GENDER DIMENSIONS OF THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE

VIEW FROM THE COMMONWEALTH WOMEN PARLIAMENTARIANS

Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) Chairperson, Hon. Dr Zainab Gimba, MP, Member of the Federal Parliament of Nigeria

GENDER DIMENSIONS OF THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE

The climate change crisis presents one of the greatest challenges to the world. It has continued to remain the world's biggest issue as its impacts continue to change our world. The earth’s climate is rapidly changing, and these changes have significantly affected our lives.

The increasing demand for energy and resources due to population growth and industrialisation has stretched resources, resulting in exploitation and its attendant effects on the environment.

Climate patterns play an important role in shaping our natural ecosystems and the economies and culture that depend on them. The changes in climate affect how people, plants and animals live. Climatic conditions often have a major influence on the livelihood, health and security of the poorest people in the world. Women suffer higher risks and a greater burden from the impacts of climate change in the face of poverty as the majority of the world’s poor are women.

The discussion on climate change has often neglected the gender dimensions of its impacts. Many international protocols on climate change do not capture a gender perspective on proposals to fight climate change.

We must realise that climate change widens the existing gender inequalities and poses a unique range of threats to the livelihood, health and safety of women and girls. Without gender analysis of the impact of climate change, we overlook an important aspect of social life in a changing climate. As the world struggles to promote sustainable environment, attention must be given to the survival needs of the most vulnerable in society.

Climate change and its direct consequences, such as floods, droughts, deforestation, land degradation, water scarcity, heat waves, storms, soil losses, farmers and herder crisis and rapid urbanisation, have adverse implications on physical infrastructure, water, energy supply and employment. All these have altered the economies of the world and its social relations. To be sure, everyone is affected by the changes, but women are disproportionately affected due to the imbalance in power relations and resources allocation, particularly in developing countries.

Climate change has serious ramifications in four dimensions of food security: food availability, food accessibility, food utilisation and food systems stability. Women constitute the significant global poor, and they rely on farming for survival in contrast to men, who enjoy economic advantage. Women farmers currently account for 45-80% of all food production in developing countries depending on the region (according to www.un.org).

About two-thirds of the female labour force in developing countries, and more than 90% in many African countries, are engaged in agricultural work. Thus, when farming comes under severe weather conditions, resulting in the loss of soil, deforestation and other social threats, women face a loss of income and their sources of livelihood and this further pushes them into poverty.

Women are often excluded from decision making on access to and the use of land and resources critical to their livelihoods. It is important therefore, that the rights of rural women are ensured in regards to food security, non-discriminatory access to resources, and equitable participation in decision making processes.

In many cases, women have limited access to information on new techniques on adaptive measures to manage the effects of climate change on their environment and farming. These also expose women to suffer more from the vagaries associated with climate change.

This year, a large part of Nigeria was affected by floods where more than 1.4 million people were displaced. Women and girls were the most affected. A case in point was a local woman who was shown on the National Television carrying a knife, yam and pot in one hand, and a pot stand and tray in the other hand, looking for a dry land to cook food for her children. It was that bad that she was moving up and down inside water that covered above her knees and looking for dry land, just to feed her family. Again, the unending crisis between farmers and herders in Nigeria, has led to the loss of many lives and destruction of crops and livestock in particular leading to a worsening food crisis. Women are usually the main victims of such a crisis and where they survive, they become widows and often the main breadwinners of the family. Many women end up becoming internally displaced persons.

Urbanisation is an important transformation that may help to reduce poverty and inequality through the creation of employment opportunities. It may also contribute to environmental sustainability through efficient use of resources, and improved social welfare through better service delivery. However, this can only be achieved through the adoption of gender-based policies and planning on the alleviation of various aspects of urban poverty.

Essentially, addressing the impact of climate change on gender, involves addressing factors that affect the welfare of women and girls, and their human rights, as well as the resources on which their livelihoods depend. Improving climatic conditions can be an effective way to increase their income, improve their health, raise their educational standards, empower them and reduce their vulnerability to natural hazards.

Governments must demonstrate a commitment to institutional reforms and legal frameworks to ensure that more women are involved in climate-related planning, policy making and implementation.

There is the need for improved public education and enlightenments on the effects of climate change, and adequate funding for adaptation strategies, as well as information relating to agricultural management, especially among the rural population.

The key element is to build the capacity of women and girls to be able to contribute to the discussions on climate change and the decision-making process directed at addressing this scourge. Capacity development requires a commitment to positive attitudinal change, training on adaptive measures and greater involvement in policy dialogue and institutional reforms.

As Parliamentarians, we have an essential role to play in ensuring that efforts aimed at combating climate change include a gender perspective through the relevant legislative instruments.