Decentralisation in West Africa: the implications for urban climate change governance

This paper examines the linkages between decentralization and urban climate governance through a literature review, supported by two city case studies: Saint-Louis in Senegal and Bobo-Dioulasso in Burkina Faso. 

The paper explores how urban development needs, and the responsibilities, policies and processes required to meet them, are shaped, facilitated or constrained in a context of decentralization. The case studies demonstrate that there have been a number of initiatives seeking to address climate change, nationally and locally. 

However, decentralization needs to progress further: there remains confusion due to overlapping roles and responsibilities between the central government and agencies acting at different levels, and financing at the city scale remains a challenge.

Available from:

http://pubs.iied.org/10769IIED.html?c=urban