Oxfam International
|
Type |
International organization |
Founded |
1942 |
Headquarters |
Summertown, Oxford,
United Kingdom |
Area served |
Worldwide |
Focus |
Poverty eradication, disaster relief,
advocacy, policy research |
Mission |
Working with thousands of local partner
organizations, we work with people living in poverty striving to
exercise their human rights, assert their dignity as full
citizens and take control of their lives |
Website |
http://www.oxfam.org/ |
Oxfam is an international confederation of 17
organisations working in approximately 90 countries worldwide to find
solutions to
poverty
and related
injustice around the world.[1]
In all Oxfam’s actions, the ultimate goal is to enable people to
exercise their rights and manage their own lives. Oxfam works directly
with communities and seeks to influence the powerful to ensure that poor
people can improve their lives and livelihoods and have a say in
decisions that affect them. Each organization (Affiliate) works together
internationally to achieve a greater impact through collective efforts.
Oxfam was originally founded in
Oxford,
UK, in 1942 as the Oxford Committee for
Famine Relief by a group of
Quakers,
social activists, and Oxford academics; this is now Oxfam Great
Britain, still based in Oxford,
UK. It was one of several local committees formed in support of the
National Famine Relief Committee. Their mission was to persuade the
British government to allow food relief through the
Allied blockade for the starving citizens of
Axis occupation of Greece. The first overseas Oxfam was founded in
Canada
in 1963. The organisation changed its name to its
telegraph address, OXFAM, in 1965.
Oxfam's
mission and values
Oxfam’s programs address the structural causes of poverty and related
injustice and work primarily through local accountable organizations,
seeking to enhance their effectiveness. We aim to help people directly
where local capacity is insufficient or inappropriate for Oxfam’s
purposes, and to assist in the development of structures which directly
benefit people facing the realities of poverty and injustice.[citation
needed]
Values
In November 2000, Oxfam adopted the
rights-based approach as the framework for all the work of the
Confederation and its partners. Oxfam recognizes the universality and
indivisibility of human rights and has adopted these overarching aims to
express these rights in practical terms:
- the right to a sustainable livelihood
- the right to basic social services
- the right to life and security
- the right to be heard
- the right to an identity[citation
needed]
Oxfam believes that poverty and powerlessness are avoidable and can
be eliminated by human action and political will. The right to a
sustainable livelihood, and the right and capacity to participate in
societies and make positive changes to people's lives are basic human
needs and rights which can be met. Oxfam believes that peace and
substantial arms reduction are essential conditions for development and
that inequalities can be significantly reduced both between rich and
poor nations and within nations.[citation
needed]
Oxfam's work
Oxfam clothing and shoe bank
Though Oxfam's initial concern was the provision of food to relieve
famine, over the years the organisation has developed strategies to
combat the causes of famine. In addition to food and medicine, Oxfam
also provides tools to enable people to become self-supporting and opens
markets of international trade where crafts and produce from poorer
regions of the world can be sold at a fair price to benefit the
producer.
Oxfam's programme has three main points of focus: development work,
which tries to lift communities out of poverty with long-term,
sustainable solutions based on their needs; humanitarian work, assisting
those immediately affected by conflict and natural disasters (which
often leads in to longer-term development work), especially in the field
of water
and
sanitation; and
lobbyist,
advocacy and popular campaigning, trying to affect policy decisions
on the causes of conflict at local, national, and international levels.
Oxfam works on
trade justice,
fair trade,
education,
debt and
aid,
livelihoods,
health,
HIV/AIDS,
gender equality,
conflict
(campaigning for an international
arms trade treaty) and
natural disasters,
democracy and
human rights, and
climate change.
Through programs like "Saving for Change," Oxfam is working to help
communities become more self-sufficient financially. The Saving for
Change initiative is a program whereby communities are taught how to
form collective, informal credit groups. Through these mutually
beneficial groups, members who tend to be mostly women, pool their
savings into a fund which is used to give loans for activities such as
paying for medical care and paying school fees, in addition to using the
loans to fund small-scale business ventures. Ultimately, the goal of the
program is to leave the community with a self-sustaining organization
where people who otherwise would do not qualify for formal bank loans
can go for financial assistance. In doing so, borrowers can start
businesses which benefit not only themselves but also their communities.[2]
Oxfam is also providing humanitarian aid to those affected by the
2011 Horn of Africa famine, in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia.
History
Plaque commemorating first meeting of Oxfam in the Old
Library, the University Church, Oxford.
