Tue, Dec 6, 2011
Investment in Green Technologies Can Improve
Women's Climate Adaptation Capacity &
Livelihood Opportunities
Increase in Human Trafficking Associated
with Climate-related Disasters
Durban / Nairobi, 6 December 2011 - Women,
particularly those living in mountain regions
in developing countries, are facing disproportionately
high risks to their livelihoods and health
from climate change, as well as associated
risks such as human trafficking, according
to a new report from the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP).
Investing in low carbon,
resource efficient green technologies, water
harvesting and fuel wood alternatives can
strengthen climate change adaptation and
improve women's livelihoods, says the report,
Women at the Frontline of Climate Change:
Gender Risks and Hopes, released at the
UN Climate Change Conference (COP17) in
Durban, South Africa,
UNEP 'Bridging the Emissions
Gap' ReportImpacts of climate change, such
as droughts, floods and mud slides are affecting
a growing number of people worldwide. From
1999-2008, floods affected almost one billion
people in Asia, 28 million in the Americas,
22 million in Africa and four million in
Europe.
In parts of Asia and
Africa, where the majority of the agricultural
workforce are female, the impacts of such
disasters have a major impact on women's
income, food security and health. Women
are responsible for about 6 per cent of
household food production in Asia and 75
per cent in Africa.
"Women often play
a stronger role than men in the management
of ecosystem services and food security.
Hence, sustainable adaptation must focus
on gender and the role of women if it is
to become successful", said UN Under-Secretary
General and UNEP Executive Director, Achim
Steiner.
"Women's voices,
responsibilities and knowledge on the environment
and the challenges they face will need to
be made a central part of Governments' adaptive
responses to a rapidly changing climate."
he added.
According to the report,
women in communities vulnerable to climate
change are often more likely than men to
lose their lives during natural disasters,
due to poor access to coping strategies
such as basic lifesaving skills or cultural
factors that restrict the mobility of women.
Human Trafficking &
Climate Disasters
The reports also highlights
how organized human trafficking, especially
that of women, is emerging as a potentially
serious risk associated with climate-related
disasters; as floods or landslides disrupt
social safety nets, leaving more women isolated
and vulnerable.
In Nepal, estimates
based on emerging data from anti- trafficking
organizations, such as Maiti Nepal, suggest
that trafficking may have increased from
an estimated 3,000-5,000 people (mostly
women, as well as children and youth of
both sexes between the ages of 7 and 21)
in the 11000s to current levels of 12,000-20,000
per year. Approximately 30 percent of these
end up in forced labour and 70 per cent
are exploited in the sex industry.
The data suggests that
human trafficking increases by around 20
to30 per cent during disasters. The International
Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL)
has also warned that climate disasters may
increase the exposure of women to trafficking
as families are disrupted and livelihoods
are lost.
Role of Women in Boosting
Food Security and Strengthening Adaptation
Research by the UN Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO) shows
that providing women, who make up around
40 to 50 per cent of the work force in agriculture,
with the same access as men to productive
resources and technologies could increase
yields on farms managed by women by between
20 and 30 per cent.
This could substantially
improve food security by raising agricultural
output in developing countries by up to
4 per cent.
However, several dynamics
make adaptation more difficult for some
women due to a lack of access to formal
education, poverty, discrimination in food
distribution, food insecurity, limited access
to resources, exclusion from policy-and
decision-making institutions and processes
and other forms of social marginalization.
The UNEP report focuses
in particular on women in Asia's mountain
regions. With more than half of South Asia's
cereal production taking place downstream
from the Hindu Kush Himalaya, the impacts
of climate change, such as droughts or flooding,
on food security and livelihoods are keenly
felt, especially by women, in this region
and beyond.
Women on the Frontline
of Climate Change
Due to the key roles
women play in agriculture, forest economies,
biodiversity and other sectors, particularly
in developing countries, designing adaptation
programmes with a strong focus on gender
equity is vital for successful climate change
mitigation.
This is among several recommendations put
forward in the UNEP report, including greater
investments in green, labour-saving technologies
such as irrigation systems or water harvesting,
which can improve the quality of life and
increase the productivity of female farm
workers, while also benefiting the environment,
through replacing fuel wood often collected
by women with cleaner fuel alternatives,
for example.
Notes to Editors
The report "Women
at the Frontline of Climate Change: Gender
Risks and Hopes" can be accessed at
www.unep.org or at www.grida.no including
high and low resolution graphics for free
use in publications.
The report was prepared
by UNEP's GRID Arendal / Rapid response
Unit in cooperation with the International
Centre for Integrated Mountain Development
(ICIMOD) and INTERPOL.
Hisense
Hisense is the official
corporate sponsor of UNEP's communications
and branding activities at the 17th United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change Conference of the Parties (COP 17)
held in Durban, South Africa, from 28 November
to 9 December 2011.
