Strategic Climate Change Consulting
ClearSky provides insightful and comprehensive input on a variety of climate change and natural resource issues for governmental organizations, corporations, communities, and NGO’s. We focus on important forest carbon themes related to Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD), Improved Forest Management (IFM), and Afforestation/Reforestation (A/R). Our REDD themed work involves REDD Projects, REDD Readiness, and REDD Policy and Architecture. Targeted inputs for IFM and A/R activities include assessing how these project activities can provide synergy with other development goals – whether driven by the public sector, private investment, or community development. Previous experiences have included analyzing investment potential for climate mitigation projects, conducting geographic-priority assessments for program development, and facilitating strategic planning exercises for climate change programs. ClearSky is well versed in helping companies and organizations find synergies between their goals and the forest carbon marketplace.
Our strategic climate change consulting services include: program development, natural resource consulting, capacity development, communications, and governance, and education and training.
Working primarily with governmental and non-governmental organizations, ClearSky has played an integral role in shepherding highly complex climate initiatives through multifaceted consultation and participation processes. We are actively involved in developing and orchestrating numerous REDD Project Concepts for investment consideration in targeted geographic areas. Our work with private investment funds has extended to the development of a comprehensive Environmental, Social and Governance Safeguard System to support the growing sector of private REDD investment. ClearSky actively works on community oriented monitoring, reporting, and verifying to ensure that forest carbon mitigation initiatives deliver fair benefit distribution to project stakeholders and ensure appropriate follow-through on project objectives. We support advocacy programs aimed at improved representation of communities and forest-dependent peoples most affected by climate change and climate change mitigation activities.
Examples of this work include the following organizations and initiatives:
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Development of the REDD+ Strategic Initiative for Pact, Inc.
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Development of a comprehensive Environment, Social and Governance Safeguard Screening Process for a private equity REDD+ Investment Fund
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Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Livelihoods in El Salvador for USAID
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Consultation and Participation, capacity development and communications for the World Wildlife Fund Mexico-REDD Program
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Linking Community-Based Forest Monitoring with National REDD+ Measurement, Reporting and Verification Systems for the World Bank
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REDD Readiness- Consultation and Participation development for Kenya Forest Service
Programmatic Development
Capacity Development, Communications, and Governance
ClearSky has worked on enough assignments, in enough countries, with enough unique contexts to intimately understand that every forest carbon activity is unique. Invariably, however, there are a mixture of stakeholders with varying levels of sophistication and capacity. ClearSky can tailor an approach to identify the strengths and weaknesses of a project stakeholder network, work with each stakeholder to develop their capacity to the point where they can effectively provide services to the project and strengthen the entire network that the project will ultimately depend upon. Additionally, ClearSky can work with a stakeholder network to formalize governance protocols and procedures that all can agree upon, to ensure consistency and transparency while moving forward. ClearSky has an intimate understanding of the need for thorough, effective, and appropriately delivered communications about forest carbon projects. Socialization of forest carbon project concepts are vital to a projects success, not only with direct project stakeholders but also with indirect stakeholders and society at large.
Natural Resource Consulting
The ClearSky team is on the cutting edge of natural resource management. We have proven effective as technical advisers in a variety of related fields, including: forestry, carbon sequestration and climate change, agro-forestry, forest hydrology, forest fire management, native species restoration, invasive species management, biodiversity conservation, protected areas management, institutional and policy reform, implementation of international agreements and obligations, community development, public awareness, alternative livelihoods, and the management of trans-boundary natural resource issues. If your forest carbon activity is part of a larger natural resources management agenda, ClearSky is ready to assist you to contextualize and integrate the various parts of the program.
Education and Training
ClearSky is committed to raising the level of public understanding and appreciation of climate change issues. It is abundantly clear that the societies of developed countries do not have sufficient awareness of the issues related to climate change adaptation and mitigation to create political will to address greenhouse gas emissions. ClearSky commits its time and knowledge to teach classes, deliver public presentations, engage civil society, provide national, state and local radio and TV appearances, present to professional associations, and conduct focused training sessions. These educational outreach services cover a diverse array of audiences and formats. Since our formation in 2008 we have given more than 100 lectures, presentations, and public-service educational events. ClearSky considers education a vital part of our greater civic duty, and a responsibility of all climate change related enterprises.
Find Climate Change Synergies With Your Work
For specific information about how ClearSky can work with you to identify the best ways to include climate change programming in your work portfolio, please Contact Us.