Muddled governance and politics in climate change adaptation in ‘Left Behind Places’: Evidence from Gwanda and Lupane Districts, Zimbabwe

Abstract

Abstract Global and national adaptation discourses often celebrate policies, funding targets, and institutional frameworks. But what happens when these narratives collide with everyday life in rural ‘Left Behind Places’? Here, adaptation is not just about glossy project reports, it is about elders reviving seed-sharing networks, women organising water rotas, and communities demanding inclusion in decisions that affect their survival. This paper peels back the layers of policy rhetoric to reveal the governance failures, political exclusions, and grassroots innovations shaping climate adaptation in places too often ignored. The paper critically examines the governance and political dynamics shaping climate change adaptation in Gwanda and Lupane - two rural districts emblematic of ‘Left Behind Places’ in Zimbabwe’s political economy. Drawing on qualitative data from key informant interviews, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and policy analysis, the study reveals how adaptation efforts are constrained by politicised resource distribution, elite capture, and top-down decision-making processes. Despite the presence of formal climate policies and NGO interventions, local communities remain excluded from governance structures, with participation often reduced to symbolic performance. Yet, amid this institutional neglect, communities engage in grassroots adaptation through traditional knowledge, informal innovation, and social collaboration, what this paper conceptualises as climate citizenship from below. The findings call for a repoliticisation of adaptation governance in Zimbabwe, grounded in inclusion, transparency, and local agency. In advancing these arguments, the paper contributes to critical climate governance scholarship in Africa and offers pathways toward more just, participatory, and context-sensitive adaptation frameworks.