Managing social change towards sustainable development in the humid tropics

Wendy Goldstein Graduate School of the

Environment Macquarie University, Sydney

IUCN CEC Regional Chair Oceania

A call to upscale our efforts during the DESD

To really connect to people and gain support for action we must connect with

• Values, motives, emotions

• Context – Livelihoods, community / sector

concerns

• Current actions and knowledge

• Goals• And create a “tipping

point” for change

Haribon Foundation

CEPA expertise helps us connect and supports change management

• C = Communication, Capacity • E = Education, Empowerment • P = Public, Participation • A = Awareness, Action

• PAR = Participatory Action Research

“CEPA” used in CBD and Ramsar – Wetlands

CEPA – social instruments for change

• Adds to science • start a constructive dialogue• establish working relations

different stakeholders• mentor capacity

• Instrumental: CEPA linked with other social instruments to facilitate change – legal, technical, financial

Uganda Wetlands Program

Change management requires learning and adaptation at different levels

• Within individuals• Within organisations • Institutional - societal learning *

• CEPA is a vital tool • IUCN CEC calls this New Learning • * enhance a society’s capacity to govern itself in a sustainable way

Lessons and opportunities to use CEPA to connect to people

Photo IDRC

1. Said not done

• Most governments, organisations and projects state CEPA are important

YET• Moral support or resources limited• Few employ CEPA specialists – except

press, media• Many un-informed CEPA decisions

CBD Communication tools

For Government Communication

• Integral part of policy and service delivery – not an after thought

• Must meet needs of citizens, communities, private sector

• High performing departments have a communication strategy in place

CBD Communication tools

2. Frame the discussion

Reactive communication• “Clean coal isn’t really clean; in fact so called

clean coal plants have yet to prove effective”

What is wrong with this framing?• It states the position wish to displace• Once the audience has identified the story you

are telling them, they stop processing information

• NB don’t repeat the negative frame in your communication Frameworks

Reframe discussion

• “Coal is dirty. Coal burning plants are the single biggest source of industrial air pollution and carbon emissions. It is time we moved to a new generation of energy sources that are clean, safe and renewable.”

• Frameworks

3. Clarity about “what is the issue?”

• Philippines community forest legislation

• First idea – develop community forest management capacity

• Different perceptions community – government

• Solution by multi stakeholder discussion

• NB: Change in organisation’s operations and institutions Photo: IUCN

IDRC

Assumptions: Think all people should support our issues. People have deficit of knowledge - educate them. People look at cost and benefit before changing. (Source: Robinson, 2003, p4)

4. Being too ambitious

5. Jump to media and means of communicating without research

P.S. face to face is most effective

Vietnam

• Unregulated aquaculture enclosures coastal lagoon• Poor mobile fishers unable to make a living• Lagoon environment threatened• Local government officials unable/ unwilling to act• No responsibilityIDRC

Tam Giang Lagoon

Lesson 6 - top down planning with inadequate consultation creates conflict

• Stakeholders* worked on options – still disagreement

• Local government went ahead and forced net enclosure owners to relocate to open up waterways.

• Result: violence between net enclosure owners and fishers

• * Government officials, researchers, net enclosure owners, mobile fishers

IDRC 2006

Vietnam - Next efforts

• New legislation fisheries co-management • Local officials support new approach: participatory action

research with Vietnam universities, Dept Fisheries, and stakeholders find solutions to the impasse

• Demarcate pen zones, navigation space

Photo: Tam Giang Lagoon Project IDRC

7. Learning collaboratively together

• Explore motives for change with people• Doing research with people PAR (rather than for

people). • Natural resource users as collaborative learners• Build adaptive learning skills in the community• Build social capacity for different sectors/ interestsconstructively engage • Build CEPA / advocacy capacity

IDRC - Gonsalves et al. 2005 Woodhill

Photo Grazia Feyabend-Borrini

8. Preparedness to learn and change the way we work – organisational learning &

institutions• IDRC - PAR leads to

different relationship between the researcher and the people

• Leads to changes to the roles, processes, and structure of scientific research organisations

• Innovation in institutions to manage active participation, diversity stakeholders

• (IDRC, Woodhill)

IDRC

9. PAR on professional practice

• Critically reflective practitioners – lifelong learning

• CEPA professional development

• Critical friends

Important professional skill development - education for sustainable development

• Sustainability focus• Futures thinking • Values clarification • Critical thinking • Systemic thinking• Participation in decision making • Partnerships • ARIES Macquarie University A/Prof Daniella Tilbury

http://www.aries.mq.edu.au/portal/index.htm

ARIES change management in organisations

To bring about and embed change in • university • business schools • Industry • local government • ARIES uses EFS principles and Action Research

http://www.aries.mq.edu.au/index.htm

Robinson http://media.socialchange.net.au/people/les/What's_best.pdf

10 Strategic choice of CEPA

CEPA - changing approach

• FROM• Focus on conservation• Focus on science• Focus on media • Telling solutions

• Behaving as experts • Villagers as objects• Planning based on

assumptions

• TO• Wider social system• Focus on people • Focus change strategy• Innovative + collaborative

solutions• Behaving as partners• Villagers as participants• Planning based on motives

of stakeholders

Hesselink 2004

Where to?

Survey IUCN - capacity needs communication BD• Limited resources• Lack of integration in other policies• Lack of knowledge of marketing biodiversity• Lack of examples to get started• Limited communication and networking skills• Limited knowledge about how to

– Impact policy makers– CEPA planning, management and evaluation– Link between biodiversity and human welfare– Empower local communities

Opportunities for this conference?

• Define principles CEPA for learning more concretely

• Identify opportunities for integrating CEPA in humid tropics program

• Identify capacity building needs for CEPA• Formulate recommendations for CEPA

Thank you

• Wendy Goldstein – wgoldstein@gse.mq.edu.au http://www.aries.mq.edu.au/portal/index.htmhttp://www.iucn.org/cec