The Earth Island Institute is an American non-profit environmental group that was started in 1982 by David Brower. It is based in Berkeley, California, and helps with environmental activism by offering financial support and management help for individual projects.
Earth Island Journal
Earth Island Institute publishes a quarterly magazine called Earth Island Journal, which is edited by Maureen Nandini Mitra. The magazine focuses on in-depth reports and highlights local environmental efforts, as well as environmental news and opinions from around the world. The publication has won awards from the media industry for uncovering stories that larger media outlets often ignore, including a 2019 Izzy Award for independent media.
Brower Youth Awards
Since 2000, Earth Island has given the Brower Youth Awards, named after David Brower, to six young environmental leaders.
Dolphin-safe labeling
Earth Island Institute is the leading group in the United States for labeling tuna as dolphin-safe. The organization checks if tuna caught in the United States is safe for dolphins and decides whether to approve or disapprove it.
Incubator projects
Earth Island Institute supports several new activist groups, which it calls Incubator Projects. Some of these groups have become independent 501(c)(3) organizations, while others continue to operate under the Earth Island Institute.
- Plastic Pollution Coalition
- Rooted in Community
Alumni projects
As of March 2017, the following groups were part of Earth Island Institute before becoming separate organizations to continue their environmental work:
- Bluewater Network (joined with Friends of the Earth)
- Energy Action Coalition
- International Rivers
- Rainforest Action Network
- Sea Turtle Restoration Project
2013 Solomon Islands dolphin slaughter
In January 2013, villagers in Fanalei on the island of Malaita in the Solomon Islands killed 700 dolphins after they did not renew an agreement with Earth Island Institute (EII). This agreement had ended in April 2012. The villagers said EII had promised to give them $2.4 million Solomon Island Dollars (about $335,000 U.S.) to stop trading dolphins and dolphin parts for two years, but they only received $700,000.
Atkin Fakaia, chairman of a local villagers' group, said the dolphins were killed because the villagers needed money to survive. They planned to sell dolphin meat and teeth for income. Lawrence Makili, director of EII, said the villagers' group had not used the first $300,000 from the agreement properly. He claimed the group took the money and did not share it with the community.