Gender-Inclusive Climate
Change Policies in Latin
America
6 marzo 2015
Jennifer Twyman
Gender Research Leader - CIAT

Informing Policies and Institutions for Food
Systems Resilient to Climate Change
• CCAFS flagship project
• Objective:
 Latin American countries use agro-climatic information to improve
climate change and agricultural policies and decisions.
• Gender Inclusion
 Gender inclusive climate change policies related to agriculture
and food security so that women and men are equally supported
to adapt to climate change and benefit from mitigation actions.

Why gender inclusive climate
change policies?
• Gender
 Influences how individuals
experience climate change.
 Vulnerability to climate change
 Adaptive Capacity
It is important that climate
change policies
incorporate a gender focus.

Why gender inclusive climate
change policies?
Gender blind Gender sensitive

Gender objectives & activities
• Objective:
 Inform the formulation and implementation of gender inclusive
climate change policies related to agriculture and food security so
that women and men are equally supported to adapt to climate
change and benefit from mitigation actions.
• Activities
 Regional Workshop, COP20, Lima, Peru, 2014
 Facilitated working group to share information (2014 – 2017)
 Assessed current status of gender in climate change policies
 Hosted meetings, seminars, and round tables.

Ministries & Organizations
Involved
• Nicaragua
 Ministry of Agriculture (MAG),
 Nicaraguan Institute of Agricultural
and Livestock Technology (INTA),
 Ministry of Associative, Cooperative,
Communitarian and Family Economy
(MEFCCA)
 Red Gescon
 Fundación de Mujer y Desarrollo
Económico Comunitario (FUMDEC)
• Peru
 Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation
(MINAGRI),
 National Wild Fauna and Forest
Service (SERFOR),
 Ministry of the Environment (MINAM)
• Colombia
 Ecohabitats
 Federación de Mujeres Campesinas
de Cundinamarca
 Asociación de Mujeres Campesinas,
Negras e Indígenas de Colombia
(Anmucic)
 Oxfam – Colombia
 Pontificia Universidad Javeriana –
Colombia
 World Food Program – Colombia
• El Salvador - Trifinio
• Costa Rica – MAG and CATIE
• Cuba - Instituto de Investigaciones en
Ingeniería Agrícola
• Guatemala - MAGA
• Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI)

Experiences from Lima
workshop
• Lack of sex-disaggregated data
• Lack of articulation between national and local levels
• Lack of recognition of women’s role in production and
technology
• Women-focused programs fail to address:
 Climate change
 Gender inequalities
Photo by: Manon Koningstein (CIAT)

Recommendations
• Build knowledge on best practices
• Significance of multi-level forums for continuous
knowledge exchange
• CIAT/CCAF’s role: develop tools and knowledge
products for gender integration
Photo by: Manon Koningstein (CIAT)

Assessing policies for
gender inclusion
• Overview of gender inclusion in policy related to CC and
agriculture in CCAFS LAM target countries
• Review of 105 policy documents: CC, agriculture and
food security
• Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala,
Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru; Central American Region

Rubric for degree of gender
integration
Grade Level of gender integration
Grade 1 No reference to gender issues
Grade 2 Gender mentioned in overall objectives but absent from
subsequent implementation levels
Grade 3 Gender clearly presented as one relevant entry point in relation
to main objective, but absence of clear road map leading to
implementation
Grade 4 Gender included in action plan, but absence of clear earmarked
resources for implementation
Grade 5 Gender included in document from objective down to action
plan, with clear resources identified for implementation
Source: Gumucio and Tafur Rueda, 2015

Results: by country
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
1* 2** 3*** 4**** 5*****
NumberofDocuments
Grade of Gender Integration
Gender Integration in Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security Policies
in Latin American Countries
Costa Rica Nicaragua Colombia Peru El Salvador Honduras Guatemala Central American Region
Source: Gumucio and Tafur Rueda, 2015

Results: agriculture and
food security
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
1* 2** 3*** 4**** 5*****
Numberofdocuments
Grade of gender integration
Gender Integration in the Agriculture and Food Security Sector
Nicaragua Honduras Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Central American Region
Source: Gumucio and Tafur Rueda, 2015

Results: climate change
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1* 2** 3*** 4**** 5*****
Numberofdocuments
Grade of gender integration
Gender Integration in Climate Change Policies, Laws, Plans, and Strategies
Nicaragua Honduras Peru Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Central American Region Colombia
Source: Gumucio and Tafur Rueda, 2015

