Gender and climate
June 10, 2009
Deutsche Welle: You're the UNIFEM representative at UN-sponsored climate talks. Why do you think it's important to raise gender issues at climate talks?
Tracy Raczek: Climate change is a global problem that demands a global response. We need to ensure that all members of society are equally empowered to contribute to the solutions and to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change. As we know, in many countries, women still face political and social obstacles. This puts them at quite a disadvantage when coping with the adverse impacts.
In addition, they tend to be in the poorest communities on the front lines of climate change - the first to be impacted on their livelihood as well as risk to their lives. For example with natural disasters, which are expected to increase with climate change, women are up to 14 times more likely to die than men.
Why is that?
Most of the reasons are social inequalities: lack of information and resources to rebuild after a disaster. If women don't have land rights or property rights or anything that allows them credit to go to the bank and rebuild their home, they live in disrepair for longer; they are more susceptible to diseases, and are part of the mortality rate for disasters. In addition, when disasters hit, for example with hurricanes and typhoons, in some communities women are actually not taught how to swim. That's one of the reasons in Bangladesh there was a higher rate of women than men who were killed in 2004.
Women also tend to stay behind in disasters and take care of the elderly and children, whereas men can be more mobile.
How else are women, particularly in developing countries, affected by climate change apart from when natural disasters strike?
Some of the greatest impacts are erratic rainfall and unseasonable temperature changes because that has huge impacts on small farmers. Women in some parts of the world produce up to 90 percent of domestically consumed food, and are the majority of small-scale farmers, so they have less access to resources and at the same time they are very susceptible to the impacts of climate change. That puts food security at risk, that puts health at risk and it also increases their work burden - increased time collecting water, increased time and trouble producing food and collecting firewood.
By empowering women to bolster their food production and to use drip irrigation - to be more resilient to the effects of climate changes - has the counter effect of increasing food security, increases the health of the communities and increases the resiliency of those communities to the effects of climate change. By empowering women you are very much empowering entire communities to cope with climate change.
What are the main points you would like included in the climate change treaty?
This is a very government-driven process, it really is up to governments to understand their conditions: what are the obstacles that are placed legally, politically, and socially for the women in communities and how does that need to be addressed.
On a broader scale: making sure that these policies go all the way from household level to the macro-level. Women's cooking stoves in Nepal produce what's called black carbon, or soot, and this has a huge impact, not only on the climate but also on women's health. It's a win-win situation if we look at technologies that will help women at the household level, but they'll also help mitigate climate change.
Will the women of the world really make a change in climate change?
I am very optimistic. In the developing world it has been shown that women actually choose green options over non-green options more than men. They choose public transportation more often, they eat a more locally friendly diet by choice. There are a lot of choices they make that will contribute to lessening the impact of climate change.
There is more to be done, of course. In developing states as well there is definitely increased awareness - it's already known that the impact is there.
Interview: Anke Rasper (sms)
Editor: Chuck Penfold