Challenge statement
Challenge type: If you are working on multiple challenges, please indicate if this is your "big bet" or "exploratory" challenge.
Please note: we ask you to only submit a maximum of 3 challenges - 1x Big Bet, 2x Exploratory. Each challenge must be submitted individually.
EXPLORATORY
Challenge statement: What is your challenge? (Please answer in specific terms: "Our challenge is that...”.)
By addressing different dimensions of climate action, our challenge entails identifying its enabling conditions and strengthening the abilities of groups and populations to favor their active participation. We also seek to include evidence that reclaims the voice of people and promotes community practices on the national public agenda to contribute to public policy. As part of this challenge, first of all, our goal is to understand the reasons why young people begin to engage publicly in the environmental crisis, what type of strategies or practices they value and/or deploy, and what meaning they assign to the role of activists. This research, which began with a field trip in mid-2023, is complementary to another one led by the CO’s Human Development Department. Its key feature is the implementation of a qualitative methodological strategy at the national level. A second objective is to work with local communities and identify opportunities for building resilience to the consequences of climate change on multiple fronts, in particular, through the recovery and promotion of local knowledge. In 2024, we will develop a portfolio of research and development to add new interventions to the original proposal to learn about the strategies that promote environmental action and the growth of solutions to address this issue.
Background: What is the history of your challenge? What is causing or driving it? Who is involved? How does the current situation look like? What undesired effects does it produce?
Environmental threats, caused by human behavior and actions, produce significant social and environmental strain as well as imbalance. These two factors also exacerbate each other (UNDP, 2020). Today, we are facing an interconnected triple crisis: climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution (UNEP, 2022). Latin America is expected to be one of the regions of the world where the effects and impacts of climate change, such as heat waves, declining crop yields, forest fires, depletion of coral reefs, and extreme sea level events, will be more intense (UN, n.d.).
Currently, climate action understood as citizen participation, mobilization, etc. in community and political life, cannot be conceived without youth activism. Undoubtedly, the appearance of Greta Thunberg in 2018 on the international scene marked the beginning of a global movement, with local expressions around the world. Argentina is no exception and has multiple actions and organizations, some of them with active youth involvement.
Another dimension of climate action is linked to the affected populations, awareness, and the appreciation of local knowledge. In this sense, it is important to work with the populations of riverside areas particularly affected by the impacts of climate change
Quantitative evidence: What (official) data sources do you have on this challenge that better exemplifies the importance and urgency of this frontier challenge? You can add text, a link, or a picture.
Image credit: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Qualitative evidence: What weak signals have you recently spotted that characterizes its urgency? Please provide qualitative information that better exemplifies the importance and urgency of this frontier challenge. You can add text, a link, or a picture.
Broadly speaking, the rise of the global environmental youth movement is characterized by the need to mobilize in the face of the environmental crisis and a sense of shared identity. At the national level, there are new youth organizations (or initially led by young people) dedicated exclusively to this issue, such as Jóvenes por el Clima [Youth for Climate]. In general, the approach to environmental issues, promoted by younger people, has a multidimensional perspective, where the environment is related to Latin American social inequality. In addition, this movement connects the environmental issue with personal experiences and emotions as well as local issues.
In fact, the first results of our qualitative field research show how young adults and adolescents linked their interest in environmental causes to different situations, from moments in their lives where they have felt a connection with nature to their direct experiences of socioeconomic crises. Even though these situations are diverse, they often have a common denominator: It is an experience that helps them understand that they are part of an interconnected whole and that includes nature and human actions.
Despite its relevance, the interviewees also acknowledge that environmental issues are excluded from the national public agenda since other issues always seem to be a priority. Actually, environmental issues tend to be addressed reactively in public discussions. For example, fires, floods, or droughts are mentioned when they occur and their negative impacts are recorded, but there is no evidence of a discussion of medium-term goals. In order to promote the conversation of environmental causes, the youth emphasizes the importance of developing narratives and deploying communication strategies that do not suggest an apocalyptic vision of the crisis to avoid feelings of inaction. The reasoning is simple: If everything is lost and nothing can be changed, the fight against the climate crisis and the possibility of causing transformations or transitions is meaningless. Hence, there is broad agreement that the messages “should be positive” and that the movement must formulate proposals in dialogue and collaboration with other stakeholders.
