The recent fires in the Amazon highlighted a problem that has wide ranging consequences for the environment. Predictably, the resulting media attention devolved into fractious political debates about global warming.

However, most rational people agree that fire, when it is unchecked and out of control, is bad. It has the capacity to destroy large areas of land in a rapid amount of time. The second and third order effects on other organisms living in affected zones is difficult to measure. Regardless, few will argue the destabilizing aftershocks have a positive impact.

Many in the international community responded to the fires and offered assistance to Brazil. Money, firefighters, and equipment were some of the more common pledges of support. However, the time to marshal these resources and get them into position in order to help manage the situation was unrealistic. At no point was a simple itemized list of needed equipment, personnel, and services distributed to potential donor states/organizations. This lamentable situation demonstrated a serious gap in capability and capacity that needs to be filled. Luckily, a blueprint exists for just such a remedy.

While the Amazon was burning, there was a concerted effort underway to begin developing a tangible means of assisting states in developing regions to build capability and capacity to deal with a plethora of environmental concerns.

While the Amazon was burning, there was a concerted effort underway to begin developing a tangible means of assisting states in developing regions to build capability and capacity to deal with a plethora of environmental concerns. The Green Channel Build (GCB) is a fledgling initiative to begin an information exchange between environmental centric institutions.

In early 2019, reports began to surface from East Africa where, for the second year in a row, uncontrolled wildfires were threatening the annual migration of wildebeests (the Great Migration). Initial discussions had begun with the Virginia Department of Forestry to discuss a means of aiding receptive countries in the region by sharing operational knowledge and training, internal to the Department of Forestry, with their peers in these states.

The Virginia Department of Forestry has a robust training program and significant experience in managing wildlands firefighting. It would be a simple thing to reserve seats in their annual Fire Training Academy for some international students.

Much of the funding currently allocated for international disaster resilience initiatives is typically distributed among NGOs and academic institutions to implement programs. There is a lack of standardization which hampers effective capability and capacity building.

The conversation soon grew into a wider discussion about a potential game-changer on the environmental front. Although there are many agencies within the Commonwealth who deal with environmental issues, the four most prominent agencies are; Department of Forestry, Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, Department of Conservation and Recreation, and Department of Agriculture. These agencies hire, train, equip, and manage a complex range of environmentally focused professionals, while also serving the citizens of the Commonwealth by regulating development in a sustainable manner. They have developed the capabilities and turned them into capacities. Most states in the United States have agencies who perform similar roles.

The GCB initiative seeks to borrow a page from the Department of Defense and their International Military Education and Training program (IMET). IMET is one of the more successful security assistance activities ever conceived which has produced long-standing benefits for participating countries while simultaneously building robust two-way channels of communications between peer groups.

Another extremely successful DoD program is the State Partnership Program. This program matches state National Guard forces with partner military forces around the globe. The states exchange personnel, conduct training, and share lessons learned to foster better relations and improve capabilities.

State governmental institutions often face limited resources, budgetary uncertainties, and ever-increasing responsibilities, conditions likely experienced by those potential partner state agencies in developing regions.

Much of the funding currently allocated for international disaster resilience initiatives is typically distributed among NGOs and academic institutions to implement programs. There is a lack of standardization which hampers effective capability and capacity building. The biggest problem though is that these implementors don’t have any authorities and don’t normally have any experience within standing government institutions, which often weigh multiple factors when forming and implementing policies. 

The GCB evaluation sees the adoption of an amalgam of successful DoD programs into a State Partnership Program for environment-centric institutions as peer-to-peer knowledge commons. Although topography and mission may differ, the organizational structure and skill training (individual and collective) is similar.

Further bolstering the case, these are “right sized” approaches. State governmental institutions often face limited resources, budgetary uncertainties, and ever-increasing responsibilities, conditions likely experienced by those potential partner state agencies in developing regions. Attempting to build a commons at the federal level is overkill and would simply convolute and delay any potential efficacy.

The GCB encourages individual states to evaluate their ability to offer training and exchanges to environmentally focused civil servants from countries where the massively destabilizing effects of disasters have real and immediate consequences which could reverberate for generations.

Although language and cultural barriers may limit initial partnership offerings, these are not insurmountable problems. The departments of State and Defense have long established English language labs around the globe to assist foreign exchange students to gain proficiency. 

As a great mentor once told me, “Sometimes folks just need to see what right looks like.” Not that U.S. institutions have all the right answers but increasing the knowledge commons is usually a good thing and lessons learned travel in both directions on these kinds of thoroughfares. 

Finally, the GCB encourages individual states to evaluate their ability to offer training and exchanges to environmentally focused civil servants from countries where the massively destabilizing effects of disasters have real and immediate consequences which could reverberate for generations.

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Jason Hatch is a Pacific Council member and the owner of Cranky Tank Studio.

The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Pacific Council.