ID: 1517
Presenting Author: Achiri Emmanuel Azong
Session: 736 - Braiding Climate Change Adaptation into Cumulative Effects Assessments: Honouring Indigenous Knowledge in Impact Assessment
Status: pending
This session examines community-driven approaches in Cameroon and West-Central Africa to counter misinformation, rebuild trust, and foster participatory environmental governance through transparency.
In many developing contexts, misinformation, political influence, and a lack of inclusive communication in environmental assessment have led to distrust, opposition to development projects, and failed mitigation efforts. This session explores community-driven approaches to counter these challenges through grassroots transparency, participatory environmental governance, and innovative communication strategies.
Focusing on real-world cases from Cameroon and West-Central Africa, panelists will share how community-based organizations like the Watershed Task Group (WTG) are co-developing trust mechanisms with local councils, including visual mapping tools, stakeholder databases, and decentralized communication systems. They will examine how misinformation about clean energy, conservation, and climate impacts is being countered through literacy campaigns, local media partnerships, and transparency in budgeting and monitoring.
The session invites diverse perspectives—from grassroots actors to local government representatives—to share how rebuilding trust requires not only data transparency but also emotional, cultural, and historical understanding. Discussions will highlight lessons applicable globally, including how environmental assessments can foster community ownership in areas affected by poverty, ecosystem degradation, and disinformation.
Achiri Emmanuel Azong is a visionary project developer, researcher, and entrepreneur passionate about sustainable development, finance, and community empowerment, with experience spanning business inc
Coauthor 1: Chi Napoleon