Decentralizing climate funds to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable communities

 

Locally driven adaptation is an approach whereby local communities have the power to decide where, when and by what means they wish to adapt to climate change. However, access to financing for climate change adaptation remains a major challenge for local authorities in the Sahel.

In Senegal, the development of a mechanism for decentralizing climate funds is one way of putting this approach into practice. The implementation of this promising mechanism is, however, limited by the current weak capacity of local governments to integrate climate change adaptation into their governance and planning processes.

This project aims to build the capacity of local administrations in the Kaffrine region and Senegal's national administration to implement decentralized climate funds and locally led adaptation to improve the resilience of the communities’ resilience to climate change, and in particular of the most vulnerable groups such as women and young people.

Project activities will focus on building the capacity of individuals and institutions to learn and manage knowledge about climate change adaptation. Implementation mechanisms that adopt the locally led adaptation approach will also be operationalized as part of the decentralization of climate funds. The principles of locally driven adaptation will ultimately be integrated into relevant policies and practices at local and national levels.

At the end of the project, decentralized planning and financing mechanisms will be put in place in Kaffrine's local authorities; vulnerable groups (women and young people) will benefit from public investments in adaptation that address their priorities and strengthen their resilience; and national and international decision-makers will be better able to take into account the data and evidence acquired through the project, thanks to the establishment of appropriate knowledge-sharing processes.

This project is part of the Step Change initiative, co-funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands and IDRC. Step Change is a five-year, CAD28.5-million initiative that aims to accelerate equitable and inclusive locally led adaptation.