Bridging the Gap: Climate Finance Implementation and Impact at the Grassroots Level in The Gambia

This thesis examines the persistent disconnect between rising global climate finance commitments and their limited impact at the grassroots level, focusing on The Gambia as a case study. Despite significant growth in international climate finance, a paradox remains: vulnerable communities continue to experience minimal benefits. The research addresses this implementation gap, arguing that in least developed countries the challenge lies less in the volume of funding than in the institutional and governance structures that shape its distribution and use. Adopting a qualitative case study approach within an interpretivist paradigm, the study draws on semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders and document analysis of major climate finance projects. The findings reveal that only a small proportion of climate finance reaches local actors, with substantial resources absorbed by administrative processes and intermediary institutions. Structural barriers—including stringent accreditation requirements, limited national institutional capacity, and centralized decision-making, systematically exclude grassroots organizations and constrain locally relevant adaptation efforts. While innovative mechanisms such as locally led adaptation initiatives and community-based funding models demonstrate potential to improve inclusivity and effectiveness, their scale and influence remain limited within the broader system. The analysis is grounded in institutional theory, multi-level governance, political economy, and climate justice frameworks, which together highlight how power asymmetries and entrenched institutional practices shape access to and control over resources. The thesis argues that the climate finance gap is fundamentally institutional and power-related rather than purely financial. It concludes that addressing this gap requires structural reforms, including decentralization of decision-making, strengthening of national and local institutions, and meaningful participation of communities to ensure more equitable and effective climate finance delivery.