Transcript Slide 1

Gender and Climate Change
© Oxfam photo Geoff Sayar, Uganda
Climate Change Injustice
Poor communities
around the world are the
least responsible for
emissions. But they are
suffering the greatest
effects – increased
droughts, floods, disease
and hunger.
Poverty and isolation
makes them the most
vulnerable and the least
able to adapt. Within
poor communities,
women suffer the most.
© Oxfam photo Ami Vitale, Maritania
Insecurity
The total number
of weather-related
disasters has
quadrupled since
the early 1980s.
Conflict over
depleting
resources is on
the rise, causing
more deaths and
injuries.
 EPA/ALIWEDA/ Indonesia
Hunger
Climate-induced crop
failures have
contributed to
skyrocketing food
prices. More than
three-quarters of the
800 million people
who suffer hunger
depend on agriculture
to provide an income
and the food for their
family.
© Oxfam Photo- Gilvan Barrreto, Peru
Health
Changing climate
has increased
water stress
causing
diarrhoea and
cholera, as well
as the spread of
malaria and
dengue-carrying
mosquitoes to
new areas as
temperatures
rise.
© Oxfam photo, Abbie Trayler-Smith, Malawi
Livelihoods
Poor people’s
access to natural
resources is being
undermined by:
- Drought
-Flooding
-Extinction of plant
and animal species
-Coastal erosion
-Erratic
temperatures
© Oxfam photo AbbieTrayler-Smith, Haiti
-
Gender Inequality Worsens
Women and men
face different
vulnerabilities, are
impacted differently
and have different
capacities to adapt
and change.
In climate-induced
disasters, three to
four women die, on
average, for every
man who dies
(women make up
85% of deaths)
© EPA/STR, India
Women’s Work Increases
Droughts, floods and
unpredictable rainfall
make food, fuel and
water scarce.
As a result, women are
forced to search for wild
foods in the forest,
spend more time caring
for malnourished
children, or walk for
several hours a day to
collect water and fuel.
© Oxfam photo Geoff Sayer, Uganda
Fewer Opportunities
More time spent
collecting food, fuel
and water keeps
women from
opportunities such
as education and
income generation.
Without these
opportunities,
women and their
families miss out on
improvements to
their quality of life.
© Oxfam photo Jane Beesley, Kenya
© Oxfam photo Tom Greenwood, Indonesia
Women As Agents of Change
Women are also
effective at mobilizing
their communities.
Strategies for
adapting to climate
change must
recognize women’s
abilities and include
them in the research,
development and
implementation
stages.
© Oxfam photo Caroline Gluck, Uganda
Including Women’s Voices
Including
women’s voices
in climate
change
strategies will
make the work
more effective.
This helps build
more resilient
communities.
© Oxfam Photo- Tom Greenwood, Indonesia