The original Oxford Committee for Famine Relief was a group of
concerned citizens such as
Canon
Theodore Richard Milford (1896–1987), Professor
Gilbert Murray and his wife Lady Mary, Cecil Jackson-Cole and Sir
Alan Pim. The Committee met in the Old Library of
University Church of St Mary the Virgin, Oxford, for the first time
in 1942, and its aim was to relieve famine in Greece caused by Allied
naval blockades. By 1960, it was a major international
non-governmental aid organisation.
The name "Oxfam" comes from the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief,
founded in Britain in 1942 and registered in accordance with UK law in
1943. Oxfam International was formed in 1995 by a group of independent
non-governmental organizations. Their aim was to work together for
greater impact on the international stage to reduce poverty and
injustice. Stichting Oxfam International registered as a not-for-profit
foundation at the Hague, the Netherlands.
Oxfam's first paid employee was
Joe
Mitty, who began working at the Oxfam shop on
Broad Street, Oxford on 9 November 1949. Engaged to manage the
accounts and distribute donated clothing, he originated the policy of
selling anything which people were willing to donate, and developed the
shop into a national chain.[3][4]
Oxfam Affiliates
Countries with Oxfam members.
Oxfam GB
(Great Britain)
Oxfam GB had 5,955 employees worldwide in 2008,[5]
and a total income of
£299.7 million. Oxfam GB's head office is located in
Cowley, Oxford and has offices and programmes in over 70 countries
in 8 regions.[5]
From 2007 to 2009, Oxfam GB was recognised as one of Britain's Top
Employers[6]
by CRF.[7]
Oxfam Ireland
Oxfam Ireland works with local partner organisations in developing
countries to develop effective solutions to poverty and injustice. It is
a registered charity in Ireland and Northern Ireland, with headquarters
in Dublin and Belfast.
Funds
Funds are raised via three different sources:
- Shops: there are 48 shops throughout Ireland selling goods
donated by the public as well as four shops selling Fair Trade
crafts and food products.
- Government: the Irish Government allocated over €3.7m to Oxfam
work in 2008–9.
- Private donors, Corporate and Institutional funding: supporters
who donate regularly via direct debit or to special appeals.
Structure Oxfam Ireland is the public title of the two,
separate, legal bodies registered in the respective jurisdictions as
Oxfam Northern Ireland and Oxfam Republic of Ireland. Oxfam Ireland
operates coherently on an all-island basis by means of a single
management structure and shared membership of associations and councils.
Oxfam Canada
Main article:
Oxfam Canada
Oxfam Canada traces its history to 1963, when the British-based
Oxford Committee for Famine Relief sought to establish a Canadian
branch. Oxfam Canada was independently incorporated in 1966; the first
Board of Directors included 21 distinguished Canadians. In 1967, Oxfam
Canada became a key organiser of the successful
Miles for Millions fundraising walks across the country. In that
year, Lester Pearson (then
Canadian Prime Minister) led Oxfam's first Miles for Millions March.
With its revenues, Oxfam began to provide educational materials to
schools and undertake advocacy work in public policy development.
The early 1970s was a critical period of growth as Oxfam began its
own programming overseas in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and
established a network of staff and volunteers across Canada to support
its work.The original idea was born with Oxfam shops, Luk Moltten
Professor at the University of Oxford. During this same period, Oxfam
Canada began to analyse its role in the development process, moving from
a traditional model of charity (one-time grants) towards long-term
development programming (working with communities to effect lasting
positive change). Deeply involved in the international movement against
apartheid in South Africa and Central American solidarity through
the 1970s and '80s, Oxfam Canada sought to address the fundamental,
underlying causes of poverty. This in turn led to Oxfam's role as a
major advocacy organisation in the 1990s, to mobilise public support for
changing the policies that perpetuate poverty.
Oxfam Canada is a founding member of Oxfam, the federation of Oxfams
worldwide. Today, Oxfam Canada works with over 100 partner organisations
in developing countries, tackling the root causes of poverty and
inequity and helping people to create self-reliant and sustainable
communities. In Canada, Oxfam is active in education, policy advocacy
and building a constituency of support for its work.[citation
needed]
Oxfam America
In 1970, Oxfam America became an independent
non-profit organisation and an Oxfam affiliate in response to the
humanitarian crisis created by the fight for
independence in Bangladesh. Oxfam America's headquarters are located
in Boston,
Massachusetts with a policy & campaigns office in
Washington, D.C. and seven regional offices around the world. A
registered
501(c)3 organisation, Oxfam America campaigns for
climate change adaptation,
food security,
aid reform,
access to medicines, and
fair trade.
