Adaptation and Resilience

Voices for Just  Climate Action

The Voices for Just Climate Action is a program that aims to ensure that by 2025 local civil societies and communities take a central role as creators, facilitators and advocates for innovative climate solutions. The program is being implemented in 7 countries - Kenya, Tunisia, Zambia, Indonesia, Brolivia, Brazil and Paraguay.  

Since 2022, ADA has been contributing to the VCA Pillar 3 ‘Joint lobbying and advocacy to make financial flows responsive to locally-led climate solutions’, undertaken through the project titled ‘Enhancing Participatory Decision Making for Locally-Led Climate Solutions’. 

The project supported the county governments of Nakuru and Narok to establish Ward Climate Change Planning Committees through capacity building of county climate change officers; building the capacity of pilot WCCPCs in Biashara and Kilgoris Wards; and an additional 2 WCCPCs in Marsabit County  (Loglogo and Karare) and 3 WCCPCs in Lamu County (Bahari, Kinungi and Mkunumbi). Capacity sought by the newly established WCCPCs include their roles and responsibilities; the legal and institutional framework for climate change; how to undertake participatory climate vulnerability and capacity assessment; locally-led project cycles; community climate project proposals and project sustainability management. The respective county government officials were also trained and will thereafter lead the capacity building of other WCCPCs in their counties.

Climate Data Ecosystem

ADA has been working towards the development of a climate finance data ecosystem. This refers to strengthening the collection and transfer of climate data for the generation of relevant climate information for use at the county and national level to enhance informed decision making for climate action. Towards this goal, in 2022, ADA undertook a project with Makueni and Wajir Counties, as case studies.  The two counties were supported to review the climate data and information that they were generating, and how it is used in development and implementation of policies and strategies, especially in supporting households to address climate change risks and build resilience. Makueni and Wajir counties had existing climate policies, strategies, Climate Information Services (CIS) plans, and functional climate adaptation investments benefiting communities. The findings emphasised the need for counties to support the operationalization of county information services, ensuring a predictable and defined approach to awareness creation and the use of climate information, as current efforts had limited coverage. The report and policy brief are available here for further reading. 

Functionality and Sustainability Studies

Having piloted the CCCF in, Isiolo, Garissa, Wajir, Kitui and Makueni from 2013 – 2018. over 100 locally-led climate adaptation investments were implemented.. Lack of water was and is the greatest climate challenge in the five ASAL counties hence priority investments were on water resources and aimed at  availability and access to water for domestic and productive uses. 

These investments, among other things, improved access to water, saving women and girls almost two hours of time each day, and increased average household income by eight percent. The CCCF management processes fostered closer engagement between stakeholders and the county governments, with positive results for county planning such as ensuring the voices of the vulnerable and marginalised (e.g. women and youth) were heard and included in county level climate adaptation and development decision making.

In 2019, a study was undertaken on 62 of the CCCF investments to assess the number of investments that were functional 6 years after the first investments were made. A repeat study was conducted in 2023, 10 years after the first investments and 5 years after  the last investments were made. The study sought to understand the factors that contribute to sustainability, or lack thereof, of locally-led adaptation investments.  The objectives of the assessment were; to assess the technical and functional status of investments; to assess the governance, institutional and management context within which investments operate,  how this affects their functionality, and, to create a platform for state & non-state actors and communities to learn and reflect on community perspectives, lessons and experiences from locally led adaptation actions such as CCCF investments. Reports of the 2019 functionality study and the 2023 functionality study are available here.

Other work done include:

• Development of adaptation indicators for adaptation for M & E 
• Political Economy of LREB
• The TAMD framework for CCCF M & E