Meeting the Challenge Together: Lessons from a Decade of Community-Led Science for Climate Resilience

Community-led solutions are a vital part of the toolkit for climate change resilience and disaster risk mitigation. Since 2013, AGU Thriving Earth Exchange has empowered communities to co-create impactful projects that use science to address their pressing environmental challenges. Thriving Earth Exchange has launched nearly 400 projects in 17 countries and trained 2,000 people in community engaged science.

When scientific approaches are community-led, they are grounded in that community's values and socio-ecological systems. Questions, methods, and outputs are tailored to meet not only the local community's needs but also their ethical and cultural frameworks. Results can therefore have deep and lasting impacts. However, this process can be slower and more iterative than many scientists, funders and institutions expect. Bespoke and personalized approaches also create challenges for scaling. Additionally, it requires scientists to give up a certain amount of control and power. If a community determines they do not want to pursue a particular pathway or approach, researchers must be ready to accept that adjustment.

This talk will share case studies, lessons learned and findings from recent Thriving Earth Exchange projects in the United States of America and Latin America.  A brief history of how Thriving Earth Exchange has approached and adapted their framework will provide insights into ways that institutions can balance scaling with high-touch personalized approaches. Case studies will include projects with Indigenous communities on traditional ecological knowledge, nature-based solutions to climate and disaster management, and approaches that invest in local livelihoods. Analysis of Thriving Earth Exchange's portfolio alongside qualitative and contextualized examples will highlight patterns, tensions, tradeoffs, and potential paths forward.