Oxfam-Québec
In 1973, Oxfam-Québec became an independent member of the
international Oxfam movement. Carried by the popularity of
Yvon Deschamps, Oxfam-Québec has become a cherished organisation
among the
Québécois. Its mission is to get the francophone population involved
in the situation of developing countries.
Oxfam Australia
Oxfam Australia is an Australian, independent, not-for-profit,
secular, community-based aid and development organisation, and an
affiliate of Oxfam International. Oxfam Australia's work includes
long-term development projects, responding to emergencies and
campaigning to improve the lives of disadvantaged people around the
world. They aim to give disadvantaged people improved access to social
services, an effective voice in decisions, equal rights and status, and
safety from conflict and disaster.
Oxfam Australia's activities are mainly funded by community donation.
Oxfam’s development and advocacy programs use 73% of donated funds, 16%
is used for fundraising and promotion, and the remaining 11% for
administration. In the case of emergency appeals, 85% of funds are used
directly for emergency response purposes.
In 2009, Oxfam Australia's work reached 4.64 million people in 28
countries. This was made possible by the support of more than 310,000
donors and campaigners.[citation
needed]
Oxfam
Novib (Netherlands)
Oxfam Novib is the Dutch affiliate of the international Oxfam
organization. The organization is based in The Hague.
Oxfam Novib was founded under the name Novib in 1956. Novib is an
abbreviation that stands for "Nederlandse Organisatie Voor
Internationale Bijstand" (Dutch organization for international aid)
which was later changed to "Nederlandse Organisatie voor Internationale
Ontwikkelingssamenwerking" (Dutch organization for international
development cooperation) due to a change in approach of development
work.[citation
needed]
In 1994, then called, Novib became an affiliate of Oxfam and for this
reason the organization changed its name as of 18 March 2006 to Oxfam
Novib.
Mid 2008 the organisation changed its voluntary policy towards a
network based approach. They set up a so-called participation network or
tribe named Doeners.net. Aim was to create a campaigning movement for a
just world without poverty.
Oxfam Novib's current National Director is Farah Karimi.[citation
needed]
Oxfam-in-Belgium
Oxfam in Belgium is a co-ordinating body of the Belgian components of
the Oxfam movement, namely, Oxfam Solidarity, Magasins du Monde Oxfam
and Oxfam Wereldwinkels.
Oxfam Solidarity incorporates the activities of Oxfam Belgium
(founded in 1964) and those of Oxfam Projects (created in 1976).
Oxfam Solidarity supports approximately 200 projects and programmes
in the South totalling around 10 million Euro, thanks to co-financing by
the Belgian government and the European Union. The income of the
organisation comes from recycling activities, from the support of donors
and as a result of campaigns.
Oxfam Wereldwinkels (founded in 1971) and Magasins du Monde-Oxfam
(founded in 1975) remain autonomous organisations, focusing on fair
trade. With more than 220 outlets, as many groups and 7000 volunteers,
they form a movement which, guided by the principles of fair trade,
pursues objectives similar to those of Oxfam Solidarity.
Oxfam France
Oxfam Germany
Oxfam Germany has its beginnings in an initiative by concerned
private citizens who in 1986 opened a secondhand shop in
Bonn
modelled on the idea of the British
charity shops. While not officially associated with Oxfam, the shop
was staffed by volunteers and sold donated goods, with all proceeds
given to projects run by Oxfam GB. A second shop, following the same
model, was opened in Cologne in 1991.[8]
Oxfam officially came to Germany in 1995 with the foundation of the
charitable Oxfam Deutschland e. V. and its commercial subsidiary Oxfam
Deutschland Shops GmbH. Oxfam Germany became a full affiliate of Oxfam
International in 2003.[9]
As of January 2012, Oxfam was operating 39 charity shops in 26 German
cities, including five
Oxfam bookshops and two fashion boutiques. According to Oxfam
Germany website, there are 2,400 volunteers in those shops.[10]
Oxfam Hong Kong
Oxfam Hong Kong began in 1976, when volunteers came together, opened
a second-hand shop, and raised funds for anti-poverty projects around
the world. Some of the first actions in the 1970s and '80s were to
advocate for justice in the Vietnamese Boat People/Refugee crisis in
Hong Kong, and to help save lives in Ethiopia during the 1984 famine. To
date, Oxfam Hong Kong has assisted poor people in more than 70
countries/states around the world.
