This assignment establishes a baseline of knowledge, attitudes and practices relating to mangrove conservation, climate resilience and livelihoods in North and East Kalimantan for the NASCLIM programme. It identifies misconceptions, barriers to participation and opportunities for communication and collaborative management. The knowledge assessment covers ecological, social and economic values; coastal protection, carbon and biodiversity; drivers of mangrove loss; nature-based rehabilitation; fisheries and tourism; community rights and responsibilities; institutions, regulations and traditional knowledge; and access to funding and technical support.
The attitude assessment examines trust between communities, government and businesses, shared decision making, transparency and accountability, willingness to support rehabilitation, perceived costs and benefits, and gender and social norms. The practice assessment covers conservation participation, information seeking, community initiatives, conflict resolution, joint planning and monitoring. The study also reviews trusted media and past campaigns, demographic and livelihood characteristics, migration trends, and governance arrangements from national to village level. Findings support practical communication tools, stakeholder recommendations and a baseline for subsequent monitoring and evaluation.
Description of Assignment:
The objective of this consulting assignment is To generate robust and actionable evidence that will inform NASCLIM’s communication and capacity-building strategies related to mangrove rehabilitation and climate resilience. Specifically, this task aims to:
- Menetapkan baseline of community knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) regarding mangroves, climate change, and related livelihood practices.
- Identify gaps, misunderstandings, and trust barriers that hinder effective awareness-raising and behavior change efforts.
- Evaluate communication dynamics, including preferred information channels and influential local messages, to strengthen reach and engagement.
- Provides evidence-based recommendations to guide the design of communication tools, messages, and approaches that are well-tailored to both local communities and government stakeholders.
- Produce a reference baseline against which future awareness-raising and capacity-building efforts under NASCLIM can be measured.
The scope of work for this consulting assignment comprises:
- Knowledge Section.
- Understanding the ecological, social and economic values of mangrove ecosystems, distinguishing between in situ and ex situ functions (coastal protection, carbon sequestration, biodiversity)
- Awareness of the main factors causing mangrove loss and its impacts
- Knowledge of Nature Based Solutions (NbS) and conventional rehabilitation techniques and their schedules
- Knowledge of specific economic benefits (fisheries, tourism, climate resilience) in NASCLIM landscapes
- Understanding the role of the community in ensuring successful rehabilitation
- Understanding of the rights and responsibilities, roles and relationships between communities, the private sector and local government, along with the challenges and constraints faced
- Knowledge of existing policies, regulations and management frameworks
- Compare and contrast traditional/indigenous knowledge and resource management practices with formal technology and governance approaches.
- Knowledge of the legal framework for community participation in resource management
- Practical knowledge of successful collaborative management models elsewhere k. Awareness of available funding mechanisms and technical support
- Attitudes Section:
- Recognition of the value of mutual trust in the joint management of local natural resources
- The level of trust between communities, government agencies, and the private sector
- Perceptions of the usefulness and legitimacy of traditional knowledge versus scientific approaches
- Willingness to share decision-making authority over local natural resources
- Attitudes towards compromise and collaborative problem solving, including who is the mediator or facilitator
- Perceptions of information transparency in current informal and formal management processes
- Attitudes towards the effectiveness of top-down versus participatory approaches
- Attitude towards accountability mechanisms for both parties
- Perception of the importance of mangrove conservation, for whom?
- Willingness to support/participate in protection and rehabilitation efforts
- Level of trust in organizations leading mangrove protection and rehabilitation projects
- Beliefs about cost efficiency versus other coastal protection methods
- Attitudes towards regulatory measures for mangrove protection
- Perceived barriers to mangrove rehabilitation (funding, technical expertise, community support)
- Gender and social norms that may influence local communities’ perceptions of mangrove protection and rehabilitation efforts
- Gender and social norms that may influence collaboration between local communities and government stakeholders in mangrove management
- Identify the most persuasive messages for mangrove rehabilitation communication, by comparing top-down and bottom-up approaches, and how both can operate to increase effectiveness.
- Practices Section:
- Current participation in environmental conservation
- Information seeking behavior related to coastal issues
- Participation in community environmental initiatives
- Support or rejection of previous mangrove-based projects
- Preferred communication channels and formats
- What conflict resolution mechanisms are currently used; what are the alternatives?
- Joint planning and implementation experience
- Monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) practices
- Media Consumption:
- Determine the information channels used by communities regarding mangrove protection and rehabilitation, climate change, and other important information, as well as the sources of information they trust, etc.
- Gaining insight into people’s memories of past and current communication activities, and their relevance to identifying lessons learned to guide future communication activities.
- Demographics: Geographic location; Gender; Education level; Household size; Ethnicity/Mother tongue; Appropriate indicators for economic status and income security; Livelihood/occupation; Migration status (significant changes in trends since the start of large-scale mangrove exploitation; more detail for the last 5 years)
Governance: Identifying barriers and opportunities for collaborative and integrated mangrove management at the national, provincial, district, and village levels in East Kalimantan and North Kalimantan.
