Building Shared Understanding and Capacity for Action: Insights on Climate Risk Communication from India, Ghana, Malawi, and Mongolia

Jon Padgham, Tahia Devisscher, Togtokh Chuluun, Lucy Mtilatila, Ethel Kaimila, Indira Mansingh, Francis Agyemang-Yeboah, Francis K. Obeng

Abstract


The lack of effective communication about climate risk has contributed to improper interpretation of scientific findings pertaining to climate change and to poor mobilization of vulnerable groups for developing appropriate response actions. This article describes communication efforts undertaken in Ghana, India, Malawi, and Mongolia to develop and implement climate risk communication strategies that emphasize collective knowledge generation between researchers and stakeholders. The studies underscored the critical importance of presenting complex information in locally relevant terms to facilitate shared understanding of climate risk issues and that knowledge co-generation and social learning between researchers and communities are key to developing context-appropriate risk communication approaches.

Full Text:

PDF