Country ownership of adaptation: Stakeholder influence or government control?

Abstract

Adaptation to climate change needs to reflect local level priorities. Principles for country ownership of adaptation within the UNFCCC emphasise on intra-state multi-stakeholder engagement. Multilaterally-funded projects therefore embed multi-level stakeholder collaborations (MSCs) into their approaches. MSCs enable integration of diverse stakeholder voices into adaptation decision making. This supports equitable adaptation, as these stakeholders can highlight local level vulnerabilities and addresses adaptation needs. This paper uses a case study of a project in Tanzania administered by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to understand whether multi-stakeholder engagement in MSCs enables intra-state stakeholder influence in adaptation decision making. Social exchange theory is used to understand power and influence in MSC decision-making. Influence is framed as a factor of resources exchanged, organisational and institutional structures, and rules determining stakeholder engagement. Results from interviews with adaptation stakeholders (n=47) show that most stakeholders perceived government's control of adaptation finance as a country ownership principle acting as enabling disproportionate government influence and exclusion of other stakeholders from adaptation decision making. The project's national level structures and the international level country ownership requirements limited the engagement of non-government and local actors in project design. These findings suggest that in seeking to implement projects that reflect country ownership principles, multilateral finance mechanisms may be reproducing injustices by creating structures that reinforce marginalization and exclusion of local level communities. The research recommends a re-evaluation of approaches for achieving country ownership, e.g. through identification of practical options for direct engagement with non-government and local level actors.