ABSTRACT Climate adaptation has become an important policy priority in fragile and conflict‐affected states, yet the implementation of adaptation policies often remains weak. This study examines the governance and institutional factors that contribute to adaptation policy implementation gaps in Somalia. Using Somalia as an in‐depth qualitative case, the study draws on secondary data from national policy documents, reports by international organizations, and peer‐reviewed literature published between 2012 and 2024. Guided by an environmental governance perspective, the analysis focuses on how institutional arrangements, coordination systems, financing patterns, and state‐society relations shape the implementation of adaptation policy in practice. The findings show that Somalia has made progress in developing adaptation‐related policy frameworks across key vulnerability sectors, including water, agriculture, disaster risk reduction, and climate‐sensitive livelihoods. However, implementation remains constrained by fragmented institutional mandates, weak coordination across sectors and levels of government, limited technical and monitoring capacity, dependence on donor‐funded project cycles, and insufficient involvement of local authorities and communities. These factors create a persistent gap between formal policy commitment and operational delivery. The study argues that adaptation policy implementation in fragile states is shaped not only by policy design, but by the broader conditions of state‐building, governance consolidation, and donor‐state relations. By showing how adaptation governance unfolds within evolving and contested institutional settings, the paper offers a more context‐sensitive understanding of why implementation gaps persist in fragile states such as Somalia.
Adan et al. (Tue,) studied this question.