Climate change; whats gender got to do with it
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This was presented by Dr.Deepa Pullanikkatil on International Women's Day celebrations in Swaziland. It was a training on Climate Change and Gender for NGOs.
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Climate change; whats gender got to do with it
- 2. Natural climate change Anthropogenic climate change
- 3. Climate change has gendered impacts
- 4. First climate change refugees Increasing sea levels have forced people off their homes.
- 7. To secure the livelihoods of 1.6 million people in the Lake Chilwa Basin and enhance resilience of the natural resource base
- 10. Samiyathu’s story – Child marriage 50% of girls get married before age 18yrs
- 13. VIDEO- GENDER INEQUALITIES VIDEO- CC AND GENDER
- 14. Group work
- 15. Gender Climate Change Solutions
- 16. • Adaptation—should be guided by gender-sensitive tools and approaches (in National Adaptation Plans) • Mitigation—Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) activities should include gender considerations in safeguards; implementation of response measures to climate change must give full consideration of the positive and negative impacts on vulnerable groups, including women
- 17. How do climate change interventions affect the gender division of labour? Are the costs, and benefits, distributed in ways which are socially just?: Do climate change interventions rely on unpaid, caring or community work? (if so, whose unpaid labour? - gender, age, class?) Where climate change interventions create livelihood opportunities, who has access to these? Where interventions affect livelihoods negatively, who is affected? Who gets legal and/ or de facto access to resources delivered as part of climate change interventions? How can the intra-household allocation of resources be influenced? Who has a voice/ representation in the governance of climate change interventions? Which women/ men are excluded? (How) can climate change governance contribute to gender equality in governance more generally?
- 18. Gender lens Does the project include specific, measurable actions and deliverables related to gender mainstreaming, gender equality and women’s empowerment? Has the project/programme assessed potential for contributing to gender equality and women’s empowerment through planned activities? Has sex-disaggregated baseline data been collected? Has the project/programme assessed the potential for contributing to gender equality and women’s empowerment through planned activities? Have gender specialists or representatives from women's stakeholders groups participated in all steps of the programme or project cycle? Have all possible steps been taken to ensure gender equity in the recruitment of project staff and consultants?
Editor's Notes
- According to climate scientists, there are two types of climate change. The first is natural climate cycles, which have been going on for hundred of years…. Manifested as…some wet years…. Some dry years….. Caused naturally….throughout the history of our planet……and has caused flooding and drought…… BUT There is a second type of climate change- Anthropogenic climate change…. Which has been caused by increase in greenhouse gases emitted by humans, through industrialization…. Increasing emissions vehicular and other….Anthropogenic means “human induced”. This means our activities have accelerated climate change….our burning of fossil fuels, production of green house gases… are interfering with the natural climate cycle. Therefore we are experiencing severe temperature changes more floods, longer droughts, and more extremes in general. We have to be prepared for this….Being prepared means understanding that not everybody is affected in the same way… some groups are more vulnerable…. People around the world have already begun experiencing climate change…NOW!
- Having worked in climate change adaptation for over 6 years… I have had discussions with many people…experts/scientists….. And communities…. Farmers…. Fishermen, ……women in rural areas……. And I have come to understand the linkages between climate change and gender….. Often these linkages are invisible…….often like the rural woman…today, I would like to share with you some stories about the invisible connection between climate change and gender. Because I believe stories of humans help us understand better these linkages.
- Let me start with the Carteret Island, Papua new guinea, who are the world’s first climate refugees. In 2015, sea level rise took a toll on the Carteret Island inhabitants. This is an island where land is at very low level, close to sea level. Their shorelines are getting really really small, they have lost a lot of land – it’s been washed away. The salt water continues to destroy their food gardens, and the sea walls they have built are washed away. Scientists predict that between 2040 and 2050 the islands will be totally submerged. How does this impact the people? Food gardens are reducing, sea water intrusion affecting food production, affects nutrition especially in children. People are forced to survive mostly on sea food. When they’re attacked by illnesses, especially the children and elderly, they’re not able to fight these diseases because they’re so weak. So women find themselves looking after the sick and elderly.
- Some families have resettled in other higher level islands. Women of the resettlement camps lack the resources and capacity for climate change adaptation. Climate change has also reinforced many social issues in the atoll communities, like increased domestic violence against women as well as abandonment by husbands who migrate to look for work. When a husband leaves, the woman’s responsibilities are doubled yet her opportunities and access to resources remain extremely restricted. Women share that they have limited control over financial, political, and social capital when dealing with climate change. Their inadequate access to resources and information combined with their devastating poverty leave the women Extremely vulnerable to natural disasters, and reduce their capacity to recover after the fact.
- Flood victims of Kashmir, northern India, houses were damaged and many people died. Flood and landslides claimed lives of close to 500 people. But what was striking here, was that when the disaster struck, more women died than men. This was also true of Bangladesh…..Why? Due to their social standing, women in India are not generally taught survival skills like swimming or climbing, meaning they are more likely to die in a natural disaster.
- I have worked in Malawi on a climate change adaptation project funded by Norwegian govt. It was a five year project where we brought about a number of interventions to secure livelihoods and nurture nature.
- During the project the lake basin experienced an environmental shock. The lake is very shallow and in 2012 it partially dried up. Fisheries was affected and almost all related livelihoods such as boat making, trading, small shops restaurants, fish traders which were mostly women. Many men migrated to Lake Malawi area to do fishing. Leaving behind their family. Women who were left behind had to fend for themselves and look after their children.
- This is Duniya Jonesi, she is 13 years old. Their family lived along shores of Lake Chilwa and her step father is a fishermen, while mother farms the small plot of land they have. She has three siblings, Duniya is the oldest. In an act of desperation, her step father convinced her mother to allow Duniya to do prostitution. She dropped out of school and was at risk of being infected with HIV. Fortunately, a school support group consisting of teachers and mothers came together and rescued the child. She now attends school and hopes to become a nurse.
- Samiyathu a sixteen year old girl also lived along Lake Chilwa. Her father was a fisherman too, when the lake dried, the family had very little to survive on. A 45 year old man offered a bride price which was tempting to the family and they wanted to marry Samiyathu off. Fortunately, the project we did had established radio clubs in the area. Samiyathu approached them and they interviewed her and did a programme on child marriages. Many prominent people like religious leaders, head teacher of the school were interviewed and they spoke out against child marriages. The programe was on national radio and it brought attention to Samiyathu’s family. They were under pressure and called off the marriage. They also received help from some organizations such as food supplies. Samiyathu became quite well known and received the President’s scholarship to continue her secondary school.
- Women have greater burden and hence are affected more. This is true of almost all developing countries whether in Asia, Pacific, or Africa or South America.
- To summarise, if we look at climate impacts …one can clearly see how women are disproportionately affected. When there is crop failure, it is women who face household food production burden. When there is fuel shortage which is induced by climatic variations affecting firewood and fodder supply… again its women who walk far distances to collect firewood. Similarly with water…. Natural disasters affect women, when men migrate, women are vulnerable to sexual violence…..similarly with diseases … it is women who care for the sick in addition to their normal duties…
- Summary of compilation text
- So, we the take home message is to “Let us engender climate change!”