全球智库信息集成服务系统

The international community is increasingly recognizing the importance of environmental education (EE) by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in achieving sustainable societies, as well as the importance of transboundary support for NGOs involved in EE. NGO EE networks can play an important role in the promotion of, and transboundary support for, EE in both donor and recipient countries. Networks benefit their members in three main ways: (1) Improvements in communication and resource-sharing among members, resulting in more effective activities and improving the coordination of activities between network members; (2) Improvements in external relations; (3) Promotion of social learning. Case studies of the conditions of related NGOs in developed and developing countries, Japan and Indonesia, respectively, clarified the practical needs of such NGO networks, especially in the context of international cooperation. Networks can facilitate activities essential to successful overseas EE assistance, which are identified through the study of actors on the donor side, and constraints (or challenges) facing NGOs on the recipient side. An examination of an existing EE network in Indonesia revealed that the theoretical benefits of networks were, in fact, realized. This unique effort provides a good model for other networks, and illustrates the effectiveness and feasibility of establishing such networks. This article concludes that it is important to establish NGO networks, since networks can serve as an "infrastructure" which facilitates and bolsters EE, as well as international cooperation in Asian countries.