To date, the scientific community has produced an abundance of information regarding the vulnerability of inhabited areas to climate change, along with research and evidence-based papers on possible tools, methods and processes to build resilience. However, this continuously expanding body of knowledge has not been equally accessible to various communities around the globe, and may be neither known nor used by local governments themselves.
What are the barriers to accessing and using the wealth of information and knowledge that has been produced till date on climate-resilience in towns, cities and villages? What are the knowledge challenges that still hinder adaptation actions in human settlements?
Those are the big question the Nairobi Work Programme has sought to answer through a co-event at the Resilient Cities 2017 forum organized by ICLEI. Titled “Catalyzing climate resilient action in human settlements through knowledge”, the co-event that was held on May 4th, 2017 gathered policy makers and knowledge providers from universities, research centers, as well as non-profit organizations.
Through a discussion that aimed at connecting the dots between knowledge and action, participants identified the following key knowledge challenges:
• Accessibility and action-ability of information: Existing information has not been well-translated into formats that are accessible and actionable by stakeholders. For example, information often lacks the financial analysis that could support decision-making processes for policy-makers.
• Inclusion of traditional and indigenous knowledge: Inclusion of local know-how and wisdom is often neglected, but can strengthen a community’s capacity in adapting and responding to climate change.
• Contextualization of information: While knowledge on the resilience of human settlement is growing, stakeholders often struggle in making sense of this information. Contextualizing information based on specific cultural and political context as well as on the socio-economic condition of each target group is important in order to avoid failures to utilize this information.
Additionally, participants also mentioned potential opportunities for innovative and collaborative processes to address knowledge challenges at national- as well as sub-national levels.
For more information regarding the content of discussion, the proceedings of the co-event can be downloaded here.