General
Source: All Africa
This is the eleventh in a series of articles analysing regional progress on gender equality and women's empowerment. The SADC Gender Protocol Alliance has merged an earlier campaign for an addendum on gender and climate change to the SADC Gender Protocol (SGP) within the broader campaign for a strong post-2015 SGP.
The addendum route had been modelled on the successful 1998 adoption by heads of state of an addendum on violence against women and children, a year after the signing of the SADC Declaration on Gender and Development. The Declaration later evolved into the SADC Gender Protocol.
The climate change campaign is driven by the knowledge that although climate change effects are universal they are not gender neutral. Roehr (2007) states that women and men have different effects on climate change and are differently affected by climate protection and adaptation instruments and measures.
According to the Humanitarian Information Facilitation Centre (HIFC), a gender approach to climate change goes beyond women to men who are also vulnerable but in different ways.
Focus is on the relative ability of different social groups to adopt "sustainable ways to safeguard and regain livelihood in a changing or changed local context" based on their position and condition in a society undergoing climate change.
Despite this, the SADC Gender Protocol Barometer 2014 observes that lawmakers often treat environmental issues, including policies, laws and programmes, as gender neutral.
Against national statistics that men hold 80 percent of key environmental affairs and sustainable development decision-making positions, including ministers, deputy ministers, permanent secretaries, heads of departments and other key positions, the Alliance urges SADC to address women's representation.
Zambia has, however, surpassed parity in terms of women's representation in climate change and sustainable development-related decision-making bodies at 60 percent, according to the Barometer.
It is followed by South Africa and Namibia at 42 and 33 percent representation respectively.
Mozambique and Angola perform fairly well at 27 percent and 29 percent respectively. Mauritius, Malawi, Swaziland, Botswana and Zimbabwe fall in the middle. Tanzania and Madagascar have below 10 percent representation while the DRC and Seychelles have no women at the top decision-making levels.
In 2014, only five countries had women environmental affairs ministers, Angola, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia and South Africa.
There was no woman agriculture minister, despite the popular statistic that women, make up between 80-90 percent of rural and small-scale farmers across the African continent. Five women hold decision-making responsibilities related to lands (reclamation) and rural development and human settlements (in Lesotho, Mauritius, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia). Women make up 23 percent of other key decision-making positions relating to the environment and sustainable development.
The same low representation is reflected in the inadequate representation of women in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the slow decision to recognise the gender dimension as being critical.
This situation has, however, slightly improved with the Southern African Gender Protocol Alliance providing technical inputs at the gender and women's affairs ministers' and senior officials' meetings on the SADC Regional Strategy for the 17th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC, held in Durban in 2011.
The SGP Barometer 2014 notes that while climate change will affect all countries, in all parts of the world its impacts will be spread differently and the most affected people will likely be the poor and women living in developing countries.
SADC states have thus committed to addressing climate change. Botswana, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles and South Africa, according to the Barometer, have adopted adaptation and mitigation programmes. Malawi, Mozambique, Madagascar, Namibia, and Seychelles have national action programmes for adaptation modelled on the UNFCCC.
The publication notes that SADC ministers responsible for environment and natural resources management approved the SADC Support Programme on Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) at a meeting in Windhoek in 2011. The programme provides a comprehensive framework for the region to actively participate in, and benefit from, the carbon market, and will contribute to social and economic development in member states.
The Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia in 2014, had submitted proposals, while Tanzania had earmarked several pilot activities. Mozambique and Madagascar should be commended for incorporating gender considerations in their REDD+ proposals and strategy documents. Mozambique appears to be leading the gender and climate change campaign with its adoption of a Gender, Environment and Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (2010), updated in 2013.
Beyond 2015, and to inform the envisaged review of the SADC Gender Protocol, proposed text by the Alliance on gender and climate change, states the following:
- State Parties shall undertake gender analysis and gender mainstreaming of all environmental management, climate change and sustainable development policies, programmes, projects and budgets - from research programmes to mitigation measures and adaptation plans.
- State Parties shall develop and implement gender responsive policies, strategies, projects and programmes for environmental management, disaster reduction especially on climate change for sustainable development.
- State Parties shall design gender responsive capacity building, education, and training on environmental management and climate change for sustainable development initiatives.
- State Parties shall employ people-centred, equitable, inclusive and participatory consultations of all stakeholders including women and men in all environmental management and climate change for sustainable development programmes and initiatives.
- State Parties shall utilise women's skills, knowledge and capacities in mitigation and adaptation strategies, given that women are predominantly custodians and caretakers of the environment and national resources.
- State parties shall conduct research which does exist on gender and environmental management, risk assessment and management and emergency management and response for sustainable development to be compiled in more systematic manner for policy makers and programme implementers.
- State Parties shall develop gender sensitive indicators for environmental management for sustainable development for use in national governments; local and international communications.
- State Parties shall collect and publish gender disaggregated data on environmental management, Climate Change and Sustainable development, impacts, mitigation and adaptation at every level to guide appropriate planning and programming.
Virginia Muwanigwa is a gender activist and chairperson of the Women's Coalition of Zimbabwe, which is the focal point to the SADC Gender Protocol Alliance. She is also the Director of the Humanitarian Information Facilitation Centre (HIFC).