Three United Nations’ food agencies at their joint International Women’s Day event on Monday said that women and girls — who are at a higher risk than men and boys of experiencing the devastating effects of the climate crisis— need to be front and centre when planning and implementing climate change adaptation solutions.
The agencies, including the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), drew global attention to the fact that climate extremes are becoming more frequent and intense.
According to the agencies, women and girls around the world have continued to play a crucial role in climate change adaptation and mitigation.
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The agencies noted that the disproportionate dependence of women and girls on climate-sensitive work, such as farming, and their limited access to economic and production resources increases their susceptibility to the devastating impacts of cyclones, floods and droughts, which in turn impacts their livelihoods and food security.
While highlighting the need for women’s meaningful participation in decision-making processes related to climate resilience and adaptation, the agencies maintained that 80 per cent of the people displaced due to climate-related disasters are women.
“When homes are destroyed by climatic shocks, such as hurricanes, cyclones and earthquakes, women and girls are forced to flee to displacement camps, where they are often exposed to increased violence,” they said.
FAO Deputy Director-General and Chair of the FAO Women’s Committee, Maria Helena Semedo, said that to have any meaningful and long-lasting impact, women and girls cannot be left out.
“They must be at the centre of solutions and at the table designing those solutions,” she said.
According to IFAD’s Associate Vice-President, Dr Jyotsna Puri, “the 1.7 billion women and girls living in the world’s rural areas are far more likely to be affected by climate shocks and conflicts — by an order of magnitude.
“Yet they are the ones that disproportionately contribute to the long-term resilience of our communities, nutrition and livelihoods,” he said.
He maintained that IFAD is working with rural women to strengthen adaptation to climate change in rural areas and preserve the natural resources on which we all rely, with the right type of investments and recognition.
Story was adapted from relief web.
