Climate Change Could Worsen Inequality between Men and Women

6 March 2008

NAIROBI -  The negative effects of climate change fall disproportionately on women because they typically have less cash savings, lower levels of education and smaller social networks than men to draw upon when calamities strike. As a result, climate change threatens to worsen social inequalities.  Nonetheless, adaptation plans by the world’s poorest countries consistently neglect the unique consequences of climate change for different social groups.  
 
In the wake of destruction caused by Hurricane Ivan in Madagascar, the flooding of the Zambezi River in Zambia and a looming drought in the Horn of Africa, it is increasingly evident that women bear the brunt of many natural disasters.

Forty-eight-year old Fira Alphonsine is the sole provider for her family of six in Mahasoa village, which lies in the clove producing region of Analajirofo, Madagascar. She spoke of a long period of no rain prior to Hurricane Ivan and of a ruined rice harvest as a consequence of the strong winds. The family also lost the season’s cassava crop and much of the neighboring fruit plants had yet to ripen.

“There is little to salvage from this harvest because lack of rain had already affected the output, and the timing for transplanting [rice] coincided with the storm,” she explained to CARE staff coordinating relief efforts for hurricane victims. Alphonsine is now worried about how to feed her family and cannot afford to buy medicines as her health deteriorates due to inadequate nutrition and life in a crowded camp for displaced people.

When environmental changes occur, women and men are affected differently because of their culturally assigned rights, roles and responsibilities. Unequal power relations and access to assets can prevent women from adapting successfully to the effects of climate change.  Their workload often increases due to a reduction in crop yields and food production, increased agricultural and household duties due to male migration in search of work and more time spent looking for water and fuelwood. We also know that girl children are typically the first ones to be pulled out of school when household livelihoods become stressed by the impacts of climate change.

Despite mounting evidence of women being disproportionately affected by climate change, National Adaptations Plans of Actions, which the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is supporting in all Least Developed Countries, are still treating populations as homogenous.  They rarely mention gender or make specific recommendations on how best to equip women in adapting to the impact of extreme weather conditions.

These plans must make it a national priority to help the most vulnerable social groups adapt to the impacts of climate change. This means recognizing the diversity within a country more generally, and specifically addressing inequalities between men and women.

“As governments and agencies formulate their responses to climate change, there must be an understanding that they cannot take a one-size-fits-all approach because the effects of climate change will be differently distributed among regions, generations, income groups, occupations and gender,” says Dr. Charles Ehrhart, Climate Change Coordinator for CARE International.

In the wake of natural disasters the immediate concern is food relief and safe water supplies.  However, the long-term effects of calamities are felt for years.  For example, Typhoon Damrey hit the east coast of Vietnam in 2005, yet women farmers are still feeling its effects three years later. The salt content of the land has increased significantly, making it impossible to grow crops and have productive harvests.  Women in the area have few other opportunities to earn a living and many have migrated south in search of jobs.

CARE is helping the local community of Hau Loc to recover from the typhoon’s effects through the Community-based Mangrove Reforestation and Management Project.  Mangrove forests provide protection from storms as well as significant environmental benefits, including controlling erosion and nurturing fisheries. Mangrove forests can also be a potential source of food and income. The project supports the planting of approximately 370 acres (150 hectares) of new mangroves in the area and aims to develop local capacity for the ongoing maintenance and management of the 741 acres (300 hectares) of established mangrove forests acting as storm barriers.  

Women in Hau Loc have traditionally played a part in disaster recovery by taking care of children, moving property to safe places, providing food for family members, and cleaning and repairing homes after floods recede. Women are also responsible for maintaining rice fields, and collecting fish, shrimp, and other species in the tidal areas.

The Mangrove Project has helped to support them in fulfilling these roles and reducing their vulnerability by providing water collection devices, food, support and seeds.  The project has also been successful in involving women in meetings and workshops and other project activities, helping to improve their participation in community decision-making. For many participants, this is the first time they have had the opportunity to have a voice in community discussions and provide input and ideas to plans.  

“Interventions targeting women and focusing on their special needs are crucial,” adds Dr. Ehrhart.  “However, this approach is only a step in the right direction and must be complemented by efforts to challenge and change entrenched socio-economic inequities and discriminatory power structures,” explains Ehrhart.

In order to identify and analyze the priority issues of highly vulnerable groups at the grassroots level, including women, CARE has recently developed a Climate Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment tool.
“By working closely with local authorities, community-based organizations and government agencies, we are able to analyze climate risks for women, identify appropriate measures to adapt to climate change, and integrate this knowledge into planning and decision-making ” says  Angie Dazé, CARE’s Climate Change Coordinator for Southern and West Africa.
 
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CARE and CLIMATE CHANGE: CARE’s approach to community-based adaptation to climate change is people-centered. It fosters more resilient livelihoods, strengthens local capacity through training and the promotion of appropriate traditional knowledge, supports social change and engages in advocacy to address the underlying causes of poverty and differential vulnerability. For more information on CARE’s climate change programs around the world visit www.careclimatechange.org