Communicating Carbon

Describes experiences of: ICRAF, CCAFSCommunicating Carbon is a workshop approach which brought together carbon project practitioners who are already working closely with farmers to discuss how to better communicate the concept, risks, and benefits of carbon initiatives aimed at smallholders – based around the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC). These practitioners act as “brokers” between carbon buyers and farmers who may have the means to plant more trees or sequester more carbon in the soil to help offset emissions. Developing better communication tools and approaches is a way to ensure FPIC in carbon projects. Institution: World Agroforestry Centre, CCAFS (led) The World Agroforestry Centre works towards more productive, diversified, integrated and intensified trees and agroforestry systems that provide livelihood and environmental benefits. Climate communication aims: The communication aims of workshop were to pool knowledge of practitioners on communication approaches to carbon sequestration and to promote social learning between practitioners so as they can improve their communication and learning approaches with farmers. Communications/social learning characteristics: The workshop was an interactive discussion of best approaches to improving communication on the concept and issues around carbon initiatives aimed at smallholders. The process focused on the principle of FPIC of the smallholders and exchanged ideas, tools, and approaches on how to raise awareness of smallholders on sequestration and carbon credit schemes. The workshop approach demonstrates an element of social learning by refining tools and approaches collectively and developing a toolkit as a shared output. The resulting policy brief/toolkit, although widely shared through the CCAFS website, has not yet provided the basis for repeat discussion and feedback that would lead to a more truly representative looped learning model i.e. have practitioners continued to learn together on the effectiveness of what is laid out in the workshop toolkit after the workshop testing out with communities what has worked best in a particular context. In a repeat exercise could communities be involved in agenda setting for these higher level processes? At this stage it looks like the workshop is a one off rather than a systematic approach to improving communication on this topic but there is interesting potential for this to change if there is further interest within CGIAR and elsewhere. Audience: The direct audience at the workshop was mainly practitioners interested in better communicating issues of carbon sequestration and carbon offset initiatives more effectively with smallholders. Getting research into use (how this case study does or does not contribute to that): This is more about getting communication tools and approaches discussed and their effectiveness analysed. The second logical stage would be to take this toolkit and work with communities to better understand if it is the right approach. Evolution of the project (how has the project evolved or developed if known): All participants have been working in East Africa, and are good contacts of CCAFS. There are lots of projects coming up that focus on carbon markets (particularly in Kenya) and not much has been done on communicating carbon markets at grass roots level – hence CCAFS saw an opportunity for a workshop to foster learning on communicating carbon markets. Developing a successful looped learning model using more of this methodology could be something that CCAFS can facilitate