Droughts, hurricanes, rising sea level, extreme temperatures, fossil fuels, energy, women, and food insecurity. What do these have in common? Climate change.
Most people do not associate gender and climate change. Yet it is more important than ever to expand our approach to climate change. The social implications of climate change- for women, who play a disproportionate role in improving food security in developing countries, are especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
Women and hunger have a close linkage. A majority of the world’s smallholder farmers are women and their livelihoods are at risk from crop failure due to climate change. In fact, the latest data released by the State of Food Insecurity and Nutrition Report shows that food insecurity has risen from 815 million people to 821 million this year. In many sub-Saharan African and South Asian countries, more than 20% of women are undernourished. In other countries, such as India, Bangladesh, and Eritrea, the numbers soar to 40%.
Climate change will widen gender-based health disparities. Climate-related disasters not only increase poverty, but they also exacerbate challenges women face, in particular. For example one of the greatest health risks of climate change is the troubling rise in anemia in women of reproductive age. Around one in three women is affected worldwide, causing health and developmental concerns for themselves and for their children.The lack of essential micronutrients due to poor diet can contribute to anemia and result in other health implications such as obesity, mental health issues, diabetes, as well as present intergenerational problems due to poor pregnancy outcomes, resulting in low birth weight and gestational diabetes. These problems will only intensify as food insecurity increases due to climate change.
Women produce a surprisingly large portion of the world’s food accounting for 70% of global food production. Women must be included in climate change initiatives not only because of their essential contribution in agriculture, but also because of their broad knowledge base to help mitigate climate change effects. Women have to bear a heavy burden They are the primary caretakers of their households and communities, which often means they have to work harder and longer, risking their well-being in order to collect food, water, and cooking supplies to care for others during times of a natural disaster. Such care-taking activities places them at a disproportionately higher risk to climate change effects than men.
However, gender-based initiatives to help advance adaptation to climate change are happening in places like Peru in the midst of many challenges. In Peru, Andean women are using adaptation strategies in agriculture such through the practice of growing grass in small irrigated plots. This new method to adapt to climate change is expanding rapidly. Although this practice seems relatively simplistic, yet its impact is effective as one female farmer describes the technique, “We reduce the quantity of animals, keeping the best ones, and plant a small plot of fodder plants such as alfalfa and oats. We do this with the support from institutions that work in the region.” This is a feasible and affordable adaptation strategy many communities can integrate into their own agricultural practices to address climate change effects. In other parts of Peru, women are introducing family vegetable plots with simple irrigation systems to improve food security and overcome water scarcity. In higher and mid-range altitudes, plastic greenhouses are being used to cultivate vegetables. These new technologies aim to improve this population’s diet and, thereby, reduce the vulnerability of women, children, and elderly people to climate change. These are just a few feasible and affordable examples of adaptation strategies that many communities can integrate into their own agricultural practices to address climate change effects.
The world needs to acknowledge the contribution of women, so they can play a vital role in solving environmental and social problems. Women’s rights and human rights should not be in competition with each other, but rather be considered mutually inclusive. That means rethinking how we view climate change and the role that women play in the environmental and social reform.
Change needs to begin with women-it is imperative now-that is more imperative now, more than ever, to include women in the scope of climate change initiatives. Climate action plans need to integrate gender-based solutions that draw on the rich experience of women to implement gender parity. There is enough evidence to show that women are suffering around the world and there is still plenty of work that needs to be done to solve the environmental, health and social issues that plague millions of women worldwide.