Oxfam Hong Kong is an independent international development and
humanitarian organisation working against poverty and related injustice.[citation
needed]
Oxfam India
Oxfam's involvement in India began when money was granted in 1951 to
fight famine in Bihar. Bihar at the time was one of the poorest and most
populated states in India. Bihar and famine would bring Oxfam back to
India in 1965 to address drought due to bad monsoons. Bihar held a
population of 53 million, of which 40 million relied on subsistence
farming to live.[page needed]
This would compound for India in the future; production of food had not
been parallel to its exploding population. It is estimated that, over
the course of the droughts and famines, 2,400 tons of milk was bought by
Oxfam and at the height of this was feeding over 400,000 starving
children and mothers.[12]
In 1968 Oxfam's first Field Director in India, Jim Howard, created
the Oxfam Gramdan Action Programme, or OGAP.[12]
This would be the first joint rural development program in Oxfam history
and the first step to a new 'operational' Oxfam.
Oxfam India was established on 1 September 2008 under section 25 of
the Companies Act, 2005 as a non profitable organisation with its head
office in Delhi and is now a member of Oxfam International
Confederation. This was marked by Oxfam's 60th year in India.[13]
Oxfam
International
The Oxfam International Secretariat (OIS) leads, facilitates, and
supports collaboration between the Oxfam affiliates to increase Oxfam's
impact on poverty and injustice through advocacy campaigns, development
programmes and emergency response.
The OIS Board comprises the Executive Director, Chair of each
Affiliate, and the OI Chair. The Affiliates’ Chairs are voting members
and are non-remunerated. The Executive Directors and the OI Chair are
all non voting-members. The Board also elects the Deputy Chair and
Treasurer from among its voting members.
The Board is responsible for ensuring that Oxfam International is
accountable, transparent, and fit for purpose. The constitution and
Strategic Plan are also approved at Board level. The Board takes
recommendations from Executive Directors and ensures that the
Confederation is working to its agreed aims. The Board also agrees
membership of the Confederation, selects the Honorary President, the
Honorary Advisor, the Board Officers and the OI Executive Director. A
number of subcommittees with expert members are also mandated by the
Board to assist with specific issues.
Languages: Official: English; working: English, French and Spanish.
Staff: approx. 77 in 2009–10 (including secondment placements and
temporary staff e.g. for maternity cover). Finance: Contributions from
affiliate organizations. Operating budget: US$8.7M.
Activities
Oxfam has four main focuses for its resources. These are: Economic
Justice, Essential Services, Rights in Crisis, and Gender Justice.
Economic Justice focuses on making agriculture work for farmers and
agricultural labourers living in poverty and vulnerable circumstances,
fairer trade rules for poor countries, and reducing the impact of
climate change and energy shocks.
Essential Services focuses on; demanding that national governments
fulfil their responsibilities for equitable delivery of good quality
health, education, water, and sanitation, supporting civil society
organizations and alliances to hold governments accountable for the
delivery of these services, and ensuring better policies and more
funding from rich countries and international institutions, as well as
make sure they honour existing commitments on aid and debt reduction.
Rights in Crisis focuses on improving the ability to deliver better
protection and greater assistance, through improving our competencies
and capacities, working with and through local organizations, and
particularly strengthen the role of women, changing policies and
practices of the international humanitarian system to deliver better
protection and greater assistance, and working within the framework of
human security, with a greater focus on preventing conflict,
peace-building, reconciliation and longer-term development
Gender Justice focuses on supporting women’s leadership at all levels
to achieve greater power in decision-making and greater control over
their lives, increasing the number of women receiving an education
(two-thirds of all children denied school are girls), to acquire
functional literacy skills so they can work.,[14]
working to end gender-based violence by changing ideas, attitudes and
beliefs of men and women that permit violence against women, and
strengthening Oxfam’s own learning and capacities on gender to ensure
that gender justice is achieved in all our work.[citation
needed]
Oxfam's shops
Oxfam has numerous shops all over the world, which sell many
fair-trade and donated items. They opened their first charity shop in
1948,[15]
although two plaques attached to the shop both give the year as 1947.
