This document provides an outline for a training module on integrating gender considerations into economic policymaking related to growth, poverty, and the environment in Asia and the Pacific. The module aims to strengthen understanding of intersections between these issues and enable participants to evaluate policies and their impacts on gender equality. It proposes analyzing existing inequalities, conceptual frameworks for change, and case studies of policies that achieve desired outcomes. Exercises could involve making policies more inclusive or adaptive to climate change. The module seeks feedback on how to address key issues and reflect specific country contexts to best support policy reforms.

1. UNDP/KIGEPE Gender-Responsive Economic Policy
Management Initiative
Growth, Gender, Poverty and
Environment Issues in Asia and
Pacific
Workshop for the Validation of Training Modules
Seoul, 8-10 May 2012
Presenter: Leisa Perch, Policy Specialist/Team Leader - Rural and
Sustainable Development
International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG)

2. INTRODUCTION TO IPC-IG
 IPC-IG is a partnership of the Government of Brazil and
UNDP based in Brasilia, Brazil.
 Focus of our research is international; specifically focused on
the South and on South-South Cooperation and Learning.
 Themes for IPC’s applied policy research: Macro-Economic
Policy, Rural and Sustainable Development, Social Protection,
Development Innovations.
 In Rural and Sustainable Development, the focus in on 3 key
areas:
• Inclusive Green Economy
• Sustainable Rural Growth
• Social and Political Innovations for Sustainable
Development
*See more on our webpage: www.ipc-undp.org

3. INCLUSION - BEYOND PARTICIPATION
 Quality of growth (i.e.
higher proportion of Green
GDP)
 Quality of development
 Quality of finance
 Quality of programming
 Inclusion as a Public good
with multiple positive
externalities such as
security, sustainability,
resilience-building

4. INCOME INEQUALITY – EMPLOYMENT

5. SPATIAL INEQUALITY OF GROWTH
 Urban risk has
increased
 Sanitation, slums,
housing, waste
management amongst
key issues
 In 2008, the urban
share of GDP for Asia
and the Pacific was
83% and 87%
respectively (UNESCAP Slum Populations in Asia and Pacific, 2010 (projections.
in UNHabitat, 2011). Sourced from UNHabitat, 2011

6. URBAN WATER AND SANITATION
“The traditional sectors of
water and sanitation remain
the most promising areas for a
twin-track approach”
Gabriel Labbate, UN-REDD
In the Dhaka suburb of Demra, a man stands in putrid
water to collect recyclable plastic (gendered tasks in waste
collection)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15552967
 Improved water and sanitation: linked to these is the interface between health,
exposure to toxins, the informal waste collection sector, and recycling.
 The losses caused by poor sanitation exceed Bangladesh’s national development
budget for 2007–2008 by 33 percent. “The total amount of these losses is five
times higher than the national health budget, and three times higher than the
national education budget in 2007 (new WSP report 2011 – World Bank and
others)
 “Bangladesh lost US$ 29.6 per capita, which demonstrates the urgency of
improving sanitation in the country” (Ibid, 2011)

7. INSECURITY AND SUSTAINABILITY:
 According to data from ‘Odhikar’, from 1
January 2001 to 29 February 2012, 2338 woman
have already been killed, 1025 women
physically abused and 172 women committed
suicide because of dowry violence in
Bangladesh.
 From 1 January 2001 to 29 February 2012, 8478
women have been raped, according to Odhikar.
http://www.odhikar.org/Womens_Day/2012/Internatio
nal%20Women%27s%20Day.pdf

8. GENDER, THE ECONOMY OF PICTS
 Gender-based violence,
 women’s limited decision-
making and leadership
opportunities (only 5-10% of
high-ranking chiefly titles held
by women)
 In a typical year, natural
disasters affect more than
40% of the population in
some PICTs, often reversing
hard-won development gains
especially for women

9. ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND GROWTH IN
ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
Source: Burke et. al, 2011: 24)

