Humaira Atiq, Muhammad Irfan Mahsud, Muhammad Iqbal Uddin Arif
Climate change is a transnational problem, that requires localized collective actions. Compared to China and the US which contributes 27% and 11% to global carbon emissions, respectively, Pakistan contributes less than 1% but is among the top ten most vulnerable countries to climate catastrophes. These threats are further escalated by the country’s highly centralized governance structure. These study focuses on the decentralization of climate policies in Pakistan, followed by a polycentric governance system, and highlights its importance in responding to the dynamic nature of climate change in the country. Grounded in Polycentric Governance Theory, a qualitative, deductive research design way employed, relying on primary and secondary data sources. The study reveals that after the 18th amendment in Pakistan, the responsibility related to climate policies has increased on the subnational government; however, its effect remains limited due to constant economic constraints, weak coordination among different governmental bodies, and dependency on international climate finance. This demonstrates that polycentric governance offers a commendable framework for making strong climate responses by involving local actors and providing region-specific solutions. This study concluded policymakers might prioritize intergovernmental coordination, expand subnational budget capacity and use carbon sinking mechanisms as a major tool for reducing climate change impacts.
The present study analyzed the utilization of the CDF for climate resilience projects in vulnerable communities of Sinazongwe District, Southern Province. It was observed that vulnerable communities in Sinazongwe continue to experience water scarcity, reduced agricultural output, and livelihood insecurity, despite the availability of expanded CDF resources meant to address these climate stresses. The study adopted a descriptive case study design with a mixed-methods approach, and sampled 120 respondents using both random and non-random (purposive or non-probability) sampling procedures. The study then employed the semi-structured questionnaires to community members/beneficiaries, to gather quantitative data; as well as the conduction of interviews using the semi-structured interview guide on the CDF committee members, WDCs, and government officials, to gather in-depth qualitative insights; and FGD held with community groups to understand collective perceptions, and challenges. The findings revealed that major CDF-funded climate resilience interventions included borehole drilling and rehabilitation, irrigation projects, conservation farming, tree planting, and water supply systems. Water-related projects were identified as the most significant interventions because they improved access to water, household food security, irrigation activities, and community coping capacity during drought periods. The study further established that community participation mainly occurred through community meetings and Ward Development Committees, although participation remained largely consultative rather than fully empowering. The findings also revealed that political influence, inadequate funding, delayed disbursement of funds, limited technical expertise, weak monitoring systems, and poor integration of DRR affected effectiveness and sustainability of climate resilience interventions. The study concluded that CDF has significant potential to support local climate resilience and livelihood improvement through decentralized financing. However, climate resilience interventions remained inadequate relative to increasing climate-related risks affecting vulnerable communities in Sinazongwe District. The study recommends increased climate-focused funding under CDF, stronger integration of Disaster Risk Reduction into local development planning, improved community participation, strengthened governance and accountability systems, enhanced technical capacity, and greater investment in early warning systems, environmental conservation, and sustainable livelihood diversification.
This paper analyses the World Bank initiatives in promoting its role in decentralizing climate finance through the Financing Locally-Led Climate Action (FLLoCA) and the Kenya Climate-Smart Agriculture Project (KCSAP) in Lamu County, Kenya. A qualitative case study is used to examine the substantial tension between the Bank's perception of its institutional function, its actual bureaucratic performance, and the pressing demands, through the intersection of Function of Role Theory and Climate Resilience Theory. A significant implementation gap is revealed from the empirical findings, highlighting that the creation of the local ward committees in the projects purportedly regularizes climate governance. However, the strict procurement regulations provided by the Bank, systemic delays in the release of funds, and strict environmental standards have compromised local sovereignty. Misplaced expectations are frequently encounters through these efforts and the occurrence of elite capture, hindering marginalized groups from cultivating genuine and transformative resilience. This paper concludes that the international development finances must abandon rigid technological imposition in favour of adaptable funding models and genuinely integrate local survival knowledge to thrive in extremely fragile socio-ecological zones.
