Engaging coastal communities on ocean alkalinity enhancement: A how-to best practice guide
Institute for Responsible Carbon Removal at American University | April 2025
By Sara Nawaz & Giulia BelottiExecutive Summary:
As marine carbon dioxide removal technologies like ocean alkalinity enhancement move from lab to field, attention to engaging local communities on this subject is growing. However, minimal information is currently available on structuring and implementing this kind of engagement. This guide is intended as a resource to a diverse range of groups who may be looking to conduct (or review or fund) community engagement activities on ocean alkalinity enhancement. It draws on the authors’ experiences conducting engagement on ocean alkalinity enhancement in several different contexts, as well best practices from related fields and technologies.
This guide does the following:
Introduces what we mean by ‘meaningful community engagement’ and its importance
Describes how to tailor engagement to different stages of ocean alkalinity enhancement research and/or deployment
Offers ideas for creative and interactive ways to work with communities to understand and deliberate on ocean alkalinity enhancement
Discusses the ways that engagement with Indigenous communities requires additional attention, recognition and care
Introduces 10 best practices to keep in mind when engaging communities
Provides suggestions on key concepts to introduce when introducing ocean alkalinity enhancement
Offers suggestions on navigating your role as an engagement practitioner when interacting with both participants and technology/project developers
Shares examples of questions you might expect to receive when conducting engagement activities
Describes three case studies of engagement on ocean alkalinity enhancement that the authors have conducted