10. LONG TERM CLIMATE RISK – AND THE
REGION
Table 2 – 2010 Risk Index
Harmeling, 2012

11. SOCIAL/HUMAN POTENTIAL AS ADAPTIVE CAPACITY
• Despite suffering from socio-
economic disadvantages,
women are already
responding to climate
change.
• They are actively involved in
agriculture, energy, and
water supplies, forest use.
https://www.microplace.com/
 Women have expertise in
adaptation – seed
management, local
knowledge.
 Scale-up is needed in in
order that greater economic
benefits from their labor can
be generated
Mairi Beautyman

12. SOCIAL VULNERABILITY
Exposure to natural disaster
Social Susceptibility Social Resilience
Fe
m ale
-he
ad ati on
ed duc
ho
lev el e
us te
e ho qua
ld Ade
Sub
stan
dard
hous eing
i ng Nation h well-b
Healt
(Individual,
atus
Low health st Strength of so
Household or cial capital
ea s Community)
e ar Econ
ron omic
er p well-
disast in g bein
g
g in l l-be Adeq
L ivin c we uate
o mi level
con s of ho
el of e us ing
lev
Low
Measure of social vulnerability
Construct of Social Vulnerability developed by Asha Kambon, 2005

13. MAJOR THREATS TO SUSTAINED GROWTH
 Asia-Pacific – Pollution, Resource Inequality and Climate
Change
 Pacific SIDS – Climate Change, Food Security
 Caribbean SIDS – Likely to spend 20% of GDP coping
with climate change
 Latin America – Inequality (UNECLAC, 2010)
 Africa – health and environmental related inequalities
 Europe and the CIS – Poor Infrastructure and Dire
Environmental Situation
 Arab States – Legacies of Dutch Disease, Declining
energy reserves and food insecurity

14. STRENGTHENING SOCIAL AND
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION

15. NEW SUSTAINABILITY NARRATIVE -
WHERE AND HOW COULD THE PIECES FIT
Development Drivers: Resource Wealth,
Resource Quality, Open Economies
(PICTS), Climate Vulnerability and Change,
Social Inequity
Inputs: Ecological Diversity, Strategic Public
Policy, Partnerships, Finance and Investment
Enablers: Adaptive Policymaking,
Anticipatory Governance, Co-benefits
Strategies, Innovation, Technology
Conditions for Sustainability: Decent
Work, Systems Resilience, Adaptive
Capacity, Economic & Environmental
Governance

16. GENDER AND ADAPTIVE CAPACITY
“The prevailing lack of equal rights of
women to land, irrigation water, and access
to education renders them especially
vulnerable in a future with anticipated
increases in pressure on these resources.
Women, therefore, may often have a lower
adaptive capacity arising from prevailing
social inequalities and are ascribed social
and economic roles that lead to increased
hardship (e.g., through reduced food
security or shortage of water resources).”
Development and Climate Change: A
Strategic Framework for the World Bank
Group 2009 from Mariama Williams, 2011

17. WOMEN’S CRITICAL ROLE NOT MAXIMIZED
Country Primary writer(s) MG PG MP PP DVG MEG PEG DPp
Afghanistan Afghan government, UN, NGOs Y N Y Y Y Y N Y
Bangladesh Ministry of the Environment and Forest Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y
Bhutan National Environment Commission Y N Y Y Y N N Y
Burundi Ministry for Land Management, Tourism and the Environment Y Y Y Y N N N Y
Cambodia Ministry of the Environment N N Y Y Y N N NC
Kiribati Ministry of the Environment, Land and Agricultural N N Y N Y N N N
Development
Laos National Environment Committee N N Y N Y Y N NC
Maldives Ministry of the Environment, Energy and Water Y N Y N Y N N Y
Samoa Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Meteorology Y Y N N N N N Y
Solomon Islands Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Meteorology with Y Y Y N N N N Y
contributions from others
Tuvalu Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment, Agriculture and Y N Y Y N N N Y
Lands
Vanuatu National Advisory Committee on Climate Change and Ministry Y N Y N N Y Y NC
of Infrastructure and Public Utilities
Notes: MG (mentions gender); PG (prioritises gender); MP (mentions poverty); PP (prioritises poverty); DVG (defines vulnerable
groups); MEG (mentions ethnic groups); PEG (prioritises ethnic groups); DPp (defines participation).
Y (Yes); N (No); NC (Not clear); Yns (Yes not specified).

