WOCAN had a successful year in 2016, receiving recognition from the UNFCCC for developing the W+ Standard for measuring women's empowerment and climate mitigation. The W+ Standard was applied to renewable energy projects in Asia and Africa. WOCAN also provided technical support on gender equality to organizations funded by Sweden and the Green Climate Fund. A new strategic plan was developed to guide WOCAN's work in designing for new funding realities and broadcasting its mission over the next three years.

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Women Organizing for
Change in Agriculture &
Natural Resource Management
2016 highlights
Dibya Gurung, Maria Lee, Jeannette Gurung, Lee West and fellow award winners, COP 22 Marrakesh.

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Table of contents
2 Message from the Executive Director
4 The W+ Standard wins UNFCCC Momentum for Change Award
5 Leading innovation: combining measurement of women’s empowerment and
climate mitigation
6 WOCAN technical support to mainstream gender equality in programs
7 Exploring food & agriculture companies’ engagement in gender equality in Asia
8 A new Strategic Plan for WOCAN 2017-2019
9 W+ Standard and project applications
10 WOCAN today

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Message from the Executive
Director
Looking back at 2016 brings a sense of pride and
accomplishment for all that WOCAN has achieved. It was a year
of recognition, as we were selected to receive the
Momentum for Change Women for Results award of
the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
This award was given for the development of the W+ Standard
and its application to a renewable energy program in Nepal that
returned revenue to women’s groups from the sale of W+ units.
The endorsement of the W+ through this prestigious award has
enabled us to draw the attention of climate finance institutions
and carbon offset buyers interested in achieving both social and
environmental impacts, in a manner that is both transparent and
rigorous.
WOCAN had foreseen this need and opportunity four years ago,
when it began to invest its resources into the development of the
W+ Standard, and pursuance of the ISEAL Alliance membership
to accredit the Standard. To date, several project developers
have applied the W+ to renewable energy, food security and
livelihoods projects in Asia and Africa; many more and larger
developers and investors are now planning for its use in 2017.
The strong interest of at least three other standards in
collaborating with WOCAN to integrate the W+ Standard
demonstrates a trend that we hope brings tangible benefits to
women, as governments, companies and investors set targets
to meet Goal #5 of the Sustainable Development Goals, for
gender equality and women’s empowerment. If this brings
an enhanced level of resources and benefits to
community women groups and their families,
WOCAN’s goals will be achieved.
WOCAN’s unique breadth and depth of expertise and
experience in building capacities of agriculture and environment
organizations and companies to integrate gender and to build
the leadership of their staff and partners has been recognized
as well. WOCAN was selected to provide technical services to
grantees of the Swedish government throughout Asia and the
Pacific; similarly, it was selected to provide capacity building
services to entities accredited by the Green Climate Fund,
through its partnership with Price Waterhouse Coopers. These
opportunities allow WOCAN to draw on its members across 109
countries, to provide locale-specific consultancy services.
In 2016, the WOCAN Board of Directors recognized the
changing nature of funding possibilities and new opportunities,
articulated in WOCAN’s new Strategic Plan for 2017-
2019, appropriately titled “Leading for the New
Reality”. In just the past few years, climate change impacts on
agriculture and natural resource management have become an
essential focus, we can connect face-to-face virtually around the
globe with ease, and the funding environment for development
is shifting to include market-based, investment approaches.

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And yet simultaneously, many of the gender-based challenges
WOCAN was founded to address are still entrenched in
institutions and communities and there is continued resistance to
lifting up the leadership of women in the field and in the fields.
We are stretched across the globe to meet these challenges and
our mission is more relevant than ever. WOCAN’s 2017-2019
Strategic Plan intends to not only respond to these changes and
challenges, but to lead the way in offering new models and
award-winning approaches to harness our new realities in
service to our mission.
Starting in 2017, and over the next five years, we will assess our
highest impact programs and target those for organizational
focus, establish them to be best in class, and create multiple
entry points for more institutions to step into gender-inclusive
futures. All of this must result in better outcomes for the rural
women and their collectives to achieve our mission: to advance
women’s empowerment and collective action to tackle climate
change, poverty, and food insecurity within enabling
environments.
We will broadcast our mission with more intention and creativity,
offering authoritative thought leadership in the field and
educating influencers to multiply and deepen our message. We
will catalyze our vibrant global membership and partners who,
together, create the community, opportunities and innovation to
meet our shared goals.
And, we will adopt new organizational funding and staffing
models that respond to our diverse and shifting landscape, to
create a sustainable foundation for our work.
Join us as members and partners,
support our work, purchase W+
units.
Together, we will lead the new
reality.
Regards,
JEANNETTE GURUNG
Executive Director

