TY - JOUR
T1 - Locally led adaptation: Promise, pitfalls, and possibilities
AU - Rahman, Mohammad
AU - Falzon, Danielle
AU - Robinson, Stacy-Ann
AU - Kuhl, Laura
AU - Westoby, Ross
AU - Omukuti, Jessica
AU - Schipper, E Lisa F
AU - McNamara, Karen E
AU - Resurrección, Bernadette P
AU - Mfitumukiza, David
AU - Nadiruzzaman, Md
N1 - Funding information: The infographics presented in the paper were prepared by Sarah Engelhard and funding for their preparation was covered by an internal grant from Griffith University, Australia to Dr. Ross Westoby. The authors acknowledge the contributions of Rachel Clissold who reviewed an earlier version of the manuscript. They also thank the three reviewers for their encouraging feedback on the manuscript, which certainly improved its quality. M. Feisal Rahman would like to acknowledge the support received from the UKRI GCRF Living Deltas Hub under Grant Reference NE/ S008926/1 which covered his salary and informed his contribution to the manuscript.
PY - 2023/10/1
Y1 - 2023/10/1
N2 - Locally led adaptation (LLA) has recently gained importance against top-down planning practices that often exclude the lived realities and priorities of local communities and create injustices at the local level. The promise of LLA is that adaptation would be defined, prioritised, designed, monitored, and evaluated by local communities themselves, enabling a shift in power to local stakeholders, resulting in more effective adaptation interventions. Critical reflections on the intersections of power and justice in LLA are, however, lacking. This article offers a nuanced understanding of the power and justice considerations required to make LLA useful for local communities and institutions, and to resolve the tensions between LLA and other development priorities. It also contributes to a further refinement of LLA methodologies and practices to better realise its promises. Ultimately, we argue that the utility of the LLA framing in promoting climate justice and empowering local actors needs to be tested empirically.
AB - Locally led adaptation (LLA) has recently gained importance against top-down planning practices that often exclude the lived realities and priorities of local communities and create injustices at the local level. The promise of LLA is that adaptation would be defined, prioritised, designed, monitored, and evaluated by local communities themselves, enabling a shift in power to local stakeholders, resulting in more effective adaptation interventions. Critical reflections on the intersections of power and justice in LLA are, however, lacking. This article offers a nuanced understanding of the power and justice considerations required to make LLA useful for local communities and institutions, and to resolve the tensions between LLA and other development priorities. It also contributes to a further refinement of LLA methodologies and practices to better realise its promises. Ultimately, we argue that the utility of the LLA framing in promoting climate justice and empowering local actors needs to be tested empirically.
KW - Adaptation
KW - Locally led adaptation (LLA)
KW - Power
KW - Justice
KW - Community led
KW - Local
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85161278720&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s13280-023-01884-7
DO - 10.1007/s13280-023-01884-7
M3 - Article
C2 - 37286919
SN - 0044-7447
VL - 52
SP - 1543
EP - 1557
JO - Ambio
JF - Ambio
IS - 10
ER -