by Irene Dankelman, Anna Grossman, and Cate Owren, Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO)

Women and Climate Change
Although climate change affects everyone, it is not gender neutral. The Human Development Report 2007 pointed out that climate change magnifies existing inequalities reinforcing the disparity between women and men in their vulnerability and capacity to cope with climate change.

Women, as the majority of the world’s poor, are the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Not only are poor women more likely to become direct victims of climate change disasters, such as hurricanes and flooding, but when they lose their livelihoods, they often slip deeper into poverty, inequality and marginalization. Therefore, climate change presents a very specific threat to their security.

Valuable lessons can be learned from the gender-specific documentation on the implications of natural disasters. In a recent study by the London School of Economics, the University of Essex, and the Max-Planck Institute of Economics, a sample of 141 countries in which natural disasters occurred during the period 1981-2002 was analyzed by Eric Neumayer and Thomas Plümper. One of the main findings was that natural disasters lower the life expectancy of women more than that of men, and as the disaster intensifies, so too does this effect. In general, women have less access to resources that are essential in disaster preparedness, mitigation and rehabilitation. The UNFCCC has shown that women also face indirect problems when natural disasters strike; they are often less informed, less mobile, more likely to be confined to the house and have less decision-making authority.

Women’s responsibilities in the family make them more vulnerable to environmental change, which is exacerbated by the impacts of climate change. They are affected in their multiple roles as food producers and providers, as guardians of family health, care givers and economic actors. As access to basic assets and natural resources, such as shelter, food, fertile land, clean water and fuel, becomes hampered, women’s workload increases. Poor families, including many female-headed households, often live in precarious situations, e.g. on low lands, along dangerous riverbanks, or on steep slopes.  Drought, loss of vegetation, and erratic rainfall cause women to work harder to secure (natural) resources and livelihoods. In such situations, women have less time to get an education or training, earn income, or participate in governing bodies. Girls regularly drop out of school to help their mothers gather fuel and water.  

Often in the aftermath of disasters, an increase in domestic and sexual violence occurs. Research by Athony Patt, Angie Dazé and Pablo Suarez suggests that conflict that arises from a shortage of natural resources amplifies existing gender inequalities, while the relocation of people has severe impacts on social support networks and family ties – mechanisms that have a crucial value for women, for example in their coping capacity.
 
Women’s coping strategies: strengthening security
Too often women are primarily perceived as victims of climate change and not as positive agents of change and contributors to livelihood adaptation strategies. As highlighted by researchers like Enarson or O’Brien, natural disasters could also provide women with a unique opportunity to challenge and change their gendered status in society. In general, women have proved effective in mobilizing the community to respond to disasters - in both disaster preparedness and mitigation. However, they also face specific challenges: usually women have fewer assets than men to recover from natural disasters, and generally they do not own land that could be sold to secure income in an emergency. Nevertheless, women worldwide are starting to adapt to a changing climate, and are articulating what they need to secure and sustain their livelihoods more effectively, as well as what they need to better adapt. Local strategies for adapting to climate change provide valuable lessons.  

In a note for the Gender and Climate Change Network, Margaret Skutch has summarized priorities of women in times of disaster. Accordingly, the most important are: a safe place for their families and themselves; adaptation of agricultural practices; better access to information; access to services, such as doctors and agricultural extension; development of their capacities; access to resources, including climate-related finances and ecological restoration.   

The framework presented in the report shows that if we define human security as security of survival, security of livelihood and dignity (including basic human rights, capacity and participation), climate change has different effects on these respective security aspects, with gender-specific implications. Women have developed adaptive strategies to cope with these problems. There is a wide range of policy opportunities in which adaptive measures can be taken to address women’s priorities in times of climate change.  

Policy Recommendations
Although there are a number of international agreements that aim to secure human rights and human security, gender equality and sustainable development, a gender approach is generally lacking in climate change negotiations and international and national mitigation and adaptation measures. Therefore, a series of policy recommendations is presented in the report. Not only must global and national climate change policies, programs, funds and budgets include a gender perspective, the institutional capacity to mainstream gender in global and national climate change policies and operations should also be enhanced. In a study for Action Aid, the authors Alam, Fatema and Bashar have added that there is a need to address climate change in discussions on women’s rights and related interventions.  

Adaptation policies need to build on and strengthen women’s experiences, knowledge and coping strategies. The organization of women and their coalitions and networks at community, national and international levels should be supported to ensure that recovery and adaptation measures respond to women’s needs and concerns. Moreover, community-based preparedness and response plans should take women’s social, economic, physical and psychological vulnerabilities into account to reduce the impact of climate change and natural disasters on women.

This article is an excerpt from the report 'Gender, Climate Change and Human Security' that was authored by the Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO), in partnership with  organizations in Senegal, Ghana, and Bangladesh,  commissioned by the Greek chairmanship of the Human Security Network and facilitated by ELIAMEP. The report includes general analyses and information, as well as case studies from the three countries and policy recommendations.

The complete report Gender, Climate Change and Human Security including all references is available here

For further information on Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO), please see: www.wedo.org and for the International Women Leaders Global Security Summit, 15-17 November 2007, New York, please see http://www.womenandglobalsecurity.org/

A selection of documents and references on "Gender, Environment and Conflict" can also be found at the ECC-Platform.

Published in: ECC-Newsletter, August 2008