Canadian Environmental Network’s International Program

One Sky is a member of the Canadian Environmental Network and a coordinating member of the International Program which is a very active caucus of Canadian environmental groups that have projects or partners outside of Canada.  We have been facilitating this caucus since our inception.

The Canadian Environmental Network is a membership-based organization with over 800 members that has a focus on the environment.  There are sixteen domestic caucuses, ranging from agriculture to toxics and health as well as an international caucus (CEN-International Program), representing a specialized environmental constituency that has been partnered with CIDA since the early 1990s.  The CEN has been identified by CIDA as fulfilling the role of a “knowledge partner”.  In addition we have built the capacity of both Northern ENGOs to work in a development context and increased the capacity of both Northern ENGOs and Southern ENGOs toward sustainable living and poverty alleviation within the context of environmental sustainability. It is an important function given that the environment is one of the five main pillars of CIDA and a key sector of priority for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).  We have achieved this in the past through developing a liaison function with CIDA regarding evolving international challenges.  Issues like climate change, biodiversity and ecological restoration and organic agriculture which have emerged over the last decade have been the subject of dialogues, policy briefs and international meetings that benefit the international community. The focus of the international caucus has always been on developing the capacity of environmental NGOs globally to address the challenges of environmental sustainability and human well being.