CHAPTER 1: THE GENDER-ENVIRONMENT NEXUS


gender issues are not only mainstreamed but taken for- ward through a global push to create lasting change based on one simple principle: everything is connect- ed. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda aim to address inequalities among all population groups, especially children, women and the impoverished. In particular, they address human rights and well-being through a common understand- ing that a healthy environment is integral to the full enjoyment of basic human rights, including the rights to life, health, food, water and sanitation, and quality of life. Interwoven into the SDGs is the concept that by directly addressing the links between gender and the environment, new opportunities will arise to help achieve them in a more effective, sustainable and ben- eficial manner.


Overall, the international community’s level of engage- ment in addressing gender-and-environment issues has significantly increased since the 1970s. The question remains, however, whether efforts to achieve the SDGs will bring about greater gender equality in terms of natural resource access, livelihood opportunities, and a clean, safe, healthy and sustainable environment.


Women’s representation in formal global gender and environmental policies, programmes and projects


Women’s organizations, networks and environmen- tal actions have been fundamental in highlighting the gender-and-environment nexus at local and national levels. However, progress on women’s participation and representation in global environmental policies, programmes and projects has been slow and uneven.


The IUCN’s Environment Gender Index (EGI) reports on the participation of women in the three Rio conven- tions; they find that “there is much higher percentage of women NGO Representatives, with an average of 47%, than Government Delegates, with an average of 33%”(Figure 1.1) (IUCN 2015).


The Global Environment Facility (GEF), the financial mechanism for the Rio conventions, (and some other multilateral environmental agreements), is the larg- est source of funding for investments in environmen- tal projects in developing countries. In 2011 the GEF adopted a gender mainstreaming policy. According to an IUCN analysis, the proportion of gender-responsive


Figure 1.1: Participation of women in three Rio Conventions


45% 38% 26% 15%


Government Delegates


% of Women


CBD COP12 (2014) UNCCD COP11 (2013) UNFCCC COP20 (2014)


Source: IUCN (2015)


projects more than doubled in every region as a result of this policy’s implementation (Figure 1.2). The success of GEF’s gender mainstreaming policy clearly indicates that global gender policies, coupled with country-driv- en implementation, can have a significant impact in bringing gender into environmental programming.


Bureau Members NGO Representatives 36% 27%


47% 48% 45%


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