+ More
New Sustainability Targets
for Rice - the World's Most Important Food
Crop
Nairobi/Manila, 1 December
2011 - Rice consumers worldwide can now
look forward to eating "green"
rice with the launch of an initiative that
will set environmentally sustainable and
socially responsible rice production management
standards.
Consultative Group on
International AgricultureThe Sustainable
Rice Platform, an initiative of the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)
and founding members Louis Dreyfus Commodities
and Kellogg Company, will elevate rice production
to a new level by helping farmers, whether
subsistence or market-focused, boost their
rice production, keep the environment healthy,
facilitate safer working conditions, and
generate higher incomes to address poverty
and improve food security.
At the inaugural meeting
of the Sustainable Rice Platform held at
IRRI's Headquarters in the Philippines this
week, government representatives from Indonesia,
Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar, many international
and Asia-based companies and non-government
organizations participated, demonstrating
their support and interest in contributing
to the initiative.
"There are many
different sustainable technologies and practices
for rice, the world's most important food
crop that feeds half the planet," said
James Lomax, from UNEP, which initiated
the Sustainable Rice Platform.
"The challenge
is to find a mechanism for scaling up these
practices and their delivery in many countries,"
said Mr. Lomax. "The Sustainable Rice
Platform provides opportunities for promoting
resource use efficiency and sustainable
trade flows throughout the value chain of
the global rice sector and deliver real
results to the lives of rice farmers."
The Sustainable Rice
Platform will draw relevant lessons from
established commodity initiatives that promote
sustainability, such as for sugarcane, cotton,
and coffee, and apply them to rice. It will
set sustainability targets, develop and
promote regional and global standards of
best practices for rice production, and
support rice farmers to adopt these practices.
It will also identify criteria to assess
how well the sustainability targets are
being met and if farmers are implementing
the practices.
"For example, we
will harness our know-how to set standards
to better manage insect pests in rice to
reduce the unsafe and ineffective use of
pesticides, which can damage the environment
and the health of farmers," said Bas
Bouman, who will lead the work at the International
Rice Research Institute (IRRI) ; one of
the project partners.
"We can also develop
and promote the use of specialized field
calculators to determine the environmental
footprint of water, carbon, greenhouse gas
emissions, or chemical use," he added.
Rice presents a unique
challenge for any quality control system
because it is mostly grown by hundreds of
thousands of poor farmers who have only
very small farms of less than one hectare
each. Moreover, 90 percent of rice is grown
in developing countries in Asia where access
to knowledge and support is limited.
National government
agricultural departments will explore and
test management practices to make them nationally
relevant and to promote them to rice farmers.
Non-government organizations and companies
will assist to develop the sustainability
criteria to help safeguard or improve environmental
health.
Rice farmers, production,
processing, or trade organizations and businesses,
will use the Sustainable Rice Platform to
secure a sustainable rice system and crucially
explore incentive mechanisms for farmers
to grow rice more sustainably.
"Rice is an extremely
important food crop, both for Kellogg Company
and the world. We are therefore delighted
to support UNEP in the mass adoption of
better and more sustainable rice-growing
practices to improve the world's food supply
and the lives of the farmers and the communities
who produce it," Chief Sustainability
Officer at Kellogg Company, Diane B. Holdorf.
"In addition to
financial support," she added. "We
intend to fast track sustainable techniques
into our contract growing programs as soon
as 2012. We'll share the results with the
Sustainable Rice Platform and use them to
inform our global rice policies and direction."
Fast facts
The Sustainable Rice
Platform will set management standards for
rice production that will ensure it is grown
in an environmentally-sustainable and socially-responsible
way;
Poverty will reduce
as farmers stand to gain by higher incomes
through reduced input costs, higher production,
and/or getting a premium on their rice;
Consumers and processors
purchasing rice grown on the Sustainable
Rice Platform will be assured it is good
for the environment and farmer welfare.
About UNEP
The United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) is the voice for the environment
in the UN system. Established in 1972, UNEP's
mission is to provide leadership and encourage
partnership in caring for the environment
by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations
and peoples to improve their quality of
life without compromising that of future
generations. UNEP is an advocate, educator,
catalyst and facilitator promoting the wise
use of the planet's natural assets for sustainable
development. It works with many partners,
UN entities, international organizations,
national governments, non-governmental organizations,
business, industry, the media and civil
society. UNEP's work involves providing
support for: environmental assessment and
reporting; legal and institutional strengthening
and environmental policy development; sustainable
use and management of natural resources;
integration of economic development and
environmental protection; and promoting
public participation in environmental management.
IRRI, or the International
Rice Research Institute, is a non-profit
independent research and training organization.
IRRI is part of the Consultative Group on
International Agriculture (CGIAR). IRRI's
mission is to reduce poverty and hunger,
improve the health of rice farmers and consumers,
and ensure environmental sustainability
through collaborative research, partnerships,
and the strengthening of national agricultural
research and extension systems. For more
information please go to www.irri.org.
