Three citizens assemblies held across the Maldives to respond to climate change.
Problems and Purpose
As part of developing a National Manifesto on the Environment and Climate Action, three climate assemblies were held across the Maldives in Addu, Malé and Haa Alif Atoll. It was hoped these assemblies will also assist in developing Environmental Citizenship. [1]
Background History and Context
These climate assemblies are part of a broader goal by Ecocare Maldives to enhance "Environmental Citizenship". [2]
Environmental Citizenship is a concept promoted by Dobson and Bell (2006) that stresses the importance of caring for the environment because humans are a part and dependent on it. [3]
Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities
The citizens' assemblies were funded and delivered by ECOCARE and the National Democratic Institute.
Participant Recruitment and Selection
Participants were recruited through open calls for participation.
It was planned to have 50 participants in each of the climate assemblies. 37 participated in the Addu assembly, but it is unclear how many participated in the other two.
Methods and Tools Used
What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation
Each of the citizens' assemblies went for three days and included expert presentations, plenary sessions and small group discussions. The dates for the citizens assemblies were 26-28 February 2023 (Addu), 17-19 June 2023 (Malé) and 11-14 November 2023 (Haa Alif Atoll). 37 people participated in the Addu assembly, but the number of participants for the other two assemblies have not been published. The Addu assembly was structured in the following way: Day 1 involved expert presentations and citizens could choose which experts they wanted to engage with based on their topic preference. Day 2 involved deliberation from the discussions the previous day and initial drafting of recommendations. Day 3 involved voting for the recommendations and 53 recommendations were ranked and passed onto organisers. [4] Information about the other two assemblies is unavailable, but it is likely that they followed a similar approach.
A key focus of the assemblies were for participants to share their experiences and perspectives for deliberation to produce recommendations.
An advisory body of key stakeholders from the community, businesses, government and other relevant experts guided the process. They met once a month during 2023 and helped to gather data and provide feedback to support the project and disseminating the outcomes. [5]
Influence, Outcomes, and Effects
Planned outcomes involved each of the climate assemblies producing recommendations that would feed into further participatory processes to produce a National Citizens' Manifesto on Environment and Climate Actions. This would also encourage policy makers to further engage with communities to hear about issues important to them and respond more appropriately. [6]
The climate assemblies were heavily promoted and communicated about on the project's X (Twitter) page, with frequent posts and photos about what the assemblies were doing and discussing.
Analysis and Lessons Learned
See Also
Project website: https://www.climateassembly.mv/home#:~:text=The%20project%20aims%20to%20establish,the%20implications%20of%20Climate%20Change
References
[1] Ecocare (n.d.) Climate Assembly in the Maldives [website]. Accessed at: https://www.climateassembly.mv/theproject
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ecocare (n.d.) The Project. Accessed at: https://www.climateassembly.mv/theproject
[4] Ecocare (n.d.) Southern Maldives. Accessed at: https://www.climateassembly.mv/projects/southern-maldives
[5] Ecocare (n.d.) Climate Assembly in the Maldives [website]. Accessed at: https://www.climateassembly.mv/theproject
[6] Ecocare (n.d.) The Project. Accessed at: https://www.climateassembly.mv/theproject