When the two-day UN debate on climate change ended last August 1, women's equality advocates cannot help but criticise how the discussion of more than 120 UN member states lacked a gender perspective. Find out the issues faced by women in the midst of climate change and how they are continually overlooked in dealing with this crisis.

The United Nations (UN) Informal Thematic Debate on Climate Change, held in New York from July 31 to August 1, 2007, covered a lot of topics—from deforestation, desertification, greenhouse gases, renewable energy sources, biofuels, to sustainable development—however, more than 120 UN member states failed to discuss these issues using a gender lens.

“One thing the debate lacked was a gender perspective,” said June Zeitlin, Executive Director of the New York-based Women's Environment and Development Organisation (WEDO) in an interview with Inter Press Service.

“Women and children are 14 times more likely to die than men are during a disaster,” Zeitlin pointed out. As well, women make up the majority of the world's poor, and are largely responsible for securing food, water and energy for cooking and heating.

Based on these facts, Zeitlin posed the question: “What can we learn from this to fashion more effective solutions to the climate change crisis?”

In a report titled, “Energy and Gender,” the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) cited that “there has been little reference to gender in the international climate change discussions.” Women have been largely absent in the decision-making process, and their roles in environmental management are often overlooked.

According to Rose Abunaw Makia, chair of the African Parliamentarian Network for a Climate Community for Central and West Africa, “Participation of women in the international climate change negotiation process has been minimal to date. But unless women are fully involved in planning and decision-making, the quality of adaptive measures will be limited and their successful implementation will remain doubtful.”

Makia was among the 23 women recognised by the The World Conservation Union (IUCN) during this year's celebration of International Women's Day for their outstanding efforts to combat global warming. Along with her was Sukulu Rupeni of Fiji who works with marine and climate scientists from the University of the South Pacific in raising awareness in Fiji communities through education and drama.

“We train youth from those target communities on climate and variability change, biodiversity and sustainable development. Once youth have acquired these information, we work with them to create plays, songs and traditional dances on the topic. These productions are rehearsed and once ready, they are performed as awareness tools in the communities,” said Rupeni.

FYI: Is climate change a gender issue?

Climate change is not a neutral process; first of all, women are in general more vulnerable to the effects of climate change, not least because they represent the majority of the world's poor and because they are more than proportionally dependent on natural resources that are threatened. Climate change could mean extra hardship for farming activities which are often carried out by women. Also, fishing could be affected, an activity in which women are often involved.  It is also important to consider that the task of supplying water and fuel for the family is typically the responsibility of women. This task will become increasingly more difficult as access to a clean water supply becomes more challenging. In terms of extreme weather conditions, events such as storms, floods, and cyclones put the burden of dealing with devastation and destruction on the women who have to keep the family together. During a time of catastrophe, the burden of nurturing the family, especially young children, as well as providing the daily essentials is often largely borne by women. 

Many gender advocates argue that in order to successfully create programmes and to reduce the impact of climate change, women need to be considered. How women use their environment, in comparison to men, and how women are affected by environmental change are important factors in a successful climate change programme. Also, it is important to mainstream gender in the institutions that deal with these issues.

Source:
Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID), <http://www.awid.org/go.php?pg=about>.

Sources:
“Climate Change Dimension Added to International Women's Day” from Environment News Service, posted on March 8, 2007, <http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/mar2007/2007-03-08-02.asp>.
“UN Skips Gender Perspective in Climate Change” from Inter Press Service, posted on August 2, 2007, <http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38770>.