ALEC is a community-based environmental organisation located in Alice Springs, in the heart of the Australia’s arid zone. Since 1980, the organisation (formerly known as the Central Australian Conservation Council) has been the main conservation voice for the arid zone. It has campaigned on a wide range of local, regional and national environmental issues including: urban water & energy conservation, ecologically sustainable pastoral land management, weed and feral animal management, nuclear issues, threatened species conservation and waste minimisation.

Due to the small size of the organisation, not all issues are active at any given time. In recent years the main focus has been on issues relating to the sustainability of the arid environment as well as arid zone conservation and nuclear issues.

In recent years, some of ALEC’s on-ground outcomes have been:

• Initiation of a desertSMART brand and associated activities (for more information see the ALEC website).
• Partner in the Solar Cities program.
• The Alice Springs Cool Living House to demonstrate energy & water efficient hardware & lifestyles.
• Opening of the Bowerbird Tip Shop at the Alice Springs landfill.
• Establishment of the Centre for Sustainable Arid Towns (CSAT), a consultancy specialising in sustainable urban water, energy and waste management.
• Working to oppose uranium mining, nuclear energy and waste in central Australia