Moreover, young people believe it is strategic to adopt a socio-environmental perspective in which environmental issues are related to development through social inclusion. They often argue that the climate crisis and social inequality are closely related, given that the most affected people are, at the same time, living in vulnerable situations. To do this, they recognize the need to collaborate with social movements and the people most exposed to the risks of environmental impacts. For the movement to grow, we need to support intersectoral dialogues where the development model of the country is discussed. This process implies, in turn, establishing mutual trust among different stakeholders.
For young people, activism is much more than their public commitment to environmental issues. Advocating for this cause has an impact on their personal lives in different ways, such as the adoption of new habits, the shaping of their social relationships, or the way they are perceived. In other words, being activists is a fundamental identity factor to recognize themselves as part of a movement with a significant mission: To draw attention to the magnitude and speed of the environmental crisis and the need to channel collective action into this goal and contribute to caring for the planet and all its biodiversity, focusing on both the present and the future that we will leave for the generations to come.
Additionally, there is evidence supporting the work with local communities on climate actions (UNESCO, 2023; Restrepo-Mieth, Garnick, & Weisberg, 2023). The involvement of local populations in climate actions is an essential strategy in the fight against climate change. Local communities have a unique knowledge of their environment, crucial to understanding the specific impacts of climate change. This knowledge, accumulated over generations, has enabled indigenous and local peoples to thrive and adapt to extreme weather variations and the progressive effects of climate change.
The active participation of these communities is fundamental in the design of responses to climate change. Being the most affected and, at the same time, agents of adaptation, their participation in decision-making is crucial. This process of “deep engagement” ensures that decisions made reflect local needs and knowledge.
Integrating this local knowledge with existing practices increases the effectiveness of climate change adaptation strategies. Through this integration, it is possible to develop solutions tailored to the specific needs of each community, resulting in a more efficient and sustainable response.
In addition, community participation strengthens the knowledge sharing of different climate events between local governments or different state agencies and communities. This exchange can foster pro-environmental attitudes and the dissemination of ecological and scientific knowledge. Moreover, as our work in citizen science has shown, community participation can be key to gathering accurate climate data and coordinating actions promoting environmental governance. The design of different interventions, based on the recovery of local knowledge and community interaction, can facilitate their adoption. Community members recognize ideas and integrate them with principles of climate justice when the ideas emerged from these communities. On the contrary, when actions or policies are perceived as imposed from the outside they can be regarded as illegitimate and be rejected.
Community participation also fosters resilience. Communities must have real opportunities to set priorities, make decisions, and be part of the implementation and monitoring stages of planning and policy-making cycles. In addition, innovative models, such as collaborative visualizations and the promotion of local art, are resources governments can use to encourage communities to build climate resilience together.
Raising awareness and education are key elements in the path toward climate change adaptation and mitigation. According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, education, training, public awareness, public participation, and public access to information are essential in this process.
Finally, integrating traditional practices into community participatory action can significantly strengthen citizen involvement in climate change mitigation and adaptation. This approach helps include public knowledge in the implementation of government-led initiatives. Moreover, it acknowledges that communities can benefit from greater access to technical knowledge, while governments can benefit from contextual knowledge.
In short, these practices illustrate the critical importance of working with local communities on climate action, ensuring the effectiveness of the measures taken and justice and equity in the process.
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/global-sustainability/article/communitybased-participatory-climate-action/8EAC9C7F3FC0EF97BEA3572E5D1B868B
https://www.unesco.org/en/climate-change/links
Value proposition: What added value or unique value proposition is your Accelerator Lab bringing to solving this challenge? Why is it your Lab that needs to work on this challenge and not other actors within UNDP, other stakeholders in the country respectively? Why is it worth investing resources to this challenge?
Thanks to its unique ability to integrate innovation and specialized knowledge, the Argentina Accelerator Lab stands out in the field of climate action and when it comes to collaboration with local communities and youth. Our deep understanding of the dynamics between climate change and local communities and other groups, such as young people in urban environments, helps us develop solutions specifically tailored to local needs and contexts. This approach helps develop climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies that are not only innovative but also culturally relevant and effective.
A key feature of our Lab is that we prioritize meaningful community participation. By understanding the value of local knowledge, we promote active community participation throughout every stage of the process. This deep involvement ensures that the solutions developed not only effectively address climate challenges, but also reflect and respect the traditional practices and knowledge of communities. In addition, our ability to combine innovative technologies with these traditional practices creates an original hybrid approach, fundamental for the long-term success of climate initiatives.
We can also provide a unique perspective to research on youth environmental activism because we will go beyond personal stories or descriptive studies on the phenomenon. We intend to share valuable findings to design interventions capable of mobilizing collective action or making them more effective.
