Quercus - Associação Nacional de Conservação da Natureza (Quercus - National Association for Nature Conservation) is a

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

environmental organization founded in 1985. The name Quercus is used because the

Oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

(''Quercus'' in Latin) is one of the species that is characteristic in this country and that nowadays is increasingly rare. Its headquarters are in the

Monsanto Forest Park Monsanto Forest Park ( pt, Parque Florestal de Monsanto) is a municipal protected forest in Lisbon, Portugal, the largest green patch in the city, with almost 1000 ha (10 km2). It offers a well diversified tree-covered area to the Port ...

, in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

. On their website, Quercus declares itself to be a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

national

environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

organization, independent from political parties.

Mission statement

Quercus is a Portuguese organization, but it has concerns about the environment outside Portugal as well. A recent initiative, ''Earth Condominium'' alerts for the need of a global management of some earth resources like the water or the air. Most of its action is in Portugal, where this organization acts by creating awareness about the environment problems that this country faces, and by presenting more environmentally friendly options. Quercus also acts formally by complaining in Portuguese and European courts about allegedly unlawful actions against the environment.

Priorities and campaigns

GM - Quercus is against the use and production of

genetically modified food Genetically modified foods (GM foods), also known as genetically engineered foods (GE foods), or bioengineered foods are foods produced from organisms that have had changes introduced into their DNA using the methods of genetic engineering. Gene ...

, for human and animal consumption. It is a member of ''Plataforma Trangénicos Fora do Prato'', a Portuguese Organization that defends a GM free agriculture. Nuclear - Quercus is against the use of nuclear technology to produce energy, it has participated in the campaign One Million Europeans against Nuclear Power, and is affiliated with ''Plataforma Não ao Nuclear''. Waste - The organization has campaigned for a reduction and correct processing of different kinds of

waste Waste (or wastes) are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance discarded after primary use, or is worthless, defective and of no use. A by-product, by contrast is a joint product of relatively minor economic value. A waste prod ...

in Portugal. Water - The organization has campaigned to create awareness about the challenges of

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

quality and quantity management in the planet. Recently it has announced the Earth-Condominium concept.

Membership

Anyone who share the Quercus environmental goals can apply for a membership. This can be done online or by contacting any of the local groups. Prices go from €8 to €20 (yearly) for individual membership and €45 for organizations.

Structure

The organization works under a democratic model. Leaders are elected under national and local elections, which take place every year or every two years. Decisions are also voted if a consensus is not possible. The Quercus headquarters is located in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, but there are other structures and projects located outside Lisbon. Local groups are called ''Núcleos''. Quercus has 20 local groups in almost every region in Portugal. Projects are other type of structures that have very specific objectives. For example ''Ecocasa'' gives information about environment friendly houses, and 3 animal hospitals take care of wounded wild animals.

Communication

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

, Quercus has a regular one-minute show, giving advice on how anyone can contribute to a better

. Some of the organization messages and campaigns are usually noticed on TV, specially if they speak about a current newsworthy issue like the plans to build a new airport in Lisbon. The official website
www.quercus.pt
is the main means of communication for the organization. Other local structures such as

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

also have their independent websites. Other projects in which Quercus is involved like Ecocasa., Earth Condominium and Topten also have their independent websites. On 5 June 2007, Quercus has announced Quercus TV, a web TV for environmental issues. The organization plans to post videos from their activities and other videos about the environment. In terms of Social Media, Quercus has an active Facebook pag
Quercus - ANCN
used to promote activities and articles, but where the organization not only does not often engage in active discussion, but also prevents opposing views from being discussed by banning users who do not conform to their views, which is done in violation of their own regulatory principles.

References

External links

{{commonscat, Quercus (Non-governmental organization), Quercus (organization)
Quercus
- Official website
Quercus TV
- Official web TV
Don´t Give Up
, Un anuncio publicitario producido por McCann-Erickson para “Quercus“ Environmental organisations based in Portugal