UNLOCKING ADAPTATION POTENTIAL

The report assesses Ghana's climate adaptation landscape, highlighting a gap between national policy frameworks and local implementation. While Ghana has established comprehensive strategies like the updated NDCs and the National Climate Change Policy, funding is heavily skewed toward mitigation (87.4%) over adaptation (3.4%). Through three case studies in the Savannah, Upper East, and coastal regions, the study demonstrates that locally led adaptation (LLA)—such as organic shea processing, climate-smart agriculture, and community-based disaster risk reduction—effectively reduces vulnerability and improves livelihoods. However, LLA is hindered by limited financial resources, weak institutional coordination, and a top-down decision-making approach. The report recommends devolving financial resources, integrating traditional knowledge into policy, and fostering participatory decision-making to enhance climate resilience.

• Ghana's climate finance inflows from 2011 to 2019 totaled approximately USD 1.3 billion, but there is a stark imbalance between mitigation and adaptation funding, with mitigation receiving 87.4% and adaptation only 3.4%.
• The Ghanaian government's updated NDC (2021) identifies 13 adaptation measures across 47 programmes of action, focusing on resilient infrastructure, livelihoods, agricultural landscapes, food systems, urban planning, early warning systems, and the resilience of women and vulnerable groups.
• Locally led adaptation (LLA) in Ghana is characterized by place-based, participatory, and flexible strategies that often combine multiple measures and leverage traditional knowledge to prioritize the most vulnerable, such as women and children.
• Case study evidence from Northern Ghana shows that combining Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) with organic shea processing and energy-saving stoves empowers women economically and reduces environmental degradation.
• In the Upper East region, the adoption of climate-smart agriculture (CSA)—including conservation agriculture, agroforestry, and solar-powered irrigation—has improved soil fertility, increased crop yields, and enhanced food security.
• Coastal communities in the Keta-Ada stretch employ community-based disaster risk reduction, including nature-based solutions like mangrove restoration and the creation of dual canals, often as a response to perceived government inaction on coastal erosion.
• A significant barrier to effective adaptation is the top-down nature of climate planning, which results in limited resource allocation at the sub-national level; one study cited in the report found that over 70% of local authority adaptation programmes from 2013 to 2021 were not completely successful due to limited finance.
• Effective LLA is hindered by inadequate institutional coordination, policy gaps, and limited technical capacity within local institutions to design and implement adaptation strategies.

APA

Albert, A., & Oblitei, T. R. (2023). UNLOCKING ADAPTATION POTENTIAL. Africa Policy Research Institute. https://afripoli.org/projects/climate-adaptation/uploads/files/climate_adaptation_ghana_final_report.pdf

Chicago

Albert, Arhin,, and Tetteh, Richard Oblitei. UNLOCKING ADAPTATION POTENTIAL. Africa Policy Research Institute, 2023. https://afripoli.org/projects/climate-adaptation/uploads/files/climate_adaptation_ghana_final_report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Albert |first1=Arhin, |last2=Oblitei |first2=Tetteh, Richard |title=UNLOCKING ADAPTATION POTENTIAL |publisher=Africa Policy Research Institute |date=2023 |url=https://afripoli.org/projects/climate-adaptation/uploads/files/climate_adaptation_ghana_final_report.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{albert2023unlocking, author = {Albert, Arhin, and Oblitei, Tetteh, Richard}, title = {{UNLOCKING ADAPTATION POTENTIAL}}, institution = {Africa Policy Research Institute}, year = {2023}, url = {https://afripoli.org/projects/climate-adaptation/uploads/files/climate_adaptation_ghana_final_report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }