This paper argues that small scale farmers face the double exposure of climate change and unpredictable patterns of global trade. Drawing on research undertaken in Ghana it showed that although many farmers intensified production by irrigating groundwater to grow and sell vegetables at local urban markets as an adaptive strategy, when they tried to integrate into larger markets they came up against unfair and unpredictable market failures. It is argued that small-scale irrigation can play an important role in local adaptive strategies but global economic practices need to be revised to consider poorer parts of the population.

This paper argues that community-based adaptation (CBA) “needs to recognize the considered experience of participatory development to date” and consider the specific challenges brought about by climate change. In particular, considerations in relation to local involvement in project planning to support pro-poor development that not only reduces poverty and vulnerability but also acknowledges and engages with issues of power and governance at different scales.

Using a detailed case study of the National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) in Nepal and Bangladesh, this PhD thesis focuses on local vulnerability within global climate change risk. It is hypothesized that the ‘paradox’ of local risk at the global scale gives rise to a globalized discourse that restricts local perspectives and knowledge on how risks are experienced. Calling on environmental governance to integrate local perspectives of climate risk, it focuses on three dimensions of inclusive policy-making, namely participation, expertise and deliberation. The author concludes that Nepal took a more inclusive approach to NAP preparation than Bangladesh which was influenced by historical and political context.

Southern Africa is one of the world's most vulnerable regions to climate variability and change. This paper originates from a project aimed at designing, testing and conducting a participatory modelling process for the formulation of a local adaptation plan. It addresses major risk and adaptation strategies to climate variability and change.

This paper uses Norwegian survey data to provide an overview of adaptation strategies on the municipal level. The paper highlights that local governments are more likely to invest in adaptation strategies to mitigate the impact of flooding than in securing buildings and infrastructure, showing that local adaptation measures are primarily reactive. It calls for proactive engagement in adaptation processes and enhancement of institutional capacity at the municipal level.

This OECD working paper highlights the importance of multilevel governance in dealing with climate change. It argues that countries can avoid policy gaps between local and national climate change policy frameworks by leveraging local government input. Additionally, it expects this will accelerate adaptation responses, engage local stakeholders and foster resource mobilization. The paper presents a framework to facilitate multilevel governance to encourage cross-scale learning.

The city of Durban in South Africa has developed a locally rooted climate adaptation strategy. This paper investigates how climate change was integrated into local planning, how it was allocated staff and funding and how it came to be a serious consideration in local politics. The paper underlines the importance of local knowledge, local capacity building and rooting climate issues in local realities.

People's adjustments to multiple shocks and changes, such as conflict and drought, can be intrinsically political processes with uneven outcomes. Strengthening local adaptive capacity is a critical component of adapting to climate change. Based on fieldwork in two areas in Kenya, this article shows how people seek to access livelihood adjustment options and promote particular adaptation interests by forming social relations and political alliances to influence collective decision-making.

Rather than implementing highly technical, expensive and outsider-led interventions that are often untried in field conditions, priority should be given to using and modifying traditional coping mechanisms developed in the communities in Bangladesh.