Ivy Kinyua (ELP 2024) | Senior Research Associate, Policies and Institutions for Climate Action, Alliance of Bioversity International and International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Kenya

In the rush to develop strategies for climate adaptation, decision-makers often overlook the importance of local contexts and the voices of the communities most affected. This oversight can lead to ineffective, and sometimes even harmful, interventions, resulting in maladaptation—where the solutions meant to help actually hinder a communities ability to respond to climate change. (World Resources Institute- Locally Led Climate Adaptation) This blog explores why integrating local communities, with a keen understanding of social dynamics, is vital in climate adaptation planning. How can collaboration lead to the co-creation of more effective and sustainable solutions?

Imagine this: the sun blazes down, roads stretch out in dusty trails, and the land tells the story of countless days without rain. Women carry jerry cans of water, a powerful reminder of the scarcity of this precious resource. If you live in a place where clean water flows from a tap at the turn of a handle, it might be hard to imagine the daily struggle that others face—where accessing water means a five or ten kilometer trek under a relentless sun.

The solution seems simple from an outsider’s perspective: reduce the trek by installing water tanks closer to homes or digging wells nearby. Indeed, after consultations with the community, a well- intentioned project proposed water storage tanks to ease the burden. Yet, a year after implementation, an evaluation revealed something surprising—the tanks were abandoned, and the women had returned to their long treks.

This outcome seems shocking at first. However, the projects failure to succeed underscores a crucial lesson: by bringing water closer to homes, the project inadvertently disrupted a key social ritual. The daily journey to fetch water was more than just a chore; it was a time for women to socialize, share news, and support each other. The trek and the activities at the water point provided them with a sense of community, a break from the daily grind, and a space to unwind and catch up on the days events. By eliminating this ritual, the project removed an important social outlet, causing more harm than good.

This critical aspect was overlooked during the situational analysis, highlighting the need for deeper engagement with local communities. Such engagement would have allowed project planners to understand the social nuances influencing how people interact with their environment and resources. Better communication and collaboration could have revealed the importance of the social time associated with water collection, leading to an adaptation strategy that preserved this aspect while still addressing the water access issue.

In conclusion, while certain risks are acceptable when implementing new projects, thorough and meaningful engagement with local communities is essential. It ensures that adaptation strategies are technically sound and socially and culturally appropriate, ultimately leading to more effective and sustainable outcomes.

[The blog post was published on Flickr. Original image by UNICEF. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic.]