Summative evaluation of climate application activities with pastoralists in western Queensland

Abstract

Abstract. Survey methods were engaged to measure the change in use and knowledge of climate information by pastoralists in western Queensland. The initial mail survey was undertaken in 2000-01 (n = 43) and provided a useful benchmark of pastoralists climate knowledge. Two years of climate applications activities were completed and clients were re-surveyed in 2003 (n = 49) to measure the change in knowledge and assess the effectiveness of the climate applications activities. Two methods were used to assess changes in client knowledge, viz., self-assessment and test questions. We found that the use of seasonal climate forecasts in decision making increased from 36% in 2001 (n = 42) to 51% in 2003 (n = 49) (P = 0.07). The self-assessment technique was unsatisfactory as a measure of changing knowledge over short periods (1-3 years), but the test question technique was successful and indicated an improvement in climate knowledge among respondents. The increased levels of use of seasonal climate forecasts in management and improved knowledge was partly attributed to the climate applications activities of the project.Further, those who used seasonal forecasting (n = 25) didn't understand key components of forecasts (e.g. probability, median) better than those who didn't use seasonal forecasts (n = 24) (P > 0.05). This identifies the potential for misunderstanding and misinterpretation of forecasts among users and highlights the need for providers of forecasts to understand the difficulties and prepare simply written descriptions of forecasts and disseminate these with the maps showing probabilities.The most preferred means of accessing climate information were internet, email, 'The Season Ahead' newsletter and newspaper. The least preferred were direct contact with extension officers and attending field days and group meetings. Eighty-six percent of respondents used the internet and 67% used ADSL broadband internet (April 2003). Despite these findings, extension officers play a key role in preparing and publishing the information on the web, in emails and newsletters. We also believe that direct contact with extension officers trained in climate applications is desirable in workshop-like events to improve knowledge of the difficult concepts underpinning climate forecasts, which may then stimulate further adoption.

Crop advisors as climate information brokers: Building the capacity of US farmers to adapt to climate change

“…In turn, trust building and accountability influence users' perceptions of information salience, credibility and legitimacy in particular decision contexts (Cash et al, 2006;McNie, 2013). Two-way communication and ongoing relationships also help change users' minds by facilitating in-depth discussion including potential trade-offs and risks and their effect on decision making (Cobon et al, 2008;Kirchhoff, 2013). For instance, better explanations of how climate information is produced, the sources and extent of scientific uncertainty, and how the information can be used in individual user's particular decision contexts increase usability (Rice et al, 2009;White et al, 2010).…”

The reluctance of resource-users to adopt seasonal climate forecasts to enhance resilience to climate variability on the rangelands

“…The sentiment is, if forecasts could accurately-and simply-describe the season ahead, then it is surmised that graziers would certainly use them. However, graziers are seldomly able to demonstrate knowledge of the forecast skill, even if they are familiar with the technology (McCrea et al 2005;Rayner et al 2005;Keogh et al 2006;Cobon et al 2008). Other factors, instead, appear to be more important in influencing the decision to use them (Weiss and Bucuvalas 1980;Ziervogel and Calder 2003;Rayner et al 2005).…”

“…Despite the potential benefits that seasonal climate forecasts offer in some regions and the relatively high awareness of them (as high as 75% of broad-acre farmers in Australia), only between 30-50% of land-holders are actively using them Hayman et al 2007;Meinke et al 2007;Cobon et al 2008). This apparent 'mismatch' between potential forecast benefit and grazier use is a grave concern since access to forecasting technology, information and expertise promises to significantly influence the capacity of climate-sensitive resource-users to cope and adapt to the challenges associated with climate change (McCrea et al 2005;Cinner et al 2009).…”

Actionable Knowledge for Environmental Decision Making: Broadening the Usability of Climate Science

“…Interaction can help change users' minds by facilitating in-depth discussion, including potential trade-offs and risks in using information and their effect on decision making (14, 103,121,122). For instance, producer-user interactions over the course of a workshop helped users gain a more indepth understanding of how streamflows are reconstructed from tree-rings and how this information can be used to extend what is known about the range of natural variability for individual streams to aid in long-term drought planning (123).…”