WOMEN AND THE ENVIRONMENT CONFERENCE COMMITS ON KEY DELIVERABLES

More than four hundred delegates today adopted the Mogale City Declaration on the Women and the Environment which comprise of specific action points that are geared at strengthening the role of women in environmental management.

“The level of interest in this conference has been phenomenal. Whereas our target was 300 delegates, delegates ended up being more than 400. Even more encouraging has been the level of commitment displayed in deliberations. Government can conclude that when it comes to the role of women and the environment, it has a sound partner within communities, civil society organisations and business” said Deputy Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Ms Rejoice Mabudafhasi as she reflected on the outcomes of the conference.

Action points captured in the conference’s declaration include:

The introduction of an accessible environmental awareness campaign that specifically targets young women, rural women and women living in informal settlements;
Ensure that networking and information sharing opportunities are created more regularly;
Undertake a gender impact analysis of policies and legislation concerning environmental issues. The results of this will be fed through into implementation of programmes; and
Establish capacity building programmes for women engaged in environmental activities, with specific focus on girls, community organizers, women who sit on the board of corporates and women political representatives.