Tunisia, Egypt and Mauritania
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Communicating climate change in Tunisia, Egypt and Mauritania WITH LESSONS FOR NORTH AFRICA AND THE LEVANT REGION A global narratives project Lead partners National partners C LC ILMI MA TA ET E oouutrtereaacchh This report was made possible with financial support from the KR Foundation. About Climate Outreach Climate Outreach is a team of social scientists and communication specialists passionate about building a social mandate for climate action. Through our research, practical guides and consultancy services, we help organisations communicate about climate change in ways that resonate with the values of their audiences. We have over 15 years of experience widening and deepening public engagement with climate change, working with a wide range of international partners including government, international bodies, academic institutions, charities, businesses, faith organisations and youth groups. About Climate Action Network International (CAN-I) The Climate Action Network (CAN) is a worldwide network of over 1,300 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working in more than 120 countries to promote government and individual action to limit human-induced climate change to ecologically sustainable levels. CAN members work to achieve this goal through information exchange and the coordinated development of an NGO strategy on international, regional and national climate issues. About Climate Action Network Arab World (CAN-AW) CAN-AW is a coalition of 112 civil society organisations from 17 Arab countries. It aims to enhance the concept of climate protection and renewable energy in addition to developing strategies to reduce carbon emissions from facilities throughout the region. The network also focuses on areas highly related to the concerns of the region, such as water scarcity, climate change and food insecurity. Project team Authors Robin Webster, Senior Programme Lead, Advocacy Communications, Climate Outreach Mohamed Kamal, Consultant researcher, EcoConserv (Egypt chapter) Susie Wang, Researcher, Climate Outreach (Tunisia chapter) Achref Chibani, Project Coordinator, Earth Hour Tunisia (Tunisia chapter) Moussa Elimane Sall, RIM-Mauritania (Mauritania chapter) Kim Titlestad, Consultant researcher (Mauritania chapter) George Marshall, Founding Director, Climate Outreach David Powell, Consultant researcher Editing & Production Abishek Maroli, Senior Project Management Lead, Climate Outreach Léane de Laigue, Communications Lead, Climate Outreach Elise de Laigue, Designer, Explore Communications Acknowledgements The authors would first like to thank the dedicated team who collaborated together over two years to make this project happen: Jana Markelbach from CAN International, Fatima Ahouli and Nouhad Awwad from CAN Arab World; Essia Guezzi and Zina Nasr from Earth Hour Tunisia and Shady Khalil from Greenish in addition to all the work from the co-authors of the chapters. In Tunisia, special thanks are due to Thamer Haded, Malika Hammemi and Arwa Chakroun. In each of the three countries a network of partners delivered the narrative workshops, listed at the beginning of each chapter. Finally, the authors would like to thank the research participants who gave their time to exploring what climate change meant to them. Cite as: Webster, R., Kamal, M., Wang, S., Chibani, A., Sall, M.E., Titlestad, K., Marshall, G., Powell, D. (2021). Communicating climate change in Tunisia, Egypt and Mauritania - with lessons for North Africa and the Levant region: A global narratives project. Oxford: Climate Outreach. Cover photos: Tozeur Market, Tozeur, Tunisia - Carlos Octavio Uranga (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0); Fish market, Nouakchott, Mauritania - Evgeni Zotov (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0); Fagnoon Art School and Workshop, Cairo, Egypt - Marcel Crozet/ILO (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) Flags: Nicolas Raymond Maps - pages 6, 7, 10: https://freevectormaps.com MAY 2021 Contents Executive summary. 5 Key recommendations .................................................. 5 About this project. 8 Approach and methodology ............................................. 8 Principles. 9 Background . 10 The region explored ....................................................10 Terminology in this report ...............................................11 Impacts of climate change ...............................................11 Reliance on and production of fossil fuels ..................................11 Climate change awareness ..............................................12 Key findings. .16 Barriers to engaging people on climate change in Tunisia, Egypt and Mauritania. 16 Approaches to successful public engagement in Egypt, Mauritania and Tunisia ............................................................18 Approaches to test further, use carefully or avoid .......................... 23 Country-specific themes ............................................... 26 Case study: Tunisia. 28 Key findings ..........................................................30 Country profile. 32 A proposal for a successful Tunisian narrative .............................36 Values ...............................................................39 Key themes in communicating climate change in Tunisia .................... 42 Approaches to talking about the causes of climate change ...................47 Approaches to talking about the impacts of climate change .................50 Approaches to talking about renewables .................................53 Approaches to talking with different audiences in Tunisia ................... 54 Language to test further, use carefully or avoid ............................58 Case study: Egypt. .60 Key findings .......................................................... 62 Country profile. 64 A proposal for a successful Egyptian narrative ............................. 67 Values ...............................................................69 Approaches to talking about the causes of climate change ...................72 Approaches to talking about the impacts of climate change ..................74 Approaches to talking about renewables ................................. 78 Approaches to talking with different audiences in Egypt .....................81 Language to test further, use carefully or avoid ............................ 84 Case study: Mauritania. .86 Key findings ..........................................................88 Country profile. .90 Methodology used in Mauritania ........................................ 92 A proposal for a successful Mauritanian narrative ..........................93 Values ............................................................... 94 Key themes in communicating climate change in Mauritania ................96 Approaches to talking about the causes of climate change ..................99 Approaches to talking about the impacts of climate change ................ 102 Approaches to talking about renewables ................................ 106 Approaches to talking with different audiences in Mauritania ............... 108 Appendices . 110 Global narratives: a new model of communications research ...............110 About narrative workshops .............................................111 Narrative workshop demographics ......................................112 Limitations of the methodology .........................................116 References. .118 Executive summary Some of the most vulnerable countries in the world to the impacts of climate change are situated in North Africa and the Levant region. Within the next few decades, Arabic speaking nations stretching from Mauritania in the west to Syria and Iraq in the east are likely to experience extreme heat, drought and aridity as a result of rising temperatures. At the same time, these countries are almost entirely dependent on fossil fuels for energy, and some are globally significant producers. Despite this unique situation, knowledge of environmental and climate issues across these countries is lower than in other parts of the world and remains a relatively minor topic in social and political debate. As a result, governments lack a mandate from their societies to take transformative action in response to the growing threat to stability, income and security, while citizens do not have access to information allowing them to make informed decisions and advocate for decision makers to take action. Data on public engagement with climate change in the region is sparse, as researchers focus on attitudes in North America and Europe and pay little attention to people in other parts of the world – a historic imbalance this project seeks to help address. This report is a culmination of two years of social research work across three countries in North Africa: Tunisia, Egypt and Mauritania. The project aims to test language on climate change, creating advice that climate advocates across civil society and in government, media and business can use to engage people in terms that resonate with their culture and experience. The project has sought out communities rarely, if ever, consulted about climate change, including disabled people, rural women, fishermen and people with low levels of literacy and limited access to formal education. Beyond the three focus countries, it draws lessons of potential relevance for other North African countries and Arabic speaking countries in the Levant region (Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Palestine and Jordan). Key recommendations The research finds that, across the different communities explored, participants were well aware of the changes already occurring around them as