The proceeds from these usually get paid to different charities or are
used to further Oxfam's relief efforts around the globe.
Much of their stock still comes from public donations but they
currently also sell fair trade products from developing countries in
Africa, Asia and South America, including handcrafts, books, music CDs
and instruments, clothing, toys, food and ethnic creations. These
objects are brought to the public through fair trade to help boost the
quality of life of their producers and surrounding communities.[16]
Oxfam has over 1,200 shops worldwide.[17]
Some of them are in the UK with around 750 Oxfam GB shops including
specialist shops such as books, music, furniture and bridal wear. Oxfam
Germany has 34 shops including specialist book shops; Oxfam France shops
sell books and fair trade products and Oxfam Hong Kong has 2 shops
selling donated goods and fair trade products. Oxfam Novib, Oxfam
Australia (with over 20 fair trade shops), Oxfam Ireland and Oxfam in
Belgium also raise funds from shops.
Of the 750 Oxfam charity shops around the UK, around 100 are
specialist bookshops or book and music shops. Oxfam is the largest
retailer of
second-hand books in Europe, selling around 12 million per year.
In 2008, Oxfam GB worked with over 20,000
volunteers in shops across the UK, raising £17.1 million for Oxfam's
programme work.[5]
Fundraising
Oxfam has a number of successful fundraising channels in addition to
its shops. Over half a million people in the UK make a regular financial
contribution towards its work, and vital funds are received from gifts
left to the organisation in people's wills. Many
London Marathon[18]
competitors run to raise money for Oxfam, and Oxfam also receives funds
in return for providing and organising volunteer stewards at festivals
such as
Glastonbury. In conjunction with the
Gurkha Welfare Trust, Oxfam also runs several
Trailwalker events in
Hong
Kong,
Australia,
New Zealand, the United Kingdom and
Japan.
Oxfam GB asks people to 'Get Together'[19]
and fundraise by hosting events with friends and colleagues on
International Women's Day, 8 March.
Christopher McCandless, the subject of the book and film Into the
Wild, donated his life savings to Oxfam before leaving society for
the Alaskan wilderness.
In August 2009, it was announced that
Arctic Monkeys would release a 7-inch vinyl version of their new
single "Crying Lightning" exclusively through Oxfam shops, with proceeds
going to the charity. Recently Oxfam India is emerging as a successful
fundraising unit, it is mainly with the help of always motivated team
and the Resource Mobilization Heads.
Publications
Annual Report; Strategic Plan; Research and Policy papers[20]
Policy & Research page with all Oxfam publications (research reports,
policy papers), that can be filtered by subject and/or by date[21]
Criticism
Conflict with Starbucks on Ethiopian coffee
On 26 October 2006, Oxfam accused
Starbucks of asking the
National Coffee Association (NCA) to block a
US trademark application from
Ethiopia for three of the country's coffee beans,
Sidamo,
Harar and
Yirgacheffe.[22]
They claimed this could result in denying
Ethiopian coffee farmers potential annual earnings of up to
£47m.
Robert Nelson, the head of the NCA, added that his organisation
initiated the opposition for economic reasons, "For the U.S. industry to
exist, we must have an economically stable coffee industry in the
producing world... This particular scheme is going to hurt the Ethiopian
coffee farmers economically". The NCA claims the Ethiopian government
was being badly advised and this move could price them out of the
market.[22]
Facing more than 90,000 letters of concern, Starbucks placed
pamphlets in its stores accusing Oxfam of "misleading behavior" and
insisting that its "campaign need[s] to stop". On 7 November,
The Economist derided Oxfam's "simplistic" stance and Ethiopia's
"economically illiterate" government, arguing that Starbucks' (and
Illy's)
standards-based approach would ultimately benefit farmers more.[23]
Nonetheless, on 20 June 2007, representatives of the Government of
Ethiopia and senior leaders from Starbucks Coffee Company announced that
they had concluded an agreement regarding distribution, marketing and
licensing that recognises the importance and integrity of Ethiopia's
speciality coffee designations.[24]
Political
neutrality
Oxfam Great Britain was strongly criticised by other
NGOs for becoming too close to
Tony Blair's
New Labour government in the UK.[25]
In October, 2011, Oxfam's campaign for a
financial transaction tax resulted in it seeking court action to ban
a pensioner, Barry Nowlan, from one of its shops, asking him to pay a
£10,000 legal bill after he complained about a poster which highlighted
Oxfam’s call for a 'Robin Hood' tax of banks and financial institutions.[26]
On 25 October 2011, the dispute was settled amicably in Taunton
County Court.[27]
Afterwards Mr Nowlan said: "The matter has been settled between Oxfam
and myself on a mutually satisfactory basis." Oxfam declined to comment
on the court case, saying simply: "It is a private matter."
