Kenya is increasingly vulnerable to the effects of climate change from unpredictable rainfall to droughts and floods. In response, counties are taking the lead through the Financing Locally-Led Climate Action (FLLoCA) program. The initiative shifts climate resilience from national rhetoric to local responsibility, equipping counties with both funding and a framework to act.
At the heart of FLLoCA is a decentralized structure. Counties are required to form Ward Climate Change Planning Committees (WCCPCs) and County Climate Change Planning Committees (CCCPCs). These bodies identify climate priorities from the community level upward. In Siaya County, this led to 91 project proposals from 30 wards 21 of which were shortlisted for funding.
In Nakuru County, the structure goes further. The county formed 55 ward committees inclusive of women, youth, and marginalized groups. These teams designed interventions like riparian restoration and waste management. Nakuru allocated KSh 55 million from its own budget, which was matched with KSh 188 million from FLLoCA demonstrating a blend of local ownership and external support.
Kisumu County has focused on infrastructure. With FLLoCA funding, it built a Green Resource Center worth KSh 120 million. It includes a climate-focused library, an innovation space for green technologies, a climate data center, and offices for the county’s environment department. The aim is to centralize research, training, and climate data to support local decision-making.
Counties like Tharaka Nithi and Bomet are using FLLoCA to invest in basic resilience infrastructure. In Tharaka Nithi, sand dams and irrigation systems are being built to improve water security. In Bomet, the county is distributing over 55,000 fruit seedlings and installing solar-powered water pumps to promote sustainable farming.
FLLoCA is also driving policy and institutional reform. In Marsabit County, the government passed a Climate Change Fund Act that allocates 2% of the county’s development budget to climate action. In Trans-Nzoia, training sessions for Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) are building legislative support for climate planning and budgeting.
Some counties risk losing access to FLLoCA funds because they haven’t met basic requirements like updating outdated laws or allocating the minimum 1.5% of their budgets to climate initiatives. Without these legal and financial reforms, they can’t qualify for funding, slowing progress where it’s needed most.
What FLLoCA is doing is making climate action local. By shifting power and resources to counties, it’s enabling solutions that reflect regional realities. Climate resilience, under this model, is built from the ward level upward.
Counties are becoming the frontline in Kenya’s climate response. The challenge now is to ensure that more of them are equipped legally, financially, and institutionally to meet the moment.
By Abraham Barsosio – Program Manager-County Coordination
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