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

This case study describes locally-led adaptation (LLA) strategies in Ghana's Upper West Region, specifically within the Lawra, Nandom, and Jirapa districts. It details how communities facing high climate vulnerability use participatory methods, local leadership, and innovative farming techniques to build resilience against inconsistent rainfall and food insecurity.

• Communities in Ghana's Upper West Region are identified in the Fourth National Communication (NC4) to the UNFCCC as being among the most vulnerable, characterized by low adaptive capacity and high sensitivity to climate risks.
• Inconsistent rainfall patterns lead to delayed planting seasons and widespread food insecurity, which has negatively impacted the mental health of some farmers in the Brutu community of the Nandom district.
• Local adaptation strategies to combat water scarcity and food insecurity include dry season gardening along the Black Volta River, the use of drought-tolerant seeds, and water harvesting techniques such as half moons and Zai pits.
• Gender disparities exist in access to agricultural information, with women farmers in Orbili relying on second-hand knowledge due to a lack of personal radios.
• Communities employ diverse resourcefulness and local governance to adapt, including the use of homemade compost from crop residue, selling fuelwood for inputs, and the implementation of community by-laws and taboos to prevent bush burning and farming too close to riversides.

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} }