Open access
Sustainability and Climate Change Governance
Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management
Jean-Claude Baraka Munyaka, Olivier Gallay, Edward Mutandwa, Lolemtum Joseph Timu · 8 authors
Climate change continues to undermine agricultural productivity and livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa, where smallholder, rain-fed systems predominate. Kenya and Zimbabwe, representing contrasting decentralized and centralized adaptation systems, provide insights into how institutional design shapes agricultural resilience. This study conducts a comparative institutional analysis of climate change adaptation across four dimensions: land tenure, governance structures, access to inputs and resources, and community-based support. Using a systematic literature review (2000–2025), bibliometric mapping, and a Composite Institutional Adaptation Index (CIAI), the analysis examines how policies and local institutions interact to shape adaptive capacity. Findings indicate that Kenya's devolved governance facilitates local innovation through County Climate Change Funds, while Zimbabwe's centralized approach promotes policy coherence but constrains local autonomy. In both contexts, tenure security, equitable input access, and integration of cooperatives, traditional leaders, and women's groups emerge as critical determinants of resilience. The study situates these findings within debates on adaptation finance and governance, including Locally Led Adaptation, Green Climate Fund support, and CAADP implementation. It concludes that effective climate adaptation requires multi-scalar governance systems that integrate formal and informal institutions, align finance with local priorities, and embed learning within agricultural policy.
Abdul-Wahab Tahiru, Silas Uwumborge Takal, Samuel Jerry Cobbina, Wilhemina Asare · 5 authors
Northern Ghana faces acute climate vulnerabilities, yet adaptation pathways remain fragmented and poorly synthesized. This study systematically reviewed 15 peer-reviewed literature covering the Savannah, Upper East, Upper West, North East, and Northern regions to assess climate impacts on agro-pastoral communities, evaluate existing adaptation strategies, and explore policy implications. Findings reveal that erratic rainfall, prolonged droughts, rising temperatures, and land degradation have undermined food security and livestock systems, while increasing pest outbreaks and intensifying farmer–pastoralist conflicts. Communities have responded through water harvesting, livelihood diversification (including agroforestry, shea processing, small livestock rearing, and seasonal migration), and reliance on indigenous knowledge systems. However, these strategies remain constrained by inadequate finance, weak infrastructure such as faulty hand pumps, gender inequalities, and limited integration with formal climate services. The review underscores the need for coherent policies that expand decentralized water infrastructure, scale climate-smart financing, institutionalize conflict-resolution platforms, and embed gender-responsive and indigenous approaches into national adaptation planning. Strengthening the interface between local innovation and formal governance is critical for building inclusive and scalable resilience across Northern Ghana’s agro-pastoral systems.
This study interrogates climate governance in the Southern Africa’s socio-ecological peripheries, concentrating on how decentralized adaptation policies shape rural livelihoods confronted with deepening climate hazards. The region’s ecosystems are worsening under climate stress, with smallholder farmers and forest-dependent communities already positioned at the social periphery bearing the brunt of more erratic precipitation and rising temperatures. The study utilized secondary materials, including peer-reviewed articles, official policy documents, and theoretical discussions on governance and adaptive responses. Data analysis was conducted through an interpretive and integrative approach, critically juxtaposing insights from distinct disciplinary repositories and constructing thematically coherent groupings. The study found that while decentralisation can enhance adaptive governance, its overall effectiveness hinges on bolstering cross-scale finance, capacity, and integration. The study further established that marginalized populations particularly women and youth continue to be underrepresented in decisional arenas, which undermines the equity of adaptation initiatives. The study concludes that decentralized climate governance can achieve transformation only when it is inclusive, sufficiently financed, and intricately linked to overarching rural development plans.
Open access
Climate change impacts on agriculture
Sustainability and Climate Change Governance
Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management
Millions of people in Uganda are in need of urgent climate adaptation. The current central government-led top-down projects are inefficient and ineffective. These projects financed by multi-lateral global climate funds have limited impact at community level. The Local Climate Living Adaptation facility (LoCAL) through its Performance-Based Climate Resilience Grants to local governments is much more efficient and effective. True last mile delivery of climate adaptation can be accomplished through the bottom-up District Development Planning process by assessing climate issues and capturing adaptation needs in village proposal sheets and turn them into Village Climate Adaptation Plans. To be able to rapidly provide locally led adaptation, systematically and continuously to the millions of people in need, integration of the three delivery mechanisms is proposed, where the millions of climate finance raised by the central government are channelled to district level as Performance-Based Climate Resilient Grants based on the adaptation needs captured in Village Climate Adaptation Plans.
