Policy coherence between climate change adaptation and urban policies in Ghana: implications for adaptation planning in African cities

Abstract

African urban areas and cities are primarily seen as vulnerable to climate change. Apparent attempts to get required policies have led to the widespread proliferation of overlapping and duplications of policies. Using a policy coherence framework, this study aims to synthesise the coherency of climate adaptation and urban policies in Ghana. The study used content analysis of existing policy documents to understand if specific variables are explicit, implicit or not mentioned in four urban and climate change policies in Ghana. It was found that there is a minimal degree of coherence only in the adaptation measures, but there is a general lack of coherence in the motivation and implementation. This can be attributed to radically different current institutional arrangements for urban planning and climate change, inconsistent use of data and terminologies, and lack of embracement of innovations in urban planning in African cities. The findings suggest that attention must be given to integrated collaborative adaptation planning to address these impediments in urban planning context of African cities.