Locally-Led Adaptation: From risk to resilience, a story from Ghana's Upper West Region

Communities in Ghana's Upper West Region are implementing locally-led adaptation strategies, such as dry season gardening and the use of Zai pits, to combat inconsistent rainfall and food insecurity. While facing financial constraints and gender disparities in information access, these communities leverage local leadership, by-laws, and community radio to enhance their adaptive capacity.

• Communities in the Upper West region face high vulnerability due to inconsistent rainfall patterns, which lead to delayed planting seasons and widespread food insecurity. This instability has negative impacts on mental health for household heads unable to provide for their families.
• To mitigate water scarcity and rainfall inconsistency, farmers employ local water harvesting techniques, including Zai pits and half moons, and engage in dry season gardening along the Black Volta River using drought-tolerant seeds.
• Non-climatic barriers exacerbate vulnerability, particularly for women who face a gender disparity in accessing vital agricultural information due to a lack of personal radios, often relying on second-hand knowledge.
• Effective locally-led adaptation is driven by community-specific solutions, including the use of by-laws and taboos to prevent bush burning and farming too close to rivers, as well as the use of homemade compost from crop residue.
• Financial constraints are addressed through village savings and loans associations (VSLAs) and the sale of fuelwood to purchase agricultural inputs.

APA

Climate and Development Knowledge Network (n.d.). Locally-Led Adaptation: From risk to resilience, a story from Ghana's Upper West Region. https://cdkn.org/story/locally-led-adaptation-risk-resilience-story-ghanas-upper-west-region

Chicago

Climate and Development Knowledge Network. Locally-Led Adaptation: From risk to resilience, a story from Ghana's Upper West Region. n.d. https://cdkn.org/story/locally-led-adaptation-risk-resilience-story-ghanas-upper-west-region.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |title=Locally-Led Adaptation: From risk to resilience, a story from Ghana's Upper West Region |url=https://cdkn.org/story/locally-led-adaptation-risk-resilience-story-ghanas-upper-west-region |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climateanddevelopmentknowledgenetworkndlocallyled, author = {{Climate and Development Knowledge Network}}, title = {{Locally-Led Adaptation: From risk to resilience, a story from Ghana's Upper West Region}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, url = {https://cdkn.org/story/locally-led-adaptation-risk-resilience-story-ghanas-upper-west-region}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }