Revolutions coloured green

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: Think of spectacular popular protests, of the kind that make clever use of technology to mobilise support, flummox the authorities and disseminate facts and images. In many countries, that sort of approach has been well used by political opposition movements, bent on overturning regimes or reversing electoral fraud.

But more recently, both lone dissidents and bigger campaigns have been employing the latest ‘people power’ techniques in a different way: challenging bad environmental decisions, especially the sort that result from corrupt or non-existent governance. Eco-protest may lead, in time, to political change, but the focus is narrower.

At a recent conference in Athens on corruption, campaigners from many countries brought stories of their efforts to challenge environmental abuse in innovative ways. In Armenia, for example, the local branch of Transparency International has to contend with a government that seems humourless and harsh. So campaigners against a proposed mine in northern Armenia, which risks destroying a pristine forest, devised colourful responses which the authorities couldn’t repress without looking foolish. In a recent street protest, they dressed up as animals; in another they staged a ‘funeral’ for a slice of nature that was at risk.

Some eco-protests are masterminded by global NGOs, drawing on a vast pool of experience with manipulating images. Others are dreamed up by local people with few assets other than their own desperation. In the most successful actions, both elements are present. In recent weeks, Greenpeace and its local supporters managed to embarrass the government of Papua New Guinea by climbing a crane to stop a shipment of timber.

But even in places to which global NGOs have little access, the ease with which images and sounds can be disseminated has tilted the balance of power in favour of environmentalists.

Take the fallout from a deal between the Russian aluminium concern Rusal and the government of Guinea to mine bauxite. Green protests were the last thing Rusal expected. But Kamara Secu, a leader of the Guinean community in Russia, was undaunted. He rang Rusal’s press officers and taped their response; they were dismissive and mocked his accent. Secu then posted a recording of the exchange on YouTube; it was picked up by green bloggers, and helped to rally support for a demonstration against Rusal.