Community Resilience: Integrating Local Approaches into Senegal's Climate Change Adaptation Agenda

This research paper examines the role of locally-led adaptation (LLA) in Senegal, highlighting a disconnect between effective community-driven climate strategies and national policy implementation. While local initiatives in Daga Birame (agriculture), Dionewar (coastal zones), and Widou Thiéngoly (health) align with Senegal's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), they are often ignored by the central government and lack access to the $14.5 billion in funding required for the 2030 NDC goals. The authors argue that integrating endogenous knowledge and devolving climate finance to local communities is essential for sustainable resilience.

• Senegal is highly vulnerable to climate change, with risks impacting critical economic sectors including agriculture, livestock, fisheries, tourism, and infrastructure, as well as social capital such as health, housing, and education.
• The Government of Senegal has established a climate action framework including the 2020 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and the Emerging Senegal Plan (PSE) for 2035, which integrate adaptation into economic and social development planning.
• Significant barriers hinder the implementation of climate policies in Senegal, specifically poor integration of climate risks in sectoral planning, inequalities in financing access, weak technical capacity for transferring innovative strategies, and a lack of a performance monitoring and evaluation framework (MRV system).
• Locally-led adaptation (LLA) initiatives in agriculture, coastal zones, and health are aligned with national NDC goals but suffer from a lack of central government recognition, limited technical capacity, and poor access to climate financing.
• In Daga Birame, community-led agricultural adaptation focused on climate-conscious practices and index-based insurance, resulting in improved agricultural yields and the co-benefit of solar energy for homes and borehole water.
• The REVARD initiative on the island of Dionewar utilized the Epis Maltais Savard system and reforestation to combat coastal erosion, achieving a beach gain of 2.6 meters and reducing fishing-related disaster risks.
• In Widou Thiéngoly, local adaptation to heat waves involved an Early Warning System (EWS), reforestation of public spaces, and the promotion of bioclimatic architecture to reduce health risks and household medical costs.
• Implementing the NDC by 2030 requires the mobilization of $14.5 billion in climate funds, necessitating a shift toward devolving funds directly to communities to support local adaptation strategies.

APA

Sy, I. (2024). Community Resilience: Integrating Local Approaches into Senegal's Climate Change Adaptation Agenda. Africa Policy Research Institute. https://afripoli.org/community-resilience-integrating-local-approaches-into-senegals-climate-change-adaptation-agenda

Chicago

Sy, Ibrahima. Community Resilience: Integrating Local Approaches into Senegal's Climate Change Adaptation Agenda. Africa Policy Research Institute, 2024. https://afripoli.org/community-resilience-integrating-local-approaches-into-senegals-climate-change-adaptation-agenda.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Sy |first1=Ibrahima |title=Community Resilience: Integrating Local Approaches into Senegal's Climate Change Adaptation Agenda |publisher=Africa Policy Research Institute |date=6 February 2024 |url=https://afripoli.org/community-resilience-integrating-local-approaches-into-senegals-climate-change-adaptation-agenda |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sy2024community, author = {Sy, Ibrahima}, title = {{Community Resilience: Integrating Local Approaches into Senegal's Climate Change Adaptation Agenda}}, institution = {Africa Policy Research Institute}, year = {2024}, month = feb, url = {https://afripoli.org/community-resilience-integrating-local-approaches-into-senegals-climate-change-adaptation-agenda}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }