Making adaptation fit: Analysis of joint climate change adaptation programs of the mdgf

Climate change adaptation governance is characterized by complexity and uncertainty, requiring harmonization across different sectors and scales as well as flexibility to respond to changing realities. International organizations have been increasingly involved in adaptation activities, particularly targeted at vulnerable populations, under established project management routines. However, to be effective, adaptation must be inherently context specific and dynamic to suit the ecological conditions and socioeconomic aspects of any given locale. This poses a dilemma: how can international organizations translate their often broadly defined global mandates, while simultaneously downscaling those mandates to suit the specific adaptation needs of given populations and ecosystems? This research takes a case study approach to investigate the climate change adaptation experience of selected United Nations-led programs, investigating their responses to context-specific needs and highlighting the opportunities and challenges found in these experiences. The case study countries comprised of Bosnia and Herzegovina, China, Colombia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Jordan, Mauritania, Mozambique, Peru, and Turkey. Through the use of the 5C+ Protocol theoretical framework, the experiences of these country programs were compared to determine which factors were of greatest influence in successful program implementation. The research concludes that the most significant challenges were: early inclusion of stakeholders to enable support and ownership of adaptation activities, meaningful participation by people at all levels in the identification of problems and solutions, and proper coordination of activities across affected sectors and governance levels. Paying specific attention to these challenges will allow for greater program effectiveness. However, incorporating such measures into adaptation must also include deliberate learning processes, to allow flexibility in response to potential nonlinearities of climate change.