Multi-level governance and climate change adaptation: A systematic literature review

Climate change adaptation (CCA) is recognised as a locally embedded process, yet a gap persists between national adaptation strategies and local needs. This study examines the factors contributing to this gap within the multi-level governance (MLG) system. A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted, guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Relevant literature was extracted from Scopus, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar. The findings show that the gap is influenced by; (1) institutional misfit, caused by lack of involvement of local actors and incoherent coordination across between different levels of governance; (2) strategic misfit, where technocratic governance is given priority over reflexive, content-sensitive institutions and mitigation-centric framework that sidelines local adaptation priorities; (3) financial misfit, which hinders adaptive capacity by means of centralised financial support and donor preference for large projects, thus rendering local initiative and timely adaptation insignificant; and (4) epistemic misfit, where scientific knowledge is given priority over local knowledge, resulting in contextually blind interventions. Based on the above findings, this study suggests a unified adaptive-fit governance framework that integrates iterative learning and institutional flexibility with context-aligned, locally grounded governance capable of responding to diverse risk realities. This conceptual governance framework enables researchers and policymakers to diagnose why adaptation fails even within formally decentralised and adaptive systems, rather than merely describing coordination gaps.