Overcoming Systemic Barriers to Locally-Led Adaptation: Insights from LIFE-AR

There is no doubt that the effect of climate change has always been unequal, with developing nations standing on the front line. These countries contribute the least to global emissions yet bear the brunt of climate impacts. Locally-Led Adaptation (LLA) and Community-Based Adaptation (CBA) offer sustainability and resilience pathways. Aiming to position the mechanisms to adaptation directly in the hands of vulnerable communities, LLA ensures that affected communities are empowered to take the lead in initiating and defining their adaptation strategies at the grassroots level. Focusing on the Business Unusual approach, the LIFE-AR initiative, which is developed under the leadership of the LDC Group, emphasizes how these principles can be implemented. However, systemic barriers in governance, finance, and policy structures remain significant obstacles to progress.

Climate adaptation is viewed as a matter of survival for the LDCs. That being the case, the LLA framework under the LIFE-AR program prioritizes decentralization, equity, and sustainability. These principles challenge the traditional top-down approaches to adaptation by placing decision-making and resources directly in the hands of those most affected. Operationalizing these principles requires major changes in how adaptation programs are planned, financed, and implemented.

Challenges in Climate Finance

One of the major obstacles of LLA is the limited and untimely access to funding. Imagine farmers in rural Uganda. Each season, they face worsening droughts and floods, their crops withering under climate extremes. Global adaptation finance has seen significant pledges, yet a report by the OECD (2023) reveals that only a small portion of these funds reaches local levels in LDCs. LIFE-AR aims to address this by ensuring that at least 70% of climate finance reaches local communities by 2030. According to the LIFE-AR Secretariat (2024), this model ensures that resources are directly accessible to communities, empowering them to address their unique climate challenges.

Despite these efforts, funding mechanisms often prioritize large-scale, centralized projects that sometimes fail to account for community needs. LIFE-AR proposes an independent, LDC-led financial facility to overcome this issue, promoting long-term and predictable funding instead of temporary fixes. Such innovations can bridge the gap between global commitments and local realities.

Governance and Institutional Barriers

Rigid governance structures also limit the effectiveness of LLA. For example, in many LDCs, centralized decision-making has delayed the implementation of critical climate adaptation projects. In Malawi, the Decentralization Act of 1998 devolved powers and funding for climate change activities from the central government to local councils. This shift enabled more responsive and targeted adaptation efforts, ensuring that resources reach vulnerable communities without bureaucratic delays (NAP Global Network, 2020). Centralized systems often exclude local governments and communities from decision-making processes, reducing their ability to adapt swiftly to climate challenges. In response, LIFE-AR emphasizes devolving decision-making to the lowest appropriate level. In The Gambia, for instance, community-led planning processes have enabled more participatory and responsive governance structures (LIFE-AR, 2024).

This transformation requires not only political will but also practical mechanisms to align national and local priorities. LIFE-AR’s phased implementation strategy, beginning with pilot projects and scaling based on lessons learned, offers a model for institutional reform. Through national platforms, the initiative fosters coherence between local actions and national strategies, ensuring accountability at all levels.

Strengthening Local Capacities

Technical expertise for climate adaptation remains a challenge to many local actors. This capacity gap, however, is not irreversible. LIFE-AR addresses this by investing in local institutions and individuals. Partnerships with academic networks like the Least Developed Countries Universities Consortium on Climate Change (LUCCC) ensure that communities are equipped with the skills and tools needed to manage adaptation programs effectively (LIFE-AR, 2024).

In Malawi, local governments have benefitted from training programs that build their ability to design and implement adaptation strategies. These programs not only strengthen resilience but also embed a culture of continuous learning and improvement. Such efforts ensure that adaptation strategies are both sustainable and scalable.

Bridging Policy Disconnects

Policies that fail to reflect local realities can undermine adaptation programs. The LDC Vision, which integrates adaptation, mitigation, and resilience into national development objectives, provides a framework for aligning local and global priorities (LDC Group, 2024). However, translating this vision into actionable policies is challenging, particularly when global and local priorities diverge.

LIFE-AR’s alignment with the Paris Agreement’s Global Goal of Adaptation demonstrates how these synergies can be realized. As the program prioritizes integrating community-led initiatives into national climate strategies, LIFE-AR ensures that local voices are not just heard but prioritized (UNFCCC, 2024). This approach also improves access to international finance, creating a feedback loop that enhances both funding and implementation.

Lessons from Uganda

Uganda’s implementation of LLA principles showcases how systemic barriers can be overcome. Through initiatives like the Parish Climate Change Committees, communities are directly involved in planning, monitoring, and evaluating adaptation projects. This participatory approach has enhanced transparency and strengthened trust between local actors and stakeholders (LIFE-AR, 2024). This participatory model demonstrates how aligning local knowledge with formal structures can lead to effective climate adaptation outcomes. Through Parish Climate Change Committees, communities participate directly in planning, monitoring, and evaluating adaptation projects. Monthly meetings provide a platform for accountability, allowing residents to assess progress and ensure that funds are used effectively (LIFE-AR, 2024).

The integration of local and scientific knowledge has further strengthened adaptation efforts. For instance, Uganda’s co-created climate advisories combine meteorological data with traditional insights, enabling farmers to make informed decisions. These practices illustrate the transformative potential of LLA when systemic barriers are addressed.

Breaking Barriers, Building Resilience

The success of Locally-Led Adaptation depends on dismantling systemic barriers that impede progress. Policymakers must enact reforms that decentralize decision-making, donors should align financial commitments with local priorities, and development organizations need to invest in building long-term institutional capacities. Only through these coordinated actions can communities fully lead and sustain their climate adaptation initiatives. LIFE-AR offers a pathway to achieve these goals by embedding LLA principles into governance and finance structures.

As the LDC Vision outlines, achieving climate-resilient pathways by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2050 requires strong action. With this initiative, the LDCs can turn vulnerability into resilience, while ensuring that no one is left behind in the fight against climate change.