Decentralized Governance of Adaptation to Climate Change in Africa

Book excerpt: Two perspectives have dominated the social science discourse on climate change adaptation. Firstly, an international narrative among UN and donor agencies of technical and financial support for planned climate change adaptation. Secondly, a significant volume of studies discuss how local communities can undertake their own autonomous adaptation. Effective and sustainable climate adaptation requires a third focus: understanding of the political processes within sub-national institutions that mediate between national and local practices. This book address the knowledge gap that currently exists about the role of district-level institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa in providing an enabling institutional environment for rural climate change adaptation.