The critical analysis of externally funded climate adaptation projects in shaping local scale experience and development of adaptive capacity in Pacific least developed countries

Abstract

External financing sources have played an important role in shaping climate adaptation measures as well as local development initiatives in developing nations that are short of resources and capacity. This thesis carries out the research and analysis for building critical knowledge on the implications and distribution of externally funded climate adaptation projects in Pacific least developed countries. The existing academic research has been very limited in spite of growing importance of external financing resource in least developed countries. The linkage to development and other environmental issues is investigated to identify complementarity and duplication in the distribution of externally donor-funded projects in shaping local scale experience and development of adaptive capacity. The research results on spatial scale demonstrate that the adaptation measures shaped through external financing sources lack local scale projects. The opportunities were given to local communities to be engaged in shaping and developing local adaptation projects through a multistakeholder approach preferred by donor agencies. However, the lower extent of participation may imply the community’s limited influence on decision-making power in prioritizing local-scale adaptation initiatives. Donor-driven funding criteria and reporting requirements may impose restrictions on community input by giving more authority to government stakeholders in determining adaptation projects at national scale. The fund disbursement may also be distorted by donor preference to recipient countries meeting funding criteria as observed from the inequality of the distribution of adaptation projects among Pacific least developed countries.