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The document details a project led by the Regional Institute for Population Studies (RIPS) at the University of Ghana to build coastal resilience through community-based reciprocal learning and the CRiSTAL tool. It highlights the critical need to integrate local knowledge into national policy, as Ghana's existing top-down planning lacks local ownership and specific district-level implementation plans. Key achievements include the creation of district-level contingency plans and a community-based climate change adaptation fund in Totope. The study argues that long-term resilience requires decentralization, multi-stakeholder engagement, and the empowerment of vulnerable populations to lead their own survival strategies rather than relying on disaster relief.

The paper analyzes adaptation finance flows in four developing countries, finding that while governments are the primary recipients, there is a lack of transparency regarding target geographies and project details. It highlights a gap between the formal inclusion of local government in coordination and the actual participation of local stakeholders, while noting that equity and gender considerations are primarily donor-driven.

The paper assesses the implementation of financial disclosure regulations for municipal councillors in South Africa, finding that while laws are progressive, practical application is inconsistent across municipalities. Key failures include poor record quality, low compliance in some areas, restricted public access to information, and a lack of proactive monitoring and oversight. The authors argue that the current system focuses on formal compliance rather than the substantive detection of irregularities, which allows corruption in public procurement to persist. The document provides case studies of municipal corruption and recommends standardising disclosure templates, digitising submissions, and strengthening internal investigative capacities.

The document examines the lack of a broadly accepted standard for measuring local greenhouse gas emissions and highlights the difficulty of accounting for emissions from goods and materials produced or consumed outside community boundaries. It notes that current efforts primarily focus on in-boundary energy use and suggests that industry should be analyzed separately to improve effectiveness.

The author examines the tension between centralism and decentralization in Mexico, highlighting how the historical role of municipalities as mere operators of federal policy hinders local development. Using Oaxaca as a primary example, the text discusses the importance of 'comunalidad' (community-based organization) and the legal recognition of 'usos y costumbres' (customary law) for indigenous governance. It argues that sustainable development requires a shift away from top-down presidentialism toward a model of informed social participation, transparency, and equitable wealth distribution to mitigate the environmental and cultural impacts of globalization.

The document advocates for the integration of local communities in climate adaptation, highlighting tools like Community Based Vulnerability Assessments (CBVA) and the Local Adaptive Capacity (LAC) framework to identify hazards and assess resilience. It emphasizes that local networks are most effective when they maintain strong links with national and regional organizations to influence policy and share information.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) provides detailed legal and technical submissions on the draft Air Quality Management By-law for the Ngkawi District Municipality (NDM). The CER recommends aligning the by-laws with national legislation, such as the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act (AQA) and the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA), and suggests stricter local emission and dust standards to protect human health, particularly given the area's location within a High Priority Area (HPA).

The document examines the struggle of Ghana's MMDAs to transition from basic service provision to facilitating broad-based local economic development. It highlights a critical gap in fiscal decentralisation, noting that MMDAs are heavily dependent on unreliable central government transfers, specifically the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), while internally generated funds remain too low to cover recurrent expenditures. The brief argues that certain central government initiatives, such as the "one-constituency, one-million dollar" program, undermine decentralisation by bypassing MMDAs through special development authorities. To address these issues, the document recommends that MMDAs expand their revenue bases, create business-friendly environments for start-ups, and foster collaborations with the private sector and civil society to reduce poverty and unemployment.

The document provides a framework for youth engagement in South African local government, highlighting the legal rights of citizens aged 18 to 35 to participate in municipal decision-making. It identifies significant gaps in youth representation in parliament and low voter turnout in recent elections, while offering practical methods for youth to engage with municipalities and recommendations for local governments to better support young citizens.

The COMPACT Local Government Collaboration Model is a structured framework and facilitation guide aimed at fostering effective partnership between three key municipal stakeholders: administrators, councillors, and the community. Developed by Distillery and piloted in the Blue Crane Route and Newcastle municipalities, the model addresses a lack of collaboration identified through action research in 12 partner municipalities. The process consists of a preparation phase, a two-day workshop divided into five modules (Orientation, Making Sense of the Challenge, Vision and Hope, Implementing and Adapting, and Reflection and Learning), and a structured follow-up phase spanning 12 months. The guide includes specific facilitation tools such as stakeholder mapping, the Cynefin Framework for problem classification, and various 'energizers' to maintain participant engagement.

The guide provides a comprehensive overview of South Africa's local government system, detailing the roles of the local community, political structures, and administration. It explains the planning, implementation, and oversight cycle—specifically the Integrated Development Plan (IDP), the budget, and the Service Delivery Budget and Implementation Plan (SDBIP)—and offers practical strategies for citizens to hold municipalities accountable. It also covers the legal rights to basic services, housing, and spatial justice, while outlining the mechanisms for reporting misconduct and challenging administrative decisions.

The document provides a framework for youth engagement in South African local government, highlighting the legal rights of citizens aged 18-35 and the systemic barriers preventing their participation. It outlines specific legislative supports, such as the Constitution and the Municipal Systems Act, and suggests practical ways for youth to engage with municipalities, including participating in Integrated Development Planning (IDP) meetings and running for councillor positions.

The report examines a pilot project by Oxfam South Africa (OZA) and the Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI) to empower informal civil society organisations in the Alfred Nzo District Municipality through social accountability tools. While training workshops in Ntabankulu, Matatiele, and Winnie Madikizela Mandela municipalities improved community understanding of local government structures, the implementation of social audits faced significant hurdles. In Winnie Madikizela Mandela Municipality, attempts to audit the Mphuthumi Mafumbatha Stadium were undermined by local patronage networks and political interference, leading to community division and municipal non-cooperation. The report highlights the 'patronage trap,' where civic activism is compromised by clientelistic relations with political elites. Ultimately, the project demonstrated the value of linking community-led social audits with formal oversight by the Auditor General South Africa (AGSA) to uncover project delays and financial discrepancies.

The document outlines the legal and operational framework of South African local government, emphasizing the duty of municipalities to provide basic services and improve the lives of citizens, particularly poor households. It describes the three-tier system of government (local, provincial, and national) and the specific categories of municipalities: Metropolitan (Category A), Local (Category B), and District (Category C). The guide details the interaction between the local community, political structures (such as the Council, Mayor, and Speaker), and the municipal administration led by the municipal manager, highlighting the accountability of elected officials to the public.

The World Resources Institute (WRI) developed the Assessing Climate Change Adaptation Framework (ACCAF) to enhance the United Nations Capital Development Fund's (UNCDF) Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility (LoCAL). The LoCAL mechanism provides performance-based grants to local authorities in Least Developed Countries for adaptation interventions. WRI identified three primary challenges in designing the ACCAF: integrating adaptation monitoring and evaluation (M&E) into a performance-based grant system, measuring mainstreamed adaptation, and balancing the M&E needs of individual countries against those of the wider portfolio. The paper presents solutions to these challenges and offers lessons for global donors and practitioners to improve adaptation programming.

The paper argues that local governments are underutilized actors in locally led adaptation (LLA) and demonstrates how the Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility (LoCAL) supports them through performance-based grants and capacity building. Using case studies from Niger, Lesotho, and Cambodia, the text shows that while local governments can effectively bridge the gap between national policy and community action, they may also reflect exclusionary power dynamics that require broader engagement with non-state actors to ensure inclusivity.

WWF South Africa aims to address historical exclusion and inequality by supporting local governance and the establishment of community-based and multi-stakeholder institutions. The goal is to ensure marginalised communities have the rights, skills, and capacity necessary for the sustainable management of natural resources and self-determination.