Discussion: linkages
among sectors
• Policies exist that integrate gender on themes like
agriculture and development planning
 CC policymaking does not take them into account
• Various agricultural sector policies integrate gender
 But they do not address climate change

Post COP21: Challenges
• Lack of awareness of importance of gender concerns
within various levels of government
• Resources for gender specialists within institutions
• Agreement on gender concepts among partner
organizations
• Institutional decision-making processes that fail to
clearly articulate gender focus within policies and
programs
• Need for gender-sensitive monitoring and evaluation of
projects

Suggestions for best
practices
• Participatory processes promote gender integration
• International and national policies on gender and social
inclusion provide critical guidance
• Alliances that include the state and civil society promote
greater commitment at the institutional level
Photo by: Manon Koningstein (CIAT)

Opportunities: Grassroots
engagement
• Rural women’s organizations, development agencies,
and university programs
• Grassroots experiences:
 Need for capacity building for rural women on climate change
 Need to make visible the differential effects of CC on men and
women
 Effective strategies must reflect community interests
− Need to involve men and women in policymaking processes
 Importance of social differentiation focus

Towards desired outcomes
• Environmental Management Plan for Macizo de Penas
Blancas in Nicaragua
− https://ccafs.cgiar.org/es/blog/integracion-de-genero-en-accion-un-
ejemplo-de-planificacion-ambiental-en-nicaragua#.WfkyVltSypo
• Public Policy for the Dignity of Women in Cauca,
Colombia (in progress)

Conclusions
• Efforts being made but significant challenges
• Necessary to capitalize on opportunities
 Alliances with civil society
 Participatory processes to connect with local experiences
 Make visible gender-differentiated impacts of CC
− Empirical research
 Documentation of case studies and best practices
 Forums for knowledge exchange

References
Gumucio, Tatiana and Jennifer Twyman. 2017. “Formulacion de politicas publicas con enfoque de genero en el
sector agropecuario: construyendo una iniciativa regional para enfrentar el cambio climatico en America Latina.” in
De la práctica a las políticas: experiencias latinoamericanas en género, cambio climático y agricultura. IICA.
Gumucio, T; Tarfur, M. 2015. Influencing gender-inclusive climate change policies in Latin America (en línea).
Journal of Gender, Agriculture and Food Security 1(2):42-61. Consultado 23 mar. 2016. Disponible en
http://agrigender.net/uploads/JGAFS-122015-3.pdf.
Kristjanson, et al. 2017. “Addressing gender in agricultural research for development in the face of a changing
climate: where are we and where should we be going?” International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability 15 (5):
482-500.
Tafur Rueda, M. 2015. Memoria. Taller “Mujeres rurales y cambio climático: posibles alianzas y sinergias en
procesos de incidencia política” (2015, Bogotá, Colombia). Bogotá, Colombia, CIAT, CCAFS.
Twyman, J; Muriel J; García, MA. 2015. Identifying women farmers: informal gender norms as institutional barriers
to recognizing women’s contributions to agriculture. Journal of Gender, Agriculture and Food Security 1(2):1-22.
http://agrigender.net/uploads/JGAFS-122015-1-Paper.pdf
Informando políticas e instituciones para sistemas alimentarios resistentes al clima en América Latina.
Guía para la inclusión del enfoque de género en políticas agropecuarias y de cambio climático en América Latina.
Avances en la inclusión de intereses y necesidades de mujeres rurales en políticas públicas agropecuarias y de
cambio climático: el caso de Colombia.
Género y agricultura en el Perú: inclusión de intereses y necesidades de hombres y mujeres en la formulación de
políticas públicas.
Silvopastoral systems in Latin America: mitigation opportunities for men and women livestock producers [Sistemas
silvopastoriles en América Latina: oportunidades de mitigación del cambio climático para y mujeres que se dedican
a la ganadería].
Apoyo a las mujeres agricultoras en un clima cambiante: cinco lecciones de políticas.
Género y cambio climático: política que facilita a los agricultores alcanzar su potencial para adaptar sus sistemas
de producción al cambio climático

Thank you!
j.twyman@cgiar.org
@genderciat
bit.ly/ccafs_latinamerica