concept of sustainability.” More: A Sustainable World.  

Ethics and public policy: “Raising Annoying Questions” (1995-1996 and continuing): With encouragement and support from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and in cooperation with IUCN’s ethics group, CIPA explored how systematic consideration of ethics might be built into decision-making, focusing on environmental policy. The results of this international project were presented in a report (summarized in an online paper), at conferences, and in an article in a university-press book. The online paper, Raising Annoying Questions: Why values should be built into decision-making, is one of the most visited pages on CIPA’s Web site. On behalf of IUCN’s ethics group, CIPA also produced a book, Advancing Ethics for Living Sustainably (1994).

Environmental strategy and planning (1991-1996): In addition to the work on defining sustainable development and on ethics described above, other activities resulting from CIPA’s providing the secretariat for what was then called the IUCN Commission on Environmental Strategy and Planning included working groups on:

 Landscape conservation: Focused on protecting “cultural landscapes,” places created by interaction of humans and nature, often over centuries. Among its products is a book, Threatened Landscapes: Conserving Cultural Environments (2000).

Strategies for sustainability: Advised IUCN staff and others on writing national strategies for sustainable development. In addition to the strategies, a synthesis was produced: Strategies for National Sustainable Development (1994).

Tools for sustainability. Held workshops and conducted research on cutting-edge methods of promoting sustainable development. Products included What Works: An annotated bibliography of case studies of sustainable development (1993).

Population and environment: Worked closely with IUCN staff on field projects relating population and environmental issues.

In addition, CIPA organized IUCN’s first workshop on business and the environment (Washington, D.C., 1991), and edited and published a newsletter for the commission, Environmental Strategy (1991-1996).

 An ecosystem approach to natural resource conservation (1990-1992): At the request of U.S. federal and California state officials, CIPA convened a policy dialogue to help design and build consensus on a new bioregional, collaborative approach to natural resource planning and management in California. The eventual result was the California Biodiversity Council. Publications from CIPA’s project included “An Ecosystem Approach to Natural Resource Conservation in California” (1991, online version revised 2001).

“The Power of Convening” (1989-1990 and continuing): Under IUCN auspices, CIPA brought together two dozen practitioners and scholars from seven countries in a three-day workshop at Claremont Graduate University in California to discuss the role of collaborative policy forums in promoting sustainable development. The book that resulted, as well as its title, The Power of Convening, has had an important influence in the IUCN community, in which “convening power” has become a common phrase. An article from the book, Convening Thinkers and Doers: Sweden’s Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation, is one of the most visited pages on CIPA’s Web site. CIPA continues to use and promote “the power of convening” and looks for other examples of collaborative, as opposed to conflict-based, approaches to problem solving. More: The power of convening. 

The California Forum on Hazardous Materials (1985-88 and beyond): Co-sponsored by the Governor of California, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the California Medical Association, and other officials and associations, this CIPA project resulted in a state government program to assist small businesses in complying with toxic waste requirements; and several publications, including Breaking Political Gridlock: California’s Experiment in Public-Private Cooperation for Hazardous Waste Policy (1988), an article in The Public Interest (1988); and guidelines, case studies, and working papers. The project led to a visit by British leaders and experts interested in learning from California’s pioneering work in managing hazardous materials. [The Forum is described as an example of a major CIPA convening project in a a CIPA online paper]  

California Farmlands Project (1982-1984): With encouragement and funding from the state Legislature, CIPA convened senior representatives of California’s agricultural and environmental communities to explore ways to protect prime agricultural land from urban sprawl. The project included a visit by experts from France, where farmland protection is highly advanced. It centered on a two-day conference in Visalia, “How Can Land Be Saved for Agriculture?” Products included conference proceedings, case studies, and working papers.

PUBLICATIONS

Reference books:  From 1969-2001, CIPA produced dozens of reference books, several in multiple editions. Flagship titles were:

·        The California Handbook (eight editions), the standard resource guide to all aspects of the state, which Sunset Magazine called “an astonishing compendium,” and about which the Los Angeles Times wrote: “No other contemporary guide covers so much California ground.” 

·        The World Directory of Environmental Organizations (six editions), which Booklist (American Library Association) called "an essential purchase for academic institutions with environment-related curricula." The most-visited page on our Web site is a 2,000-word essay that originated in the World Directory, “About Environmental Organizations & Programs.”

Other topics covered by CIPA reference books included California environmental law; California legislative and congressional districts; organizations concerned with California’s environment, water, energy, ethnic groups, toxic materials, and transportation; and such national and global topics as energy, population, and food supply. Reviews were very positive. A book on energy earned Library Journal’s designation as one of the “best reference books of the year.”   

Research reports and conference proceedings: Numerous publications have resulted from CIPA and related IUCN projects. Examples are mentioned under descriptions of projects above; many others are listed on CIPA’s Web site. Most publications are now issued in both print and online form.

Most printed books and reports have been published by CIPA. In many cases, they have been co-published with such other organizations as IUCN, Earthscan (London), Development Alternatives (New Delhi), and the World Future Society. Articles resulting from CIPA’s work have appeared in academic and professional journals.

See Print publications for further information.

Other past activities:

Examples of numerous other past activities are:   

 Exploring better ways of conducting research for California state government needs (a project conducted in cooperation with the National Research Council and the California State Senate);

A retreat on “The Future of California” that brought together key scholars and practitioners (held jointly with the Institute of Governmental Studies of the University of California, Berkeley);

 "Oil and Gas from Alaska: Choices for California,” a conference in Los Angeles, keynoted by former California Governor Edmund G. “Pat” Brown, which examined national security, environmental, marine safety, economic, and consumer protection consequences of proposals to transport Alaskan oil and natural gas to California;

Three research projects for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the White House Council on Environmental Quality on the history and implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act and similar laws in other states.

6/2009