OMINI ODEN & ELIZABETH ESSIEN

Four traditional means : 1. Town Crier 2. Religious Meetings 3. Notice Board 4. Community Engagement

The town crier deploys: 1. A bell 2. Whistle 3. Wooden/metal gong To draw attention before passing on any message. N/B: None of the communities appoints a woman as a town crier. The community town crier is appointed among the men

The meetings of Churches and other faith based groups in the communities are veritable channels utilized in communication at the community level. Members of the community hold the leaders of these groups in high esteem as they are very convincing

 Notice boards are positioned at strategic locations with relevant information for community members  A notice board at Iko Esai located at the village square

A COMMUNITY CONSERVATION EDUCATION NOTICE BOARD AT IKO ESAI VILLAGE SQUARE

1. Town Council Meeting - A gathering of the village Chiefs, Elders and Women and Youth Leaders Characterized By: Regular meetings to discuss matters concerning the day to day running of the community. Then the Chiefs and Elders who come from various families or lineages which constitute the community will later hold meetings to further spread the message. 2. Town Hall Meeting A meeting of the entire community  (Chiefs  Elders,  Women,  Youths,  Stranger Elements  Interests groups etc. It usually takes place at a central meeting point (Village Square or a Hall). Salient matters are deliberated during such convergence.

3. Youth Sessions A session of a very active and indispensable segment of the community COMPRISING: Young men & Young Women 4. Women Groups In the communities, there are various women groups which project and represent various interests. They are usually a very strong reach out group. 5. Age Grade - This is a group of people who fall within the same age bracket. They meet regularly mostly at weekends. The age grade is a strong communication channel.

Trusted figures refer to persons with integrity and character such as Elders, Chiefs, Social Clubs and Legislators at the local level. They can be best engaged in the PGA process by adopting either one or three of the following levels of participation: 1. INTERACTIVE PARTICIPATION 2. FUNCTIONAL PARTICIPATION 3. SELF MOBILIZATION

 This approach allows the people to participate in:  Joint analysis,  Development of action plans  Formation or strengthening of local institutions.  This process will entail formalization of decision making structures such as management councils comprising local stakeholders that could meet on regular basis.  Local people in this model take control over local decisions and determine how local resources are used.

This approach may be interactive and involve shared decision making but tends to arise only after major decisions have been made by external agents. *Local people may only be co-opted to serve external agents goals. *It involves ensuring that key trusted figures are made to believe that there is a consensus in key decisions reached which stems from collaborative interaction. *For example, field studies observation reveal that the three pilot communities embraced and accepted the entire objectives of the REDD+ programme and central figures all participated in putting forward recommendations that can aid to promote the achievement of the REDD+ programme.

Local people participate by taking initiatives independently of external institutions to change systems. Involves the development of contacts with external institutions and there is primary transfer of authority and responsibility for the resources. The ability of the three pilot communities to self mobilize during our field work towards the sustainable conservation of forests resources was evident as they promptly responded to mobilizing community members to attend and actively participate in the interview sessions within the communities

Stages in the PGA process Element First PGA Workshop General awareness-raising about REDD+ / PGA Local consultations to provide feedback on first draft of methodology Data collection Verifying PGA data (quality control) Discussing PGA results & finding solutions What message(s) need to be communicated? -Preliminary PGA exercise has been completed, and there are findings to share with stakeholders -REDD+ has potential benefits and losses, but the benefits outweigh the losses -The primary objective of REDD+ is provision of financing mechanism -We will be seeking feedback from stakeholders through experience sharing on the REDD+ process -We need to gather more data on governance towards implementing REDD+ -Stakeholders input is needed to verify the PGA data collected -This verification is important in ensuring quality of the data collected from the field -We need to review findings from the PGA preliminary exercise and also brainstorm on solutions to governance issues identified Who should communicate this message? -PGA Coordinator -REDD+ Project Team -PGA Research Team -PGA Coordinator Who is the target audience (s) of this message(s)? -Representative of Governments and Relevant MDA’s -Local Communities -CSO’s -All Stakeholders -The General Public and all stakeholders -Local Communities, CSOs, Multi- stakeholders, private sector companies -REDD+ Technical Team -REDD+ Project Team -Academia (Climate Change Working Group) -CSO representatives -Community Stakeholders and interviewed respondents -Representative of Government and Relevant MDA’s -Local Communities -CSO’s -All Stakeholders What is the best means of communicating this message? (i.e. through what channel) -Research briefs -Invitation letters and -Leaflets, short takes(jingles), radio/TV announcements, panel discussion, flyers, billboards, social media(Facebook news feed) - communication -Presentation during workshop with plenary -Letters to communities -Information disseminated through Forests Officers -Workshop presentation and plenary - communication seeking inputs -Invitation letter and -Workshop presentation and plenary