Internal structures and political role
Omaar and de Waal, in Food and Power in Sudan[28],
comment that "the 1990s have seen growing pressure for humanitarian
institutions to become more accountable. There has been a succession of
reviews of major operations, growing in independence and criticism."
They quote an OECD report, The Joint
Evaluation of Emergency Operations in Rwanda, which stated
that its team "came across examples of Agencies telling, if not
falsehoods, then certainly half-truths" and noted "a remarkable lack of
attempts by agencies to seek the views of beneficiaries on the
assistance being provided".[29]
In this climate, Oxfam has faced a number of criticisms, some specific
to the organisation itself, others relating to problems said to be
endemic to NGO aid agencies.
In 2005, the magazine
New Internationalist described Oxfam as a "Big International
Non-Government Organisation (BINGO)", having a corporate-style,
undemocratic internal structure, and addressing the symptoms rather than
the causes of international poverty – especially by acquiescing to
neoliberal economics and even taking over roles conventionally
filled by national governments.[30]
Similar criticisms[which?]
have been voiced by Red Pepper magazine[31]
and Katherine Quarmby in the New Statesman.[32]
In an article for Columbia Journalism Review,[33]
journalist Karen Rothmyer accused NGOs in general and Oxfam in
particular of being unduly influenced by the priorities of the media and
of perpetuating negative stereotypes which "have the potential to
influence policy." She drew on earlier work by journalist Lauren
Gelfand, who had taken a year away from journalism to work for Oxfam; "A
lot of what Oxfam does is to sustain Oxfam" and Linda Polman, author of
the Crisis Caravan; "Aid organisations are businesses dressed up like
Mother Theresa."
Bookshops
Oxfam has been criticized[34][35]
for aggressively expanding its specialist bookshops, using tactics more
often associated with multi-national corporations. The charity has been
criticized as some claim this expansion has come at the expense of
independent secondhand book sellers and other charity shops in many
areas of the UK.
Fair trade coffee
On 28 April 2007, two academics in
Melbourne,
Australia, representing a
think tank lodged a complaint with the
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission accusing Oxfam of
misleading or deceptive conduct under the
Trade Practices Act in its promotion of Fairtrade coffee.[36]
The academics claimed that high certification costs and low wages for
workers undermine claims that Fairtrade helps to lift producers out of
poverty. The complaint was subsequently dismissed by the Commission.[37]
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
In 2003, Oxfam Belgium produced a poster with a picture of an orange
drenched in blood. The poster read, "Israel's
fruits have a bitter taste... reject the occupation of Palestine, don't
buy Israeli fruits and vegetables".[38]
Oxfam was widely criticised because of the poster's anti-Israel
political message. Following publicity and pressure from the pro-Israel
organisation
NGO Monitor, Oxfam removed the poster from their web site and Ian
Anderson, the chairman of Oxfam International, issued a letter of
apology; however, Oxfam has maintained its support of a boycott of
Israeli settlement products.[39]
Oxfam was criticised for its policy of what has been termed "selective
morality" by NGO Monitor.
In October 2009, Oxfam was accused by Israeli NGO Regavim of aiding
Palestinians in illegal activities in
Kiryat Arba, including water theft. Oxfam has denied its
participation.[40]
Confrontation with the Population Matters
In December 2009 Duncan Green, head of research at Oxfam, attempted
to discredit the PopOffsets initiative of
Population Matters, (formerly known as the Optimum Population
Trust), under which individuals can
offset their carbon emissions by funding
family planning services in the developing world. Green wrote in an
op-ed in the
New Statesman that assumptions such as those in the OPT report
equating
population growth and environmental degradation are a "gross
oversimplification".[41]
In response, OPT described the response of parts of the development
lobby to the initiative as "frankly disgraceful", adding: "The world
badly needs a grown-up, rational discussion of the population issue…
without blame, abuse and hysteria."[42]