65 percent of total employment in Africa is in the informal sector, providing services such as small-scale retail, repair, hairdressing, and tailoring within open-air markets or from home. Approximately 56 percent of urban residents—double the global average—live in slum housing, which is defined as lack of durable housing, unaffordable access to safe drink water and adequate sanitation, insecurity of tenure, and insufficient living space.
The informal city—viewed here as the pockets of a city dominated by slums and informal sector work—is particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts for several reasons. First, high-intensity precipitation can flood houses and places of work, damaging assets and increasing exposure to water-borne diseases. Excess heat can contribute to the “urban heat island” effect whereby heat absorption by built-up surfaces can endanger the health of those working and living in poorly ventilated homes and markets. Third, increased drought can compromise water supply, worsening fire risks in markets and slums while also reducing hydropower resources and thus exacerbating electricity shortages, hurting informal businesses.
Fourth, higher sea levels and tides will increase flooding in Africa’s low-elevation coastal zones where population growth will increase in the coming decade. Yet, national climate change action plans (NCCAPs) prepared by African governments tend to overlook the threats to communities living and working in informal settings.
In a recent chapter prepared for the Global Center on Adaptation’s State and Trends in Adaptation Report 2022, we examine these challenges for informal communities in more detail by focusing on Accra, Ghana. We draw on interviews with policymakers and local politicians as well as focus group discussions with market traders, neighborhood associations, and traditional authorities to develop a framework about how climate change and informality intersect in African cities and to map out the tensions between formal governance structures and the realities of the informal city that obstruct inclusive adaptation.
Ghana is typical of other countries in the region that are increasingly affected by the impacts of climate change, including more volatile shifts in rainfall and heat. The capital city of Accra is one of Ghana’s 261 local government administrations. While the city has a population of about 2.6 million, it is also part of the larger Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA), which contains about 15 percent of Ghana’s total population. Accra’s low-lying elevation makes it increasingly vulnerable to climate volatility. In addition to flooding from excessive rainfall, Accra receives water runoffs flowing downward from other municipalities. The city is also affected by overflows from the Odaw River, the Korle Lagoon, and the Onyasia River as well as the growth in impervious surface areas, insufficient drainage, improper disposal of waste, and haphazard construction on waterways.
The threat of climate change has not gone unnoticed by Ghana’s policymakers, and several large-scale adaptation initiatives are underway, including drainage investments, expanding access to energy-efficient building materials, and paving alleyways in informal settlements. However, most initiatives do not address the realities of the informal city. First, there is a vast degree of institutional coordination required to address climate adaptation in informal communities within cities, especially in countries with relatively high levels of decentralization.
In Ghana, at least 10 national ministries have a role to play in either climate, employment, housing, or urban development. Moreover, since climate issues are often cross-jurisdictional, the Accra city government must coordinate with a broad range of other local governments in GAMA that have variable levels of capacities and resources. There are numerous informal sector organizations in Accra, but the maze of government actors impedes these organizations from advocating for their interests and identifying who should be held accountable for adaptation investment deficiencies and failures.
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