To exchange EbA experience among different countries and beyond different activities, mediums of communication and platforms can be used. In the context of the EbA South project, workshops for knowledge sharing took place in Asia-Pacific, Africa, and Latin America. For instance, the “South-South Exchange Workshop: Ecosystems for Climate Change Adaptation and Sustainable Livelihoods Knowledge Sharing” was held in Beijing, China. This South-South exchange of knowledge culminated in an array of publications and tools now used by practitioners across the Global South to encourage nature-based solutions for adaptation through South-South cooperation. A web-based platform web-based platform was also built to facilitate collaboration – it contains webinars, case studies, an ecosystem-based adaptation planning tool, and other knowledge products. Research programmes can also be established in partnership with local universities to further share and apply this knowledge.
These workshops and knowledge products provided great opportunities to share and exchange various experiences of the project with scientists and practitioners in the wider EbA community.. South-South cooperation allows effective EbA exchange among developing countries that have common challenges and solutions for conservation and livelihoods.
- The creation of an online knowledge exchange platform can help disseminate all this knowledge and data, facilitate discussions between countries. If possible this platform should be available in all the languages relevant to the countries participating in the platform.
- The organization of workshops, field visits, webinars can help with the exchange of knowledge between countries.
- The language barrier can be an issue so having interpreters or having tools and platforms translated can help.
When exchanging experiences, knowledge, data, findings, ideas during workshops, field trips and webinars between different countries, or through online platforms and tools, communication can be an issue due to the language barrier. During this project, English was the medium of collaboration although it was the second or third language of most participants. The language barrier also limited collaboration after workshops.
The flow of knowledge and learning can be improved with the hiring of professional interpreters during expeditions and workshops. The hiring of professional interpreters with scientific knowledge during expeditions, as well as in workshops, would have increased the benefits of collaboration.