Climate Resilient Biodiverse Cities in Latin America
Box 2: Building Consensus About Biodiversity Values To implement a successful biodiversity action plan, it is necessary to build consensus about biodiversity values across multiple institutions and stakeholders, in other words, seek the cooperation and validity among all participants. In order to gain this cooperation with stakeholders and to place biodiversity on the agenda, a range of communication, education and awareness interventions are needed. This involves networking, and establishing working relationships, defining common goals, influencing decision making processes, negotiating outcomes, strengthening capacities, updating knowledge and ensuring effective implementation. Many stakeholders may have little or no understanding of biodiversity or disregard scientifically prepared plans, policies and existing mechanisms (e.g. for sustainable use, quarantine procedures, EIA procedures, etc.) due to a lack of awareness of their importance and the serious implications of overlooking them as to how they can foster economic development and help alleviate poverty. Achieving consensus will not be easy but can be done by the following considerations: Listen first It may be counter productive to launch into trying to “educate” all the stakeholders. It is more effective to ‘listen’ to these stakeholders and explore opportunities where common ground can be found and provide ways for stakeholders to find motives and reasons to change their policies and practices in a more environmentally friendly way. Often these motives and reasons have little to do with knowledge of biodiversity. Get help from opinion leaders Not all members of a stakeholder group are the same. It is therefore important to identify the opinion leaders in each group to contact them and involve them in planning the means for stakeholder engagement and long-term involvement. Networking and informal communication are effective ways of identifying opinion leaders. This requires face to face contact and establishment of trust. Opinion leaders may not be experts in biodiversity, but their views and beliefs should be treated with the utmost respect.
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