Finally, our ability to experiment, adapt solutions quickly, and develop replicable and scalable models can achieve a broader and longer-lasting impact in the fight against climate change
Short “tweet” summary: We would like to tweet what you are working on, can you summarize your challenge in a maximum of 280 characters?
Competent young people and communities on the move: Environmental action in the face of an unprecedented crisis. #CoLab of @PNUDArgentina studies local knowledge and life stories and maps collective practices as inputs for public policy #AcceleratorLabs
Partners
Who are your top 5 partners for this challenge? Please submit from MOST to LEAST important and state Name, Sector and a brief description of the (intended) collaboration.
Please state the name of the partner:
MUNICIPALITY OF CONCEPCIÓN
What sector does our partner belong to?
Government (&related)
Please provide a brief description of the collaboration.
The municipality of Concepción, province of Entre Ríos, Argentina, hosted the first workshop on native flora. It is worth mentioning that the Lab brought Concepción as a partner in the first place.
Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?
Yes
Who are your top 5 partners for this challenge? Please submit from MOST to LEAST important and state Name, Sector and a brief description of the (intended) collaboration.
Please state the name of the partner:
PROYECTO BINACIONAL ACCIÓN CLIMÁTICA RÍO URUGUAY [RÍO URUGUAY BINATIONAL PROJECT ON CLIMATE ACTION]
What sector does our partner belong to?
United Nations
Please provide a brief description of the collaboration.
This binational project includes a 4-year action plan. “It intends to develop tools and exchange experiences of planning and management in both countries (Argentina & Uruguay) to contribute to vulnerability reduction and integral risk management, by adopting a climate change adaptation approach and a gender, generation, and human rights-based perspective”. This is how we will approach local communities, and it will also contribute to scaling up actions or plans that arise from these actions. The Binational Project got involved in the first workshop on native flora.
Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?
Yes
Who are your top 5 partners for this challenge? Please submit from MOST to LEAST important and state Name, Sector and a brief description of the (intended) collaboration.
Please state the name of the partner:
ECOHOUSE
What sector does our partner belong to?
Civil Society
Please provide a brief description of the collaboration.
They collaborate with field trips. Thanks to their intervention, we were able to get in touch with new young climate activists. Moreover, in light of the relationship built in this learning cycle, we introduced them to the project leaders of the Renewable Energy Solutions Mapping, and they have already established partnerships with other environmental organizations who were unfamiliar with each other’s work. EcoHouse and the Lab are also considering the possibility of replicating the citizen science experience in the schools of another city
Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?
No
Learning questions
Learning question: What is your learning question for this challenge? What do you need to know or understand to work on your challenge statement?
Our first learning question to address this challenge focuses on understanding how we can improve the effectiveness of climate action strategies by meaningfully engaging young people and local communities. Specifically, we seek to respond to these questions: How can innovative methodologies and traditional practices of local communities be more effectively combined to develop sustainable and culturally relevant solutions to climate change?
To work efficiently on our challenge, we need to cover several aspects in depth. First, it is essential to identify and understand the local communities’ traditional practices and specific knowledge about the environment and climate change. This knowledge is vital to developing approaches that are not only technically sound but also accepted and sustained by communities.
In addition, we need to thoroughly explore how innovative technologies and approaches can be integrated with these traditional practices. This involves researching and testing several models of collaboration and co-creation with communities, ensuring that the proposed solutions achieve a true integration between innovation and local wisdom.
Finally, we need to understand the most effective mechanisms to foster deep and meaningful community involvement throughout every stage of the process, from problem identification to solution implementation and evaluation.
As regards young people, we will host a Zoom meeting and address the following: What are the reasons why young people start to publicly commit to climate action? Why? What kind of strategies or practices do they value and/or deploy? What meaning do they assign to being activists?
To answer these questions, we need to gain a better understanding of their perspectives with a life story approach to explain what drives climate action and what works and provide inputs to public policy with a bottom-up strategy
To what stage(s) in the learning cycle does your learning question relate?
Sense, Explore
Usage of methods: Relating to your choice above, how will you use your methods & tools for this learning question? What value do these add in answering your learning question?
Initially, we are working with several qualitative and participatory research methods to promote collective intelligence.
The data collection instrument for the work on youth stories is semi-structured interviews with a life story approach. However, in 2024, other methods and tools with an R&D strategy will surely be deployed.
While stories of young people are often shared, we see an opportunity to highlight those issues that encourage people to move from interest and/or concern to action. Furthermore, environmental movements are often not analyzed in terms of the practices and strategies they deploy. We understand that some of them are potential solutions and that we have the opportunity to produce evidence for policymaking.
