Copyright: Lorne Gill
Outer Hebrides Community Planning Partnership Climate Change Working Group is supporting the Community Planning Partnership to improve climate resilience and deliver action as a whole-societal issue across the islands of the Outer Hebrides, grounded in what is important locally.
The vision of the Working Group is to respond to our climate challenge to enable a safer, healthier and flourishing Outer Hebrides. Through its work, the Group aims to integrate climate adaptation and resilience with societal issues, moving beyond sectoral responses and acknowledging a healthy environment as the support network that underpins everything.
Since being set up in 2019, the Working Group, with close support from Adaptation Scotland, has:
- Co-created a local evidence base, including developing a Climate Rationale setting out the shared climate challenge and an accompanying Case for Action providing a set of priority areas to improve climate resilience
- Involved communities and gathered local lived experience of climate impacts via a participatory mapping approach and working with a local artist to create a ‘Climate Storyline’
- Strengthened their partnership and outreach by connecting with creative partners in the islands
- Taken stock of successes and challenges, and understanding what enables adaptation for the Outer Hebrides
Members of the Working Group include: NatureScot, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Community Energy Scotland, Community Land Scotland, Hebridean Housing Partnership, NHS Eilean Siar, Police Scotland, Scottish Youth Parliament, Fire and Rescue Service, SEPA, Tighean Innse Gall, Third Sector Interface Western Isles, University of the Highlands and Islands, Western Isles Libraries, and the Western Isles Emergency Planning Group.
Climate Hebrides has been formed as a “doing body” accountable to the Working Group, and is taking forward projects and actions that are comprehensive in outlook and inclusive in delivery.
Our Project Summary to tell the story of our work with the Group, and the lessons learned.
Download the project summary“We have worked very closely with Adaptation Scotland who have given us clear direction and support as we have collated evidence, considered risks, engaged with communities and produced our Climate Rationale and Case for Action. Putting it simply – we would not be in the position we are in today without their advice and support. There is still much to be done, but with our increased understanding of the issues and risks we are in a much stronger place.”
David MacLennan, Outer Hebrides Community Planning Partnership Working Group Chair, NatureScot
Adaptation Scotland has supported the Outer Hebrides Community Planning Partnership Working Group by:
- Strengthening local partners’ understanding of climate impacts and resilience, and the importance of a partnership approach for adaptation planning and action
- Supporting the local partners to codevelop their local evidence base on climate trends, projections and impacts and make complex information accessible
- Expanding engagement and partnership working, helping to build relationships between local organisations as a trusted intermediary and facilitating connections to creative partners and other national and regional networks and opportunities
- Creating mechanisms for different types of organisations and communities to explore together how the changing climate will impact their place, what is important to protect and why, and the cobenefits of adaptation
- Exploring ways to gather, validate and visualise community voices and local knowledge, and build these into adaptation planning activities
- Facilitating events and workshops and developing communication and engagement resources such as handouts, mapping activities and stakeholder maps
- Drawing in additional partners, research, and funding including a collaboration with the Met Office to develop the climate storyline project
- Continuing to support the next phase of work through ongoing membership of the Working Group