Innocent Pangapanga‐Phiri, Hambulo Ngoma, Christian Thierfelder
Abstract Smallholder farming systems need climate-proofing and sustainable intensification practices such as conservation agriculture (CA), are promising options. However, there is a general perception that the adoption of CA systems in southern Africa is low. Sentinel sites, where CA has been promoted for a long time, offer forward-looking new insights. This paper, thus, takes a deep dive at Nkhotakota district of Malawi to understand what could have led to the success of CA promotion and subsequent perceived high adoption. We use survey data from 620 farmers, with 298 farmers sampled from treatment areas – known to have had contact with host farmers and 320 from a control group. Overall, 31% of the farmers in both groups adopted full CA over at least a 2-year period. We also find that about 57% of farmers in the treatment area adopted full CA and only 7% of farmers in the control areas. This highlights that longer-term CA promotion with dedicated extension support can enhance the uptake of CA practices. In essence, this paper offers a different perspective to the current narrative that CA systems are too complex and knowledge intensive to be adopted despite its long-term promotion and significant investments. However, there are some nuances: sustained adoption even in sentinel sites is neither 100% nor persistent over the long term. We find an appreciable adoption decay, showing large declines from highs of 57 and 7% in adoption for at least 2 years for treatment and control, respectively, to 12% in the treatment group and practically zero in the control when we condition full CA adoption to at least 7 years. This means that fewer farmers adopted CA for a longer period and suggests some dis-adoption over time even in sentinel sites. The key adoption enablers in the sentinel sites include the availability of training, dedicated longer-term extension support coupled with farmer experiential learning through demonstration plots managed by host farmers. Based on our findings, there is need to consistently promote CA using farmer-centric approaches that include peer-to-peer learning over long periods. This allows farmers time to experiment with different CA options, enable behavioral and lasting change. At policy level, there is need to build and strengthen farmer groups to facilitate easier access to inputs like leguminous crop seeds for farmers practicing CA and to offer market-smart incentives to induce initial adoption in the short term to facilitate sustained adoption.
Decentralized renewable energy (DRE) projects have the potential to contribute to climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation, and sustainable development objectives. DRE systems are considered for emissions reduction or poverty alleviation purposes while their role for climate change adaptation has hardly been analysed. In terms of adaptation, DRE provides electricity that can be used both to prepare for and recover from disasters, and to provide additional income and livelihood opportunities, thus reducing dependency on natural resources. For example, DRE can power early warning systems, telecommunication systems, health clinics and potable water systems. Although it might be said that climate change adaptation applications of DRE systems have already been implemented, the vulnerability of these systems towards climate impacts, and the robustness of these systems to climatic impacts are oftentimes not even considered. The assessment of 15 community-owned renewable energy projects in Guatemala and Nicaragua show that, under certain conditions, renewable energy projects can simultaneously meet the triple objective of sustainable development and climate change mitigation and adaptation. Research also points to specific drivers which can facilitate or hinder projects meeting their own stated objectives and, consequently, the triple objective, and their long-term functioning. These drivers include the specific background of the beneficiary community, the financing and implementing entities and the local governance structures in place.
Adaptation finance is designed to help vulnerable populations withstand effects of climate variability and change. However, levels of vulnerability seldom determine finance distribution. Political and economic preferences of national and local government decision-makers tend to direct funding streams. This article takes an institutional approach to adaptation finance allocation by comparing decentralized and devolved local governance structures managing adaptation finance in Kenya before and after the Constitution of 2010. Prior to reforms, funding was directed through decentralized mechanisms operating within district councils and local authorities; recently, devolution of political, administrative, and fiscal decision-making to county governments coincided with piloting of new local adaptation funds. Theory suggests that devolution institutionalizes more participative decision-making and fairer allocations. Evidence suggests vulnerable communities are indeed more likely to access, design, and receive allocations of finance in devolved political systems.