Strengthening Locally Led Adaptation in Africa

This policy brief examines the role of Locally Led Adaptation (LLA) in Africa, highlighting how centering decision-making at the community level can address the severe economic and social costs of climate change. While many African nations have integrated adaptation goals into national policies, the document identifies significant governance and financial barriers that hinder the effective implementation of LLA, particularly within food systems.

• Climate change causes significant economic strain in Africa, with annual GDP losses estimated between 2% and 5%. Some nations allocate as much as 9% of their national budgets to respond to climate disasters.
• Climate shocks have severely impacted food production in North, East, and Southern Africa. In 2023, Tunisia saw an 80% drop in cereal output, and Sudan faced forecast reductions of 50% in millet and 25% in sorghum. In Ethiopia, flooding killed 27,000 livestock and destroyed 72,000 hectares of crops. Projections for 2050 suggest wheat yields and grain protein content will decrease by 10% to 15% in North and East Africa, and by over 15% in Southern Africa.
• While many African Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) mention gender and vulnerable groups, substantive integration is lacking. A study of 31 African NDCs found that only 10 included a gender analysis to inform content, and only seven incorporated sex-disaggregated data and indicators.
• Significant financial gaps exist for climate adaptation in Africa, with an estimated $2.8 trillion required by 2030 to meet all NDC targets. Local initiatives struggle due to complex application procedures for international funds, limited accreditation of local organisations, and a lack of domestic financing mechanisms.
• Governance barriers impede the effectiveness of National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), including fragmented frameworks, slow policy execution, and a lack of clear leadership. Adaptation resources are often concentrated among economic and political elites, and gender considerations are frequently symbolic rather than meaningfully integrated.
• The document recommends several actions to strengthen LLA: establishing mechanisms for Indigenous knowledge, embedding LLA principles in national policies, expanding decentralised climate finance, and improving monitoring and evaluation systems, such as using social audits for projects.

APA

Kinyua, I., & Njuguna, L. (2025). Strengthening Locally Led Adaptation in Africa. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/SAIIA_PB-308_StrengtheningLLA.pdf

Chicago

Kinyua, Ivy, and Lucy Njuguna. Strengthening Locally Led Adaptation in Africa. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2025. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/SAIIA_PB-308_StrengtheningLLA.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Kinyua |first1=Ivy |last2=Njuguna |first2=Lucy |title=Strengthening Locally Led Adaptation in Africa |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=May 2025 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/SAIIA_PB-308_StrengtheningLLA.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{kinyua2025strengthening, author = {Kinyua, Ivy and Njuguna, Lucy}, title = {{Strengthening Locally Led Adaptation in Africa}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2025}, month = may, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/SAIIA_PB-308_StrengtheningLLA.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }