Establishing institutions and setting up policies at national and sub-national levels are prerequisites for communities to increase their adaptive capacity to expected climate change impacts. Although Sudan is considered to be a leading country in the region regarding building resilience and adaptive capacity to expected climate change impacts. However, lack of capacity and capability to avoid and deal with latest catastrophes resulting from climatic variability at both; Khartoum State (Capital of Sudan) and nationwide level; can be seen as an indication of possible significant lack and gaps in coping capacity with tougher future climate change impacts. The present study undertakes analysis of the institutional and policy context of adapting to climate changes in Sudan at both national and sub-national levels (Khartoum State). The main objective of the study is to provide an analysis of the current level of integrating climate change adaptation processes in forms of policies and daily municipal practices. However, the Specific aims of this study are to conduct a situational analysis for the current institutional arrangement, mapping major stakeholders and their respective roles in adapting Sudan to climate change and then after to define gaps and needs of ongoing adaptation process. This paper has adopted mainly a qualitative method approach to fulfill its aims and objective. Interviews and focus group discussions have been carried out with key actors in federal ministries (National level) and with officials in Khartoum State ministries and authorities (Local Level); as well, officials in four local Non-Governmental Organizations and officials in three United Nations agencies all have been interviewed. Moreover, desk-based review of documents, reports and similar research results has also been adopted as a methodology in this study. The result has yielded a policy and institutional framework for adaptation to climate change in Sudan; which exhibited that there’s no climate change policy at both national and Khartoum State level. However, the policy and institutional framework has showed that; there is established institutional mechanism to coordinate across sectors involved in the adaptation process. The study concluded that; effective climate change adaptation process depends on political, social, economic, environmental, and cultural factors and as well, it depends on skills and motivation of leaders, decision-makers, planners, and other stakeholders.

Keywords: Adaptive Capacity, policy and institutional framework, Khartoum State, Local Level.