Exploring Effective Strategies for Integrating Locally Led Adaptation (LLA) into NGO Practices

With growing intensity of climate change, vulnerable countries such as Bangladesh increasingly struggle to deliver equitable and sustainable adaptation. This study addresses the integration of Locally Led Adaptation (LLA) principles into the activities of NGOs working in the climatevulnerable coastal upazila of Shyamnagar, Satkhira District. Despite their crucial role in local adaptation, NGOs often struggle to align top-down solutions with the lived experiences of marginalized communities. As a result, these organizations may not fully resonate with local perspectives.

By employing a qualitative methodology with IDIs, FGDs, and KIIs, this study seeks to investigate the current integration and operationalization of LLA principles in NGOs. It identifies the major challenges faced by NGOs in incorporating and practicing LLA, systematizes these challenges, and critically examines the approaches used to mainstream LLA principles, assessing how effective such approaches are at achieving desired adaptation outcomes. The study is grounded in a framework that explores the relationship between LLA principles, NGO practices and challenges, community participation, and the effectiveness of LLA integration strategies.

The findings emphasize that NGOs participate informally in LLA, promoting community-driven decision-making and inclusivity. However, obstacles remain such as centralized finance and misalignment of policy, capacity deficiencies (both at local government level and in local communities), duplication of effort, under-investment in environmental/infrastructure vulnerabilities. To address these tensions, the paper finds that NGOs utilize proactive strategies given by policy reform advocacy, making LLA typical within their organization, capacity building for local leaders and government, coordination platforms and, tailoring and community-driven designs. Such strategies help to promote greater local leadership (by providing the impetus), longterm community ownership, enhanced inclusivity and output-based adaptation delivery, thus reinforcing community resilience and accountability.

This paper seeks to identify obstacles and opportunities for effective integration of LLA, positing that transformative adaptation will only follow if NGOs re-orient themselves towards inclusive, rights-based framework of development processes that shift the locus of decision-making and funding away from the center. The results will also complement the discussions on recasting the role of civil society in responding to climate change, including forming alliances to build solidarity and reinforce local ownership. Eventually, this research aims to contribute to the development of more equitable and context-sensitive adaptation interventions that support livelihood resilience and justice for marginalized communities at the front lines of climate change.