About us

Greenpeace is an independent campaigning network, which uses peaceful, creative confrontation to expose global environmental problems, and develop solutions for a green and peaceful future.

Our Mission

Our goal is to ensure the ability of the earth to nurture life in all its diversity. That means we seek to: promote the preservation and protection of the environment

Greenpeace South Asia will adopt a global and regional approach to the achievement of its objectives, without limiting such approach to national or regional environmental issues, but with a focus on the transboundary solutions in the region, and to ensure that we are providing added value (rather than duplicating) the great works that many local and national environmental movements and groups have already been doing in the region.

Our core values

Fundraising Principles

At Greenpeace we are honoured that our work is funded almost entirely by donations given to us by passionate individuals from all over the world who care about the planet and want to help us create change, and by grants from private foundations who share our values.

Our independence is vital for us to be effective in our campaigning work, which is why we have it as a core principle that guides all of our fundraising. We do not accept funding from governments, corporations, political parties or intergovernmental organisations.

We also screen all large private donations to identify if there is anything about them which could compromise our independence, our integrity or deflect from our campaign priorities. If we find something then we will refuse or return the donation.

Giving us donations allows people to stand together with our campaigners and our activists and help bring about much needed change. Because of this, it is really important that we treat supporters’ gifts to Greenpeace respectfully and responsibly, using them to create the biggest impact possible both in our campaigns and also when we invest in more fundraising.

Greenpeace in South Asia

Greenpeace South Asia (GPSA) is the latest organisation in the Greenpeace network that now has presence in over 55 countries across Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and the Pacific

Greenpeace South Asia (GPSA) will prioritise addressing environmental problems and offering solutions for the people from this important region, and work hand in hand with local communities in order to push for a greener and more peaceful world.

Greenpeace works in the South Asia region can be traced back as early as 2002 in Khumaltar, Pathan on the outskirts of Kathmandu, when Greenpeace activists were engaged in a return to sender campaign, exposing the dangerous obsolete pesticides exported to Nepal by Shell and Bayer.

From 2008 onward, Greenpeace outreaches in the region started to extend to the protection of the incredible wildlife and ecosystems in the Indian Ocean – which is the home to the precious species from pygmy blue whales and dugongs to colourful coral reefs and the largest seagrass meadow in the world. Fishing pressure in the Indian Ocean high seas is already threatening the ocean health, coastal livelihoods and iconic species, with governments failing to act.

In 2012, Greenpeace became the observers in the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), an intergovernmental organisation mandated to sustainably manage highly migratory (tuna and tuna-like) fisheries resources in the Indian Ocean, to rebuild the yellowfin tuna population in the Indian Ocean. Greenpeace has since attended numerous meetings of the Commission, including some subsidiary bodies (such as its Technical and Compliance Committee, Scientific Committee or the Technical Committee on Allocation Criteria).

Greenpeace ships have been sailing across the Indian Ocean to bear witness, document and expose the threats our oceans face there, bringing about change for many of the environmental problems affecting people’s life and way of living there.

Ship tours. There were Greenpeace ship tours in the Indian Ocean in 2013 (or see also here), including joint surveillance with Mozambique in the Mozambique channel, 2016 (or see also here) and this very year of 2021. The ship tour in 2021 included fisheries documentation as well as science work in the Salha de Maya Bank (see this).

Reports. Besides the numerous submissions to the IOTC reports Greenpeace have published on the Indian Ocean include High Stakes: The environmental and social impacts of destructive fishing on the high seas of the Indian Ocean (2021), Developing  Sustainable and Equitable Pole and Line Fisheries for Skipjack (2009). Greenpeace reports on human rights at sea such as Misery at sea: human suffering in Taiwan’s distant water fishing fleets (2018) and others, also describe fishing activities including in the Indian Ocean.

A recollection of Greenpeace’s past works in the region can be found here: