Adapting to climate change: emerging local institutions in Mozambique

Unclear definition of institutional roles in climate change (CC) adaptation, across local, national, and regional levels, undermines the effectiveness of CC adaptation strategies. Addressing this governance gap is essential for translating global climate goals into actionable, context-specific adaptation measures. This study used mixed methods to explore local experience of climate change impacts, and explain the role of local institutions in adaptation to CC in the Pafúri region, located in the buffer zone of Limpopo National Park, and highly prone to drought and flooding. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 80 community leaders and eight representatives of local organizations; and a questionnaire was administered to 106 randomly selected households. The results indicate that droughts and floods cause food insecurity in the region, and this is exacerbated by crop raiding and livestock predation by wildlife. Training on CC and membership in producers’ associations are key factors (P < 0.05) of adaptation. Hence, institutional roles should prioritize establishment of producers’ associations and training programmes. Nevertheless, there is a risk of limited institutional access due to the overlap across institutions in service provision. Our findings highlight the complexity of “role clarification” at the local level, and the opportunity to strengthen local governance in developing resilient, and responsive CC adaptation measures. This implies that CC adaptation policies should support research and facilitation of social learning among local institutions, to jointly develop (or reform) mechanisms for refining institutional mandates for CC adaptation with a view to reducing overlapping roles and responsibilities and enhancing institutional access by local communities.