18. MODELS IN THE REGION
 South Korea - 2010 Framework Act for Low Carbon
Green Growth
 Thailand’s Sufficiency Economy (happiness, self-
sufficiency, social security
 Bhutan’s Gross Domestic Happiness
 Cambodia’s National Sustainable Development Strategy
- policy coherence (socio-development strategy, poverty
reduction and MDGs)
 Maldives – Carbon Neutral Growth Strategy
 India - Low Carbon and Inclusive Growth Strategy

19. RURAL RISK: CLIMATE CHANGE AND
AGRICULTURE
 Availability – drought or flood
– on production
 Quality of the land
 Deforestation and
Desertification
 Use of pesticides and
fertilizers to increase
production
 Quality and Quantity of crops
– nutrition and income
 Timing of planting and
reaping
Source: Oxfam, 2011 (based on experience in Tajikistan)

20. GENDER, EMPLOYMENT AND ACCESS TO FOOD
Sourced from FAO, 2011: Presentation to Expert Group Meeting on The Challenges of Building Employment for Sustainable
Recovery

21. SUSTAINABLE GROWTH IN A RESOURCE-
DEPENDENT GREEN ECONOMY –
 Social inequity is a source of pressure for and on
resource intensive growth. Muting the effects
requires:
- Changing the cycle - environmental quality has a
direct impact on the employment generation
capacity of resource-dependent sectors
- Enhancing pro-poor productivity - poverty has
implications for the environment (coping
mechanisms rely on free/accessible public goods)
- Accelerating productive inclusion – Prioritizing
youth employment, access to finance and
innovation; reduce underemployment and enhance
women’s access to decent work

22. MODULE 13: AN OUTLINE

23. PROPOSED OUTLINE OF MODULE
 Theoretical framework – Gender, Environment,
Macroeconomics
 Existing Reality
 Resource Inequality
 Income Inequality
 Environmental Inequality
 Conceptual Framework for Change
 Existing Policies
 Case Studies of The Change Desired

24. OBJECTIVES OF THE MODULE
 Strengthen understanding of the intersections between
growth, gender, poverty and environment
 Enable participants to understand the impact of environmental
risk on gender equality actions and policies – direct and
indirect consequences
 Enable participants to evaluate programmes and policies and
their potential positives and negative for gender equality in
Asia and Pacific
 Facilitate a greater understanding of the opportunities
presented by an increasing focus on socio-environmental
policy and inclusive green growth
 Enable an understanding of the potential co-benefits from
more inclusive social and environmental policy

25. ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK FOR CO-
BENEFITS
Figure 3:
Adjusted Co-Benefits
Framework Based on
GGPE Considerations
Source: (Perch, 2010).

26. POSSIBLE CASE STUDIES
 NREGA – India – Gender, Environment and Income
– Social Protection
 Samoa NAPA – Making the Link between Gender
and Climate Change
 Gender and Energy Advances in Nepal –
Enhancing Gender Benefits from Mitigation
 DRR in Bangladesh – Increasing Social Resilience
at the Community Level
 Green Growth in Korea – Resource Efficiency at the
Macro Level
 Philippines – Decentralization Working for All

27. POLICY ADAPTATION OPTIONS
 Inclusive and green finance:
- Targeting decent green pro-poor employment
- Incentivizing private sector investment in sustainability
(e.g. Reserve Bank of Fiji’s Agriculture and
Renewable Energy Loans Ratio for commercial bank
operations – 2% of deposits and liabilities must go to
loans to renewable sector)
- Anticipating Sustainability Opportunities: bolster
innovation and reduce the inconsistency of innovation
……Fiji and Samoa started in the 70s and 80s and
now have a share of renewables at 54 and 43%
respectively

28. POSSIBLE EXERCISES
 Making a NAPA more inclusive
 How to make a green growth policy a driver for
greater equity
 Making social protection more adaptive to climate
change and disaster risk

29. KEY QUESTIONS FOR PARTICIPANTS
 How could this module most helpful? What general
policy reforms should I consider?
 What are the key issues which are not clear when
gender, climate change and environment are
discussed?
 What kind of policy approaches would be most
helpful?
 How to reflect specific issues for post-conflict
contexts
 How useful would decentralized approaches be to
your policy process?

30. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!
LEISA PERCH