This Toolkit for Locally Led Action on Climate, Peace and Security is designed to help communities identify and implement “innovative solutions to address the climate crisis, protect the most vulnerable, tackle the differentiated impacts on women and men and promote climate justice” (the UN’s New Agenda for Peace, July 2023).

A Spanish version of the Toolkit is available here.

The package introduces concepts and tools for Locally Led Action on Climate, Peace and Security, supporting the mobilisation of participatory processes utilising Nature-based Solutions to achieve conflict-sensitive, peace-positive climate resilience. The toolkit provides worksheets and facilitation materials for application in a variety of contexts. It is designed as a flexible resource to help users (including practitioners and local communities) design and implement innovative, locally led adaptation solutions that address the climate crisis and protect the most vulnerable while promoting social cohesion and stability. The package is not a step-by-step prescription; rather, it offers a menu of tools, approaches and examples that can be selected and adapted to suit local contexts, institutional priorities and operational needs. Users are encouraged to modify and tailor content as appropriate (for example, adjusting terminology if certain terms such as “conflict” are not suitable in a given context). The emphasis is on practicality and contextual relevance, and there is no singular “correct” way to apply the tools. The aim is to support informed, inclusive and sensitive decision-making, with a focus on nature-based solutions at the local and community levels.

Materials are organised into seven overlapping and complementary units, following the arc of participatory project management:

0. Initial Scoping: developing a baseline assessment of the environmental, social, economic and political factors that shape a community
1. Community Mobilisation: bringing together a diverse range of actors to collaboratively address shared concerns
2. Problem Analysis: examining situations in order to understand the root cause(s) of an issue
3. Solution Identification: determining the most appropriate response through a holistic approach to brainstorming and decision-making
4. Action Planning: designing a detailed strategy to cooperatively enact a chosen intervention
5. Programme Implementation: putting ideas into practice with attention to evolving challenges and constraints
6. Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning: appraising an ongoing project, making any necessary changes to maximise its positive effect

Each unit includes three modules:

1. Key Concepts: reviewing foundational ideas and relevant analytical frameworks
2. Applicable Tools: highlighting actionable skills and information sources
3. Participatory Methods: showcasing various strategies for involving communities

The units and modules build on each other, and you are encouraged to review the action toolkit as a whole. However, it is organised so you can take a ‘deeper dive’ on ideas that are newer to you, and the tool-based worksheets are designed to be excerpted and used on their own in various contexts.