Carri Hulet Senior Mediator Consensus Building Institute - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Quarterly Climate Adaptation Forum | March 1, 2019

Sustainable Solutions Lab

Climigration from the Ground Up: Helping Communities Determine their Own Future

Carri Hulet

Senior Mediator Consensus Building Institute Climigration Network

Climigration from the Ground Up

Helping communities determine their

• wn futures

Photo credit: Forsaken Fotos, City Dock King Tide (cropped), CC BY 2.0

Carri Hulet, Senior Mediator Consensus Building Institute chulet@cbi.org 617-844-1114

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My Assumptions

• 1. Question we are tackling: How do you know if managed

retreat is the best option for a community? Where is it right? And when?

• 2. My job: Talk about how to bring people into that conversation.

Photo credit: Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Deering Community, CCBY2.0 (modified)

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Presentation Overview

• 1. Two-minute thought exercise
• 2. Advice for engaging communities on this topic
• 3. Examples of community-led managed retreat efforts

Photo credit: Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Deering Community, CCBY2.0 (modified)

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Imagine you are a coastal homeowner…

1. Modest home previously owned by a relative, low mortgage payment. 2. Two children in the middle school, which is walking distance from your home. One child with special needs. 3. Friends and close relatives live nearby. 4. Commute to work is 30 minutes each way (driving). 5. Flooded five times in the last three years. 6. Three houses on your street are for sale.

Photo credit: Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Deering_Community, CCBY2.0 (modified)

Thought Exercise

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When you think about moving…

• 1. What are you worried about?
• 2. What resources or information

do you want?

Photo credit: Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Deering_Community, CCBY2.0 (modified)

Thought Exercise

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Change your paradigm: Don’t “engage” the community. Follow their lead.

• 1. Private Property (!)
• 2. Not about why managed retreat makes sense for someone

else.

• 3. You can’t know what would make someone want to move

unless you ask them.

Photo credit: Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Deering_Community, CCBY2.0 (modified)

Advice

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Why the paradigm shift is important

Advice

1. Better plan 2. Address questions of equity 3. Buy-in and political support 4. Build trust that you will need for next steps

Photo credit: Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Deering_Community, CCBY2.0 (modified)

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Neighbor to Neighbor Surveys in Marginalized Communities in FL, TX, NY, LA, VA, CT Flood Forum, USA

Examples

Model: Leaders from Flood Forum, USA designed and administered a questionnaire to their neighbors. Unique circumstances: Marginalized communities with no formal adaptation planning to date. Goal: Establish a baseline for education and engagement so Flood Forum community leaders know where to start. Build trust among neighbors.

Photo credit: "Shishmaref- Erin (53) edit" , Bering Land Bridge National Preserve , CC BY 2.0

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Applied Theater in New Hampshire PowerPlay Interactive Development

Examples

Model: Applied Theater (research-based characters and scenarios designed to engage the audience in critical thinking and discussion). Unique circumstances: Deployable in various communities – not tied to a specific place. Goal: Use the research-based monologues to catalyze tough conversations.

Photo credit: "Shishmaref- Erin (53) edit" , Bering Land Bridge National Preserve , CC BY 2.0

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Neighborhood Conversations in Piermont, New York Consensus Building Institute

Examples

Model: Neighborhood conversations led by local liaisons Unique circumstances: Very informed community. History

• f engaging on adaptation planning.

Goal: Empower residents to design neighborhood-scale action plans for retreat.

Photo credit: "Shishmaref- Erin (53) edit" , Bering Land Bridge National Preserve , CC BY 2.0

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Stakeholder-led Managed Retreat Planning Seabrook-Hamptons Estuary Alliance

Examples

Model: Consensus-based, stakeholder-led planning effort to determine when and where to plan for managed retreat in Hampton, NH. Unique circumstances: Significant support from local municipal leaders. Goal: Produce a municipal managed retreat plan that is fully supported by representative stakeholders.

Photo credit: "Shishmaref- Erin (53) edit" , Bering Land Bridge National Preserve , CC BY 2.0

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Relocation Guide for Alaska Native Communities Alaska Institute for Justice

Examples Model: Knowledge-sharing among Alaska Native communities. Unique circumstances: People who have relocated are working on a guide to share what they learned with other communities. Goal: Provide guidance on relocation efforts that prioritize the community members’ human rights.

Photo credit: "Shishmaref- Erin (53) edit" , Bering Land Bridge National Preserve , CC BY 2.0

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Connecting Sending and Receiving Communities in Louisiana The Lowlander Center

Examples

Model: Facilitated dialogue workshops with community members from lowland (sending) and upland (receiving) communities in LA. Unique circumstances: Federal funding for complete retreat from Isle de Jean Charles. Goal: Identify the issues that both communities are worried about as they undergo this transformation.

Photo credit: "Shishmaref- Erin (53) edit" , Bering Land Bridge National Preserve , CC BY 2.0

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Summary Advice and Cautions

Examples

• Embrace empathy and courtesy. No surprise solutions.
• Establish and hold to values of equity and transparency.
• Joint challenge: Treat managed retreat as a possibility everyone needs to

explore together.

• Design to the needs. Let the data/info gathering approach be shaped by

stakeholder questions and ideas.

• Dedicate adequate resources to partnership with the community. Get

professional, neutral assistance if you can.

Photo credit: "Shishmaref- Erin (53) edit" , Bering Land Bridge National Preserve , CC BY 2.0

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