ecbi

Gender and Climate Change

Anju Sharma and Achala Chandani 11 July 2012

for sustained capacity building in support of international climate change negotiations pour un renforcement durable des capacités en appui aux négociations internationales sur les changements climatiques

 Women have a key role in ensuring energy supply and security at the household level; carbon capture, fixing or sequestration through forestry/ REDD; and sustainable consumption.  Both women and men are affected by climate change, but existing inequalities determine who is most affected. Women tend to have limited access to (physical, financial, human, social, natural capital) assets such as land, health care, food, education, training, knowledge, credit, agricultural inputs, technology, and decision making power. Climate change exacerbates the condition of women, and their ability to deal with it.

 Men and women have different needs and interests in mitigation and adaptation efforts. For instance, every aspect of technological intervention including needs, information, enabling environments, capacity building and technology transfer has a gender component which will affect its final outcome.

 Women bring unique perspectives and knowledge essential for climate change solutions.

• 70% of those who live on less than a dollar a day are women, as are 75% of the illiterate adults in the world.

 In developing countries, women produce 60-80% of the food despite their lack of access to farmland, low level of technological training and knowledge, and lack of financial assistance. An analysis of credit schemes in five African countries found that women received less than 10% of the credit awarded to male smallholders.  During the Bangladesh cyclone of 1991, early warning signals did not reach large numbers of women because information was passed through market places, to which many women do not have easy access. Of the 140,000 people who died, 90% were women.  Thousands of women technicians have been trained by Grameen Shakti in Bangladesh, to install, manage and repair solar home systems. They have been instrumental in the rapid take-up of solar power systems in the country.

 A World Bank review of 121 rural water supply projects found that women’s participation was among the variables strongly associated with project effectiveness. Failure to take gender differences and inequalities into account could result in failed projects.

Yet, women are under-represented in global and national climate-related planning and decision making processes, limiting their capacity to engage in political decisions and eventually in implementation.

The UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol had no specific language related to gender.

But 187 out of the 195 UNFCCC Parties have signed the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), adopted in 1979. An Optional Protocol to CEDAW, adopted in December 1999, establishes procedures whereby women may file complaints requesting investigation of violations of rights. Agenda 21 (United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, 1992); the World Conference on Human Rights (1993); the Beijing Platform for Action (4th World Conference on Women, 1995); the 1997 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women(CEDAW) the Millennium Declaration (2000); the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), 2002); the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD); the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD); and the Hyogo Framework for Action (World Conference on Disaster Reduction, 2005)

The High Court of Tanzania used CEDAW provisions to overrule elements of customary law which denied women the right to inherit and sell land

CBD and the UNCCD are relatively more advanced in the mainstreaming of equality and equity considerations.

UNCCD established an early link between the environmental situation, gender equality and social participation. However, gender and the role of women is frequently viewed as no more than rhetoric, with a vacuum in terms of concrete activities – perhaps as a result of limited capacity. CBD appointed a gender focal point in 2008, and adopted a Gender Plan of Action in 2008, for the 2008-2012 period. One of the main results will be the development of a Gender and Biodiversity Web Portal and the design and dissemination of guidelines to incorporate gender considerations into the National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAP).

Addressing gender issues at the global level

 Ensure

adequate representation of women

in the negotiations and in different bodies of the UNFCCC.

 Calling for a focus on gender in negotiated text and processes is important, but has limited impact. It is much more effective if global institutions and mechanisms are designed to serve the needs of the most vulnerable, especially women.

 Design institutions, policies and processes in a way that they

prioritise social impacts, and community/ household/ individual responses

.



Avoid centralised, fragmented funding

that cannot be accessed by vulnerable groups.



Beware the Big Bias –

capital intensive).

on biophysical impacts, and on mitigation activities (large scale, 

Regulate the private sector ’s social impact

. The private sector tends to ignore the impacts of its actions on women ’ s land-use options, incomes and livelihoods, food affordability and the related cost of living including the price of land.  Safeguard against negative impacts of mechanisms such as carbon trading and REDD on women.



