Multi-level behaviour change for inclusive water security in a changing climate

About this project

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that approximately half of the world’s population is prone to water scarcity. Notably, African countries remain vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and the risks associated with water insecurity, with floods and droughts negatively impacting the lives and livelihoods of the most vulnerable communities. Behavioural and psychological sciences offer insights into how individual perceptions, motivations, and agency affect how people act on weather and climate information and how they respond to changing hazard profiles. However, in Africa there is a gap in terms of the contributions of these sciences to adaptation strategies that promote water security for vulnerable communities. This project examines adaptation behaviours and practices to identify insights and practical actions that address intersectional concerns that can be implemented at scale. The potential of behavioural and psychological sciences on adaptation to promote inclusive water security for the most vulnerable will be tested in Burkina Faso, Malawi, and Tanzania. Individual and community risk perceptions and behaviour around extreme events will inform interventions to address critical climate challenges related to water. The findings are expected to provide a basis for scaling to the Sahel region, Ethiopia and Zambia. The project forms part of the Climate Adaptation and Resilience initiative (CLARE), co-funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and De…

Published by

International Development Research Centre · Other public sector

Countries

Burkina Faso, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Ethiopia

Sectors

Research/scientific institutions

Focus

Climate adaptation · Also contributes

Published by International Development Research Centre to the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI), last updated 1 Sept 2026 and imported automatically. IATI identifier: XM-DAC-301-2-110005-001.

No updates yet.