Proceedings of The World Conference on Climate Change and Global Warming
Year: 2021
DOI:
Civic Organizing for Environmental Stewardship: A Program from the Institute for Civic Organizing Piloting in Bristol Bay, Alaska
Hannah Zimmerman, Nora Sweeney, Elliott Zornitsky, Emily Liu
ABSTRACT:
Civic Organizing for Environmental Change is a program of The Institute for Civic Organizing (TICO). TICO functions as a hub for the political process, bringing together different voices and expertises to both assess the social economy of an area, and then design solutions to bring people and public institutions closer together. The purpose of Civic Organizing for Environmental Change is to combine climate efficacy with the political process to guide communities to be conservationist-organizers of their own land. This program takes a three pronged approach: (a) Environmental Stewardship (your knowledge of your land), (b) the political process as is relevant to your environment, and (c) using the political process to support and protect your community’s land. We take a broad definition of “your,” holding that anyone can make an impact in their home. The ultimate goal is to create ecological and political systems in line with what a community not only needs but also will participate in. Using Bristol Bay, Alaska, as a regional case study in civic organizing for environmental stewardship, this presentation will present a methodology for adapting the political process to support conservation efforts in a climate vulnerable area. A methodology that can serve as a blueprint for other communities across the globe to increase environmental efficacy amongst its population.
keywords: Climate Change Adaptation, Climate Change and Health, Climate Change Economics, Climate Change Law & Policy, Effective Adaptation.