Our Community Engagement Approach

Carbon project delivery is inherently complex and we often find there is an asymmetry of information between project developers and those being asked to provide access to their land or communities. In these relationships the carbon project and market expertise often sits in the hands of the developers, meaning that participants may be unknowingly agreeing to terms that benefit the service provider but result in perverse outcomes for communities and landowners.

We believe it is critical therefore that prospective project participants are given enough information so they can make informed decisions on how they wish to participate. The basic foundation of our work is that we are here to support individuals, families and communities – and create long-term sustainable development impacts. In taking this approach, we work under six guiding principles:

• Shared vision & values: Our goals and values must be aligned with those of communities and landowners.
• Mutuality & respect: We must build and maintain trusted, supportive and respectful relationships with communities and landholders.
• Transparent communication: We must communicate clearly and honestly, in a manner that is culturally and linguistically appropriate.
• Shared decision-making: We must support community autonomy, and involve them equally in all aspects of planning, decision-making and implementation.
• Beneficial impact & action: We must go beyond a ‘do no harm’ approach, and make sure our projects create measurable sustainable benefits and impacts for communities and landholders.
• Commitment: We must commit to long-term relationships and projects – not quick fixes.

Although only providing coverage for Australian-based projects, WeAct uses the Australian Carbon Industry Code of Conduct (ACI Code) as a tool to guide implementation of best practice community engagement standards across our international project portfolio.

Our foundational principles will continue to evolve over time, ensuring that we continue to reflect best practice engagement with First Nations and local communities.

“for us, community engagement is an active process that requires continuous reflection review and improvement.”

– Vivek Dugar, Director

After more than a decade of building sustainable carbon projects around the world, we know intimately that early and meaningful engagement with communities result in strong projects that stand the tests of time and integrity. For us, early and meaningful engagement is about taking the time to truly understand a community, including its culture, history, challenges, needs and visions for the future. Only when we understand the point of view of prospective partners can we really build a trusting and mutually beneficial relationship that drives beneficial change beyond the life of the project.

Our experience is that it can take two to three years to establish that relationship and truly come to an understanding of how to move forward together in a way that is respectful and mutually beneficial. It’s not about just building relationships with community leaders – we have to be present on the ground and getting to know all of our stakeholders from the leadership through to local landowners and their families.

Before and during each project, we endeavour to:

• communicate with communities in a culturally and linguistically appropriate, and timely manner;
• undertake regular engagement that is led and defined by community expectations and timeframes;
• be clear and realistic in what we commit to deliver; and
• Respect and integrate local knowledge and expertise into planning and implementation.

This approach enables us to work closely with local stakeholders to openly share knowledge and build capacity in a way that supports informed local decision-making, reaffirms community rights & responsibilities and provides deeper understanding about project benefits.

Ongoing communication and information sharing is critical throughout the life of the project, as positive and trusted relationships are required for us to assist stakeholders participate in the project over a long period.

Community engagement is tied closely to WeAct’s FPIC processes, and early engagement involves climate and carbon market information sharing, general and technical feasibility and then negotiations through to formal agreement and project implementation. Although each project development instance is unique, our community engagement cycle is generally implemented in the following phases:

PHASE 1: Early Pre-Feasibility Engagement

We introduce WeAct to communities and landholders, and result in understanding of cultural and community circumstances, and permission given to enter communities for further discussions. These discussions cover climate change, carbon markets, and general carbon project information.

PHASE 2: Feasibility Engagement

We seek broad consent from communities and landholders to engage in technical scoping of the project opportunity under discussion. This will often include signing of a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the community and WeAct, that provides some clarity and boundaries around how and when initial pre-project feasibility work will be undertaken. Once in place, WeAct and the community will undertake technical feasibility work together, and better define the scientific, financial and other elements of the project opportunity.

PHASE 3: Formal Community Consultation

With the technical feasibility work done, we can now more formally engage with the community to determine how the project could be implemented in a way that best supports local lives and livelihoods and creates positive impacts for the community as a whole. These discussions will take place with WeAct, and independently within the community, and will cover a range of topics including implementation activities, roles and responsibilities, operational risks, and benefit sharing.

This phase of engagement also includes broader public consultation involving a wide range of additional stakeholders, including those outside of the direct community participants, often including local and sub-national government representatives, faith and community leaders, and other interested parties. An open public notice printed in local newspapers invites any and all stakeholders to attend a public meeting to provide feedback on the proposed project, which helps to build general support for the activity and reduces the risk of perverse outcomes arising from the project.

PHASE 4: Formal FPIC Negotiations

Once the community is equipped with a deep understanding of the risks and opportunities associated with the project presented to them, WeAct moves into more formal negotiations, with the intent of establishing a formal agreement that sets out(but is not limited to):

• benefits sharing arrangements;
• ownership of carbon rights;
• access to communities and/or land; and
• legal requirements for ongoing project engagement.

WeAct advises project partners to seek independent legal and financial advice so that agreements protect the best interests of communities, their rights and their assets. Agreements proposed also take into account any jurisdictional requirements (e.g. Papua New Guinea’s National REDD+ Development Guidelines which set out minimum national standards for community engagement, FPIC and benefits sharing).

PHASE 5: Ongoing Project Engagement

Once formal agreements have been signed, WeAct undertake follow up training and information sharing meeting with community members, to help explain how the project will be implemented, as well as more detail on project roles and responsibilities. This helps embed a shared understanding of the project, impacts and operations as the project begins.

A range of formal and informal engagement structures are set up, including planned community meetings, regular project updates and complaints handling frameworks, continuous monitoring activities, community development initiatives and education programs. We regularly engage with agreement signatories and communities to monitor and adapt our commitments to ensure there is ongoing support for the project and agreed terms.

This includes handling and managing complaints in a timely manner, and working with communities and landholders to evolve benefits sharing and project implementation arrangements throughout the life of the project as required.

Our Commitment

We are committed to working with our partner communities creating long-term positive impact and change, but this cannot be done at arms length. Project methods often only require annual or biannual touchpoints with communities to undertake sampling or mapping, however we must stay regularly connected and integrated with these communities if we are to maintain strong relationships and navigate any future challenges that may arise. We therefore undertake continuous engagement and monitoring across our projects, which enables us to manage issues as they arise, and sure that climate-friendly behavioural changes are permanent and support other community outcomes.

We’re excited about our approach to building long-term partnerships, and in working with communities over the coming months and years to build resilient communities of the future.