Our Legal Status
[news item September 2005]
Friends of Green
Lesbos has achieved much with its current status as a loosely knit society
based on a web-site. Membership is free and open to all who subscribe to
our aims. We have no corporate status and no bank account. All of our
activities depend on the enthusiasm of members giving their time and
expertise free and meeting their own expenses. We deliberately set the
society up this way so that nobody would be excluded because they could
not pay a subscription. This approach has given us a large membership and
has meant that we can say and do what we think is right unhindered by
economic considerations. We can be neither bribed nor threatened!
The approach
however has its drawbacks. People cannot give us money to further our aims
and we would find it difficult to fund expensive activities such as
lawsuits. It has also prevented us from providing a Greek version of the
website since we cannot pay a translator. In certain circumstances it
could limit our power to make representations to the Greek authorities
although the authorities in Lesbos have always been ready to listen to us,
even if they have not taken our advice!
One particular
problem with our current status is that we cannot get grants or donations
to buy and manage land as nature reserves. Some green tour parties
regularly make donations for nature conservation but we have had to refuse
them. While you voted overwhelmingly against raising the large sum
demanded for buying a part of the Kalloni Pool, there are other
opportunities around the Gulf of Kalloni and elsewhere where ecologically
valuable land could be bought at a reasonable price. With the delay in
implementing Natura 2000, land purchase makes a great deal of sense.
We are examining
ways of overcoming this problem without compromising our basic philosophy.
One possibility is to register as a voluntary association in Lesbos, but
the process could be long and complicated. In the interim we can register
as a UK charity but this would not allow us to get grants from
international conservation bodies who require a local body. Hopefully we
will report some progress in the next newsletter. Your status as a Friend
of Green Lesbos will not be compromised and you will not be asked to pay a
subscription. You may however be given the opportunity to join a separate
organisation dedicated to creating and managing nature reserves.