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The W+ Standard wins UNFCCC
Momentum for Change Award
The ‘W+ Standard’ project was awarded under the Momentum for Change
Women for Results focus area for the application of the W+ Standard to
measure women’s empowerment in a biogas project in Nepal.
“WOCAN is pleased to have the
W+ Standard recognized as an
innovative and transformative
mechanism that credibly measures
the impacts on women’s
empowerment, as well assures
that the contributions of women's
labor and time addressing climate
mitigation are acknowledged and
compensated,” said Jeannette
Gurung, WOCAN Executive
Director.
This award will help shine a gender spotlight on the application of the W+ Standard as a first of its kind mechanism, facilitating
gender financing while measuring and monetizing the co-benefits of climate mitigation and supporting women's empowerment,”
said Lee West, WOCAN Co-Chair.
Read more

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Leading innovation: combining
measurement of women’s
empowerment and climate mitigation
The measurement of reduction in carbon emissions and progress in women’s
empowerment can provide offset buyers and investors with transparent and reliable
means to achieve both environment and social impacts simultaneously.
WOCAN, in collaboration with the South Pole Group, organized a side event at COP 22 in Marrakesh to discuss
the added value of combining the W+ standard with carbon measurement standards. Representatives from
South Pole, the Verified Carbon Standard and CBL Markets shared their views on the opportunities to build a
market for W+ labeled VCUs that individuals, companies and investors can buy.
Read more

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WOCAN technical support to
mainstream gender
WOCAN continues to being recognized for its expertise in integrating gender into
organizations’ internal structures, cultures, programs, projects and policies.
Price Waterhouse Coopers selected WOCAN to partner on their successful bid to assist implementing entities
of the Green Climate Fund to integrate gender into their proposals, which must demonstrate gender outcomes
as a pre-condition to receiving GCF financing.
WOCAN has won the tender from the Embassy of Sweden in Bangkok for the Regional Gender Equality
Support in Asia to assist in ensuring that gender equality is being adequately taken into account in the
preparation and implementation of programs and projects supported by the Swedish regional development
cooperation in Asia and the Pacific.

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Exploring food & agriculture companies’
interests in gender equality
There is a growing interest for companies and organizations to proclaim their
goals and targets for women’s empowerment and gender equality. According to a
research conducted by the McKinsey Global Institute, $12 trillion could be added
to global GDP in 2025 in a scenario in which every country matched the fastest
progress toward gender parity made within its region.
WOCAN organized a side-event during the Singapore Responsible Business Forum workshop on SDG 5
Gender Equality. The side-event brought together women farmers and entrepreneurs to share their views on
engagement with companies. It provided a common space to share concrete ideas on how companies could
support women farmers to increase productivity and marketing, while improving their own sustainability.
WOCAN also presented the study “Agribusiness Companies’ Engagement in Women’s empowerment’
Read more

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A new Strategic Plan 2017-2019
for WOCAN: Leading the new reality
This new Strategic Plan guides WOCAN for the next three years, by
articulating new models and approaches to harness our new realities
in service to our mission:
Advance women’s empowerment and collective action to tackle climate change,
poverty and food insecurity, within enabling environments.
Over the next five years, we will focus our collective energy in four
strategic actions:
1- Designing for the new reality, including the shifting funding landscape and diverse staffing
needs
2- Positioning WOCAN programs as best in class, by strategically introducing them to more
organizations for greater impact
3- Broadcasting WOCAN’s mission
4- Catalyzing WOCAN vibrant community, global membership and partners
Read more

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W+ Standard and project applications
In 2016
Hydrologic ICS In Cambodia – with support of Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, W+ is
applied to a project that receives investments from the UNCDF SHIFT Challenge Fund Fostering Innovative Business
Models for Women’s Financial Inclusion Initiative.
Livelihoods Fund Mont Elgon project Kenya. A gender analysis and W+ feasibility assessment were conducted in order
to strengthen the integration of gender in the project design and implementation plan and assess the opportunity to
apply W+ to measure impact on women’s empowerment.
Previous applications
W+ was applied to projects in Honduras,
Nepal, Lao PDR, and Indonesia.
For more information, please visit
http://www.wplus.org/w-projects.
Kenya
Cambodia
Lao PDR
Indonesia
Honduras
Nepal

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WOCAN today

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Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management
United Center, Level 41 – 323 Silom Road – Bangkok 10500 – Thailand
P.O,Box 176 - 237 Kearney St. San Francisco - CA. 94108, USA
Mail: info@wocan.org - Website: www.wocan.org
W+ Standard
Mail: wplus@wocan.org- Website: www.wplus.org