GGCA Gender and Climate Change Training Manual - Women's ...

• Differentiated knowledge about resources, their products and
environmental problems.
As discussed in 4.2, when ecosystems become more fragile and natural
resources are totally lost or are out of reach, poor communities – that depend
on them for their survival – are the most affected, particularly women, the
elderly and children.
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Because women use and manage natural resources in a way that
is different from men, and degradation of natural resources affects them
differently, these patterns of disadvantage may increase with the change in
or loss of natural resources associated with climate change. For example, rural
women in developing countries are the principal producers of staple foods. Their
role in agricultural production is essential for the nutritional status of families as
well as the generation of a source of income. However, female farmers are often
overlooked in agricultural policies and strategies or those relating to climate
change. Farmers are often perceived as “male” by policy makers, planners
and agricultural service deliverers. As the agricultural sector is very exposed to
risks of drought and uncertain precipitation, this means that climate change
endangers food security as well as the wellbeing of families and their
capacity to survive (FAO, 2007).
In the Dominican Republic, urban women living in marginalized sectors,
for example in the city of Santo Domingo, many of whom are heads of households,
are responsible for the family’s water supply. In areas where there is no piped
water, women have to travel distances to get fresh water, or buy water, thus
straining low family incomes with no guarantee as to the quality of the water
(Meyreles, 2004). Climate change could greatly affect the situation of families
living in these conditions, impacting on health and income in important ways.
4.3.3 Women’s role in adapting to and mitigating climate change
Due to women’s higher level of vulnerability, as a result of historic and
existing socio-economic inequalities, their participation in climate change
adaptation initiatives is critical. Furthermore, it may be expected that women, in
their specific relation to natural resources, through the conservation of soil and
water, the building of embankments to avoid floods and other types of related
activities could make a significant contribution to the efforts that will be required
to confront climate risks. One example is the community of Keur Moussa in
Senegal, where erosion was making less water available, washing the soil off the
land used for sowing crops, and causing young men and women to migrate to the