Bridging international and regional climate mobility frameworks with local realities: an investigation of Ghana’s governance of mobility as adaptation

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Climate mobility is increasingly recognized as a legitimate adaptation strategy, yet there is limited understanding of how international and regional frameworks are translated into national and local governance practices to address it. This study examines Ghana’s engagement with frameworks such as the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration and Global Compact on Refugees, the Sendai Framework, the Kampala Convention, and regional free movement protocols in governing climate mobility. Using qualitative policy analysis and interviews with affected communities, government and international organizations, the research reveals that despite formal adoption of progressive frameworks, implementation remains largely reactive. Sedentary bias, local contestation, performative policy commitments, and competing priorities limit anticipatory planning and constrain mobility as an adaptive strategy. At the same time, the analysis challenges simplistic reactive–proactive binaries by revealing hybrid governance arrangements that combine short-term crisis response with limited anticipatory elements. The paper argues that restricting or failing to proactively govern mobility does not prevent movement but often renders it more precarious. Finally, it underscores the need for integrated, participatory, and mobility-aware approaches to climate change adaptation governance that move beyond rhetorical commitments toward meaningful, context-sensitive action.

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AFRICA CLIMATE MOBILITIY INITIATIVE