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Political economy, poverty, and polycentrism in the Global Environment Facility’s Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) for Climate Change Adaptation

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  • Benjamin K. Sovacool
  • May Tan-Mullins
  • David Ockwell
  • Peter Newell

Abstract

Climate change adaptation refers to altering infrastructure, institutions or ecosystems to respond to the impacts of climate change. Least developed countries often lack the requisite capacity to implement adaptation projects. The Global Environment Facility’s Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) is a scheme where industrialised countries have disbursed $934.5 million in voluntary contributions to support 213 adaptation projects across 51 least developed countries. But how effective are its efforts—and what sort of challenges have arisen as it implements projects? To provide some answers, this article documents the presence of four “political economy” attributes of adaptation projects—processes we have termed enclosure, exclusion, encroachment and entrenchment—cutting across economic, political, ecological and social dimensions. Based on extensive field research, we find the four processes at work simultaneously in our case studies of five LDCF projects being implemented in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, the Maldives and Vanuatu. The article concludes with a discussion of the broader implications of the political economy of adaptation for analysts, program managers and climate researchers at large. In sum, the politics of adaptation must be taken into account so that projects can maximise their efficacy and avoid marginalising those most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

Suggested Citation

  • Benjamin K. Sovacool & May Tan-Mullins & David Ockwell & Peter Newell, 2017. "Political economy, poverty, and polycentrism in the Global Environment Facility’s Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) for Climate Change Adaptation," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(6), pages 1249-1271, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:ctwqxx:v:38:y:2017:i:6:p:1249-1271
    DOI: 10.1080/01436597.2017.1282816
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Omukuti, Jessica, 2020. "Challenging the obsession with local level institutions in country ownership of climate change adaptation," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    2. Sovacool, Benjamin K., 2018. "Bamboo Beating Bandits: Conflict, Inequality, and Vulnerability in the Political Ecology of Climate Change Adaptation in Bangladesh," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 183-194.
    3. Louis Lebel & Mira Käkönen & Va Dany & Phimphakan Lebel & Try Thuon & Saykham Voladet, 2018. "The framing and governance of climate change adaptation projects in Lao PDR and Cambodia," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 429-446, June.
    4. Tiffany H. Morrison & W. Neil Adger & Katrina Brown & Maria Carmen Lemos & Dave Huitema & Terry P. Hughes, 2017. "Mitigation and adaptation in polycentric systems: sources of power in the pursuit of collective goals," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 8(5), September.
    5. Sovacool, Benjamin K. & Tan-Mullins, May & Abrahamse, Wokje, 2018. "Bloated bodies and broken bricks: Power, ecology, and inequality in the political economy of natural disaster recovery," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 243-255.
    6. Sumit Vij, 2023. "Polycentric disaster governance in a federalising Nepal: interplay between people, bureaucracy and political leadership," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 56(4), pages 755-776, December.
    7. Meenakshi Shankar Poti & Jean Huge & Kartik Shanker & Nico Koedam & Farid Dahdouh-Guebas, 2022. "Learning from small islands in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO): A systematic review of responses to environmental change," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/346937, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.

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