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Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are private, voluntary, non-profit-making organizations that act in the public interest on wide-ranging issues, such as human rights, child welfare, poverty alleviation, humanitarian aids, women's rights, etc. NGOs also mobilize the public to action and often function as advocates on behalf of people on given issues. Environmental NGOs have played a very crucial part in the development of environmental awareness and in the development of key environmental policies, as well as multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) across the globe. Throughout the world, there are more than 7,000 international NGOs that are concerned with the environment and development, with millions of supporters. In all it is estimated that globally there are well over 20,000 NGOs ranging from small grassroots agencies to influential international groups like Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth. The growth of environmental NGOs has been very dramatic ever since the UN Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1972.