Reviews by Kristina Vilimaite The 21st Century NGO: In the Market for Change SustainAbility, UNEP, London, June 2003. This international study finds that increasing numbers of non-govern- mental organisations (NGOs) are making strategic decisions to engage with business and governments in an effort to reform market systems rather than simply confronting them. The research involved input from more than 200 experts from NGOs, businesses, foundations and other groups, and concluded that markets and business engagement represent an enormous opportunity for NGOs. To exploit this, NGOs will have to meet challenges in the areas of accountability, financing and partnerships. To help NGOs handle the new challenges, the report recommends that they first ensure higher levels of transparency around funding and effectiveness to address the so-called "accountability squeeze." Second, the NGOs should be innovate in the area of promotion to establish themselves as "good investments," rather than relying on funding fuelled by public anger and guilt. This is essential if they are to combat the financial pressures of falling stock values and increased competition from "socially responsible" businesses and other NGOs. Third, the NGOs should develop greater commercial understanding so that they can work in partnership with businesses and governments. Sustainable Development for the Second World: Ukraine and the Nations in Transition Viktor Vovk, (Worldwatch paper 167) Worldwatch Institute, September 2003, 54 pages. Investment in human and environmental well-being in Europe's post-Communist nations is as important for long-term prosperity as economic reform, reports a new study from the Worldwatch Institute. While the collapse of Communism offered an unexpected chance for these nations to reorganise their economies and societies according to new principles, the window to take an ecologically friendly path is rapidly closing, argues the author. The study covers the former Soviet Union countries, including the Baltic States. The main conclusions relate to the situation in Ukraine, where the fall of Communism raised the option of reprogramming society according to principles of sustainable development. This is the only economic path offering long-term promise for general improvement of the environment and living standards. The author writes that restructuring should be based on three pillars: the idea that sustainability means making life better in general, not just enhancing environmental protection; a government that is transparent, participatory and accountable;and the use of incentives rather than the command-and-con- trol approaches that echo the reviled Communist past. Books reviewed in this column can be found in the REC online library catalogue at: http://www.rec.org/library-catalogue

The 21st Century NGO: In the Market for Change