Volunteers on the Political Anvil: Citizenship and Volunteer Biodiversity Monitoring in Three Postcommunist Countries

Abstract

We present comparative ethnographic material on volunteer biodiversity monitoring from environmental organisations in three postcommunist countries: Poland, Slovenia, and Lithuania. We chart and discuss aspects of the heritage from socialism and communist rule in terms of their effect on the present-day running and operations of four case-study organisations in these countries, focusing particularly on challenges posed by the legacy of compulsory volunteering, inherited organisational cultures, economic reorganisation, and internationalisation of the volunteering sector. In closing we indicate certain key differences between our case-study organisations, focusing on factors that influenced their ability to operate in the postcommunist nongovernmental organisation sector, and offer some observations of more general relevance.