Empowering Resilience: Community-Driven Climate Change Adaptation in Fafi Sub-County

Abstract

This article examines the influence of community participation on climate change adaptation in Fafi Sub-County, Garissa County. Grounded in Empowerment Theory, the article employed a descriptive design to ensure accurate and reliable data collection. The target population consisted of 104 key informants from institutions partnering with the Garissa County government on climate change initiatives: the Kenya Development Response to Displacement Impact Project (KDRDIP), the Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture Project (KCSAP), and the Department of Agriculture. A census method was applied, with all 104 respondents selected and interviewed, and qualitative data analysed verbatim. Findings indicated that community members played a critical role in identifying local climate challenges and priorities during the needs assessment stage, sharing first-hand experiences with droughts, flooding, and erratic rainfall, which significantly shaped the assessment process. Participation in the planning phase was largely positive, with community meetings, workshops, and focus groups facilitating resident in discussing and selecting appropriate adaptation strategies. Moreover, community engagement remained high during implementation phase, particularly in projects such as water conservation, drought-resistant agriculture, and tree planting. The research concludes that mainstreaming community participation into climate change adaptation is not a procedural necessity, it is a strategic necessity. Community-led processes result in stronger, more equitable, and widely accepted outcomes. But for participation to be genuine and effective, it should be institutionalized, well supported, and encompass all segments of the community. Ultimately, enabling authentic community ownership of climate adaptation planning is essential to addressing the compounded impacts of climate change in vulnerable regions like Fafi Sub-County. The interventions promote participatory climate governance as a central pillar of local resilience. However, challenges such as low participation rates from certain community groups, especially women and youth, due to cultural norms and socio-economic barriers hinder climate change adaptation. Moreover, disconnecting community members from the planning process overwhelm local knowledge and priorities. Conflict between local priorities and the objectives set by external factors hindered the full involvement of the community in the planning process, as their needs and preferences were not fully incorporated into the strategies.