Guard development finance

: Gender equality interventions in many poor developing countries have been highly dependent on aid and public finance streams.

Opportunities for the Green Climate Fund

Integrate a gender perspective from the outset, with a gender policy and gender implementation plan of action to guide its policies, procedures and structures.

•

Focus on reducing vulnerability at the community, household and individual level

•

Coherence and simplicity

in access, by government and non-government actors •

Direct access

, to promote national/sub-national/stakeholder ownership •

Additionality

to development finance •

Mainstreaming

with existing development processes and gender polices • A

redress or appeals mechanism

accessible by all stakeholders, including women • Safeguards for the private sector, to

account for and mitigate the negative impacts of market actions on women

’

s access to resources

such as land, forests and water •

Capacity building

at all levels, taking into account gender-based differences in access to information and ensuring balanced representation of men and women • Ensure that

at least 50% of the funds are for adaptation

, and

mitigation activities enhance women

’

s livelihoods and rights.

• Regular

monitoring

to ensure that gender objectives are being met

National level action: the case of Nepal

• Research method Research provides an analysis of the

extent to which gender differences are taken into account in the policies and plans for adaptation to climate change in Nepal.

• The study was carried out in

three stages, a desk study, field visits, and data analysis.

Data collection was both field and desk-based. Information gathered from interviews with experts working on gender and climate change in Nepal along with published documents also informed the research.

Initial literature review

• In Nepal,

women constitute the majority of the poor

and are therefore amongst the most vulnerable to climate change impacts (UNDP Nepal 2009). • Societies, characterised by patriarchal values such as Nepal often only rely on the

privileged half of society in decision making

(Wydra et al 2010). Generally women’s participation is

very low

in the formulation of laws and policies. Women have no voice and are

underrepresented,

at the community, local, national and in the international negotiations on climate change (Denton 2002).

Value of mainstreaming gender into policy development

• Gender mainstreaming may

increase the efficiency of responses to climate change

(Margaret Skutsch (2002).

• If gender considerations are not included, progress towards gender equity may be threatened (in Hemmati and Rohr 2009). • Gender mainstreaming is

not an end in itself

, but a means to achieve more equitable, sustainable and effective programmes and policies. • UN Women (OSAGI 2001) explains that

gender mainstreaming does not necessarily entail developing separate women’s projects within work programmes

, or women’s components within existing activities. It requires that attention is given to gender perspectives as an integral part of all activities across all policies and programmes. •

Mainstreaming does not mean that targeted activities to support women are no longer necessary

. Women-specific projects continue to play an important role in promoting gender equality.

Gender in Nepal laws and policies

•

Interim Constitution of Nepal 2007

: reaffirms the principle of equity and gender equality and prohibits all forms of discrimination based on gender (section 13). • Some progressive precedents set by the

Supreme Court of Nepal

. •

Local Self Governing Act, 1999:

( the law which governs decentralisation in Nepal) requires participatory governance approaches for governing, planning and implementation at the local level including the participation of women in these processes. •

Nepal’s Climate Change Policy 2011:

recognises that there are differential impacts of climate change on communities. It acknowledges that the impact of climate change is greater in poor, developing, landlocked communities and on village women.

Nepal NAPA

•

Submitted in September 2010

. This plan outlines Nepal’s urgent and immediate adaptation priorities and needs. •

Includes gender as a cross cutting theme

as recommended in the UNFCCC guidelines. It contains a gender impact analysis of differentiated climate change effects which were said to be collected through consultation processes including transect appraisals.

• Has undertaken

a study of the implications of observed climate change effects for men and women

. This analysis concluded that men and women are impacted differently by climate change due to their societal roles and existing socio-political norms. • Recommends that these findings be taken into consideration in the development of national adaptation strategies and in the design of adaptation interventions.