In addition, our work with local communities is mainly participatory and experiential where the use of assistance tools promotes collective intelligence. For example, last Saturday, November 25, together with the Río Uruguay Bionational Project and the municipality of Concepción del Uruguay, province of Entre Ríos, we organized the "Nativo: Flora de Concepcion” [Native flora of Concepción] workshop, bringing together diverse groups to raise awareness and share knowledge about the native flora of the region. Throughout that day, we explored the native plants of Concepción del Uruguay, learning to identify them, understanding their benefits, and acknowledging their crucial role in the sustainability of our ecosystem. The event involved the exchange of knowledge among various groups, including civil society organizations, kayakers, park rangers, lifeguards, nursery workers, universities, and the National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA, by its Spanish acronym). In this practical activity, participants actively engaged and shared their perspectives through collective intelligence, proposing new action plans.
Existing data gaps: Relating to your choice above, what existing gaps in data or information do these new sources of data addressing? What value do these add in answering your learning question?
Our research seeks to reconstruct the patterns present in the lives of young climate activists and the types of effective collective practices, given that we know there is a knowledge gap in that sense. Although there is existing research on the several causes influencing the behavior of climate activists –such as feelings (insecurity, responsibility, guilt, uncertainty, etc.), the need to identify with collective action, discussions on social media, or previous experiences of political activism–, we know our Lab can contribute to understanding collective action aimed at influencing public policy, by identifying solutions and promoting them with public partners. We seek to enrich the conversation by answering the following questions: How can we encourage collective action? What are the main factors affecting youth involvement in public spaces? What are the best practices and more effective strategies for environmental action?
As part of our climate action initiative and in collaboration with local communities, we identified several significant gaps in existing data. First, there is a lack of detailed and systematic information on traditional environmental knowledge and adaptation practices of local communities. This limitation of data constrains our ability to understand how communities have historically interacted with their environment and responded to climate change. This data collection andanalysis is crucial to developing culturally relevant and effective climate action strategies and combining them respectfully with local practices.
Moreover, there is a significant lack of information on attitudes, perceptions, and levels of local community involvement in existing climate initiatives. This data is imperative for developing effective engagement strategies and ensuring that interventions are sustainably accepted and employed by communities. Without a clear understanding of these dynamics, climate action initiatives may fail to encourage local involvement and the commitment necessary for their long-term success.
Finally, a critical gap is the limited understanding of how traditional knowledge and practices can be effectively integrated with modern technologies and approaches. By collecting data on successful experiences and challenges of this integration, we can learn how to better facilitate this synergy in future initiatives. This new data is crucial to answering our learning question and creating culturally relevant as well as technically sound approaches. This, in turn, will improve the effectiveness and sustainability of our climate actions in the Argentina Accelerator Lab.
Closing
Early leads to grow: Think about the possible grow phase for this challenge - who might benefit from your work on this challenge or who might be the champions in your country that you should inform or collaborate with early on to help you grow this challenge?
Climate action is a strategic focus of UNDP at the global level, and the CO is also working hard on this issue. Hence, the AccLab’s contributions may be helpful to view other types of evidence, based on the experiences of people and groups in the territories, as part of the work already conducted by the CO. On this research journey, next year, we will seek to forge alliances with public bodies working either on climate change (in particular) or the environmental crisis (in general), as well as on youth. Based on that decision, the idea is to deploy an R&D strategy promoting initiatives with potential for growth in different aspects, such as how to develop messages that encourage climate action (interviewees emphasize the construction of positive messages), among other issues.
In the development phase of our challenge regarding climate action and collaboration with local communities in Argentina, key recipients and leaders mainly include local communities vulnerable to climate change. Not only will these communities benefit directly from solutions tailored to their specific needs, but they can also become advocates and role models in implementing sustainable practices. In addition, our collaboration with the Binational Project, which has an action plan and resources, can help us scale up the solutions suggested in the different activities. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society groups actively participating in climate change and community development will also be key
partners, and many of them have already taken part in the workshop we hosted.
These organizations can provide valuable insights, support the implementation
of projects, and help spread the results and lessons learned, ensuring that our
initiatives are well aligned with local needs and realities
END OF ACTION LEARNING PLAN: Thank you! The form saves automatically and your submission has been recorded. You may now exit this window.
1No poverty
11Sustainable cities and communities
13Climate action
Comments
Log in to add a comment or reply.