UNESCO report highlights UCL CAU methods enabling cross-sector climate decision-making

The findings of the report

The report stated that the bespoke workshop processes delivered by the CAU were “considered by pilot teams to be highly valuable for designation planning and collaborative decision making”.  It also identified strong evidence from multiple sources that the UCL CAU work had achieved the following project objectives:

• Develop bespoke processes that support UNESCO sites to utilise their convening power to foster local collaboration on climate action.
• Convene a diverse group of stakeholders, in a structured way, to identify a set of climate action decision-making steps that could be taken in the future.
• Understand how sites can embed collaborative decision-making processes as part of their ongoing work on climate action.

The CAU achieved this by working with each site to identify their specific needs and challenges in fostering collaborative climate action. We then formulated a specific area of work and objective based on those needs and challenges:

• Fforest Fawr – a co-created climate adaptation plan for a site impacted by extreme weather
• North Devon Biosphere – enabling local experts, councillors and planners to collaboratively explore ideas generation for a new local plan
• Hadrian’s wall – cross-sectoral ideas generation for climate action to integrate into the site’s management plan

The CAU then adapted existing CAU processes, and in the case of one site developed a new process, that would achieve these desired outcomes.

The resulting workshops generated ideas for climate action and clarified individual and organisational roles with relevant stakeholders. The CAU then worked with each site to integrate newly generated ideas directly into existing strategies and management plans.

Workshop participants across all sites reported positive feedback, and UNESCO staff commended the relevance of the approach for pushing forward decision-making on climate action with partners and stakeholders. All three pilot sites expressed an interest in continued work with the CAU, and funding has been secured for follow-up work at two sites. 

"The process was a valuable exercise in cross-cutting discussion and decision making, with clear actions that can be taken forward by decision makers." CCUH report

Fforest Fawr Geopark

For the CAU this was a valuable project in understanding how existing processes could be adapted to differing scenarios with site teams providing valuable insights to shape the process. In the case of the North Devon pilot, it was a unique opportunity to learn about a new discipline  - the planning sector – which is particularly suited to collaborative decision-making processes.

"It was fascinating to learn more about the unique role that UNESCO plays in promoting nature restoration and climate action across the UK. Our local site partners provided such a strong foundation for the pilot project, built on their expertise and well-developed connections to local communities, enabling us to deliver in a short-period meaningful engagement and decision-making processes on next steps in climate action at the sites." Annie Risner - CAU Project Lead