Thematic working groups

• • The development of the NAPA also comprised a

Thematic Working Group (TWG)

process to address the different sectoral aspects of climate change.

Each group assessed the gender implications for their theme.

•

The Water and Energy TWG

: The quantity, quality and access to water resources could add to women’s workloads resulting in negative impacts on their health. •

Agriculture and Food Security TWG

: A decline in agricultural yields leading to an increase in migration to urban areas and a subsequent increase in rural women’s workload were the main findings. – Due to shortage of food, women consume less food causing malnutrition and ill health. – In addition, because women have less access to credit, markets, land and agricultural extension services they are more vulnerable to adverse climate effects on agriculture.

•

Forests and Biodiversity TWG

: women and marginalised communities depend on forests for their livelihoods. – The reduction in the availability of forest products is likely to decrease their income and thereby their adaptive capacity. •

The Urban Settlement and Infrastructure TWG

: Water scarcity was one of the defining problems of climate change. Women will spend more time collecting water. – Migration and temporary displacement due to flash floods pose a risk to women’s security as they are more likely to be the victims of sexual violence in times of uncertainty.

– It also found out that since there is inadequate incorporation of gender related issues and women’s needs in urban planning and policies, these mechanisms are likely to undermine women’s adaptation options.

•

Public Health TWG

: Because of socially constructed roles, more women than men die or get injured from climate related health hazards. – At household level women are responsible for providing all care for children, sick, disabled and the elderly. – Respiratory disorders, allergy problems, asthma and other respiratory diseases are more common in women than in men. Therefore, an increased workload as a result of climate change and the resultant health problems for communities, will have a greater impact on women. •

The Climate Induced Disasters TWG

: women are more vulnerable to climate induced disasters (CID) since they have lesser access to early warning systems and fewer survival skills. – In post disaster temporary settlements women are vulnerable to sexual violence. – They are excluded from disaster recovery decision-making in policies and programmes. – In addition, food scarcity after CIDs leave women with fewer options for food, and they often eat less causing negative impacts in their health.

LAPA process

• The preparation of the

NAPA is carried out through a participatory and bottom-up process so that local communities’ needs and concerns are taken into account when identifying adaptation priorities

(Ministry of Environment, Government of Nepal 2010).

•

To facilitate this participatory approach in Nepal, Local Adaptation Plan of Action (LAPAs) were developed. Preparation began in mid 2010.

– They are

devised at the local level with participation of local communities and organisations to identify local adaptation needs and devise appropriate adaptation responses.

–

Four directive principles

guide their development:

a bottom up approach, inclusive, responsive and flexible process.

The planning units for LAPAs are

Village Development Committees

(VDC) and Municipalities.

However…

• Even though gender analysis is mentioned in the NAPA document,

none of the nine prioritised project profiles mention gender.

•

No authorities that deal with women’s issues such as the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare, or the Women’s Commission were consulted

or included in the NAPA process •

The gender expert was not fully involved in the overall NAPA process despite being itsgender consultant

. (Hired for three months at the end of the process and that the vulnerability assessment she made was totally based on a literature review).

•

Thematic Working Groups for Nepal’s NAPA process are very technocratic male dominated groups.

There were no female TWG Coordinators and only two women TWG facilitators among the six. •

‘many projects incorporate vulnerable groups’ as an excuse to why there are no gender specific projects included in any of the NAPA’s nine prioritised projects profiles

. • • A good point of departure in terms of considering gender, but this was not carried out.

Recognition at the policy level is an achievement, its

translation to implementation remains problematic.

• There is

adequate understanding of gender, poverty and vulnerability in relation to climate change in Nepal, there has been insufficient focus on the incorporation of this analysis into the development of programmes

. • While this study is limited to the case of Nepal,

this lack of awareness, translated into weak implementation is applicable in many other national contexts.