Chapter 1 GLOBAL GENDER AND ENVIRONMENT OUTLOOK Chapter 4:


Chapter 2


powerment and made them key components in the progress that was to be achieved by 2015. However, specific gender target areas were limited in the MDGs to maternal mortality and reproductive health, prima- ry and secondary education, and decent employment; gender targets were separate from the environmental sustainability goal and targets (UN 2015a). The Sustain- able Development Goals (SDGs) not only include a spe- cific gender goal and targets, but also integrate gender targets with other goals through explicit indicators or gender-disaggregated data and analysis (UN 2015b).


Another major challenge in regard to gender equality is the persistence of current societal structures, norms and practices, which perpetuate power imbalances between women and men and constrain women’s ability to act and to take decisions – both within the household and in public spheres – and impede their access to resources. Men’s decision-making power and action remain profoundly shaped by social, economic and cultural expectations and ideas of masculinity, with clear implications for the need to involve men and boys in addressing gender inequalities (MenEngage et al. 2014). Gender inclusion gaps occur in all spheres of life. For example, in the latest assessment of the 34 European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Countries of Operation, indicators focusing on social norms and women’s agency, female decision-making in employment, business and administrations,


and female graduates in science,


technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) show medium to large gaps in 2015 in legal regulations and social norms in the southern and eastern Mediterranean region, and increases from small to medium-sized gaps across parts of eastern Europe and the Caucasus and Central Asia. Gaps in education and training have grown in central Europe and in some Central Asian countries (e.g. the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia and Uzbekistan), while gaps in access to finance, and labour policies and practices, remain broadly unchanged across all regions (EBRD 2016).


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Part of the solution is to replace discriminatory laws, regulations and policies with those that promote gen- der equality. Some progress has been made in this regard in recent decades: as of 2014, 143 countries guaranteed equality of women and men in their Con- stitutions although 52 did not. In 132 countries the statutory legal age at marriage is equal for women and men, but in 63 it is lower for women (UN Wom- en 2015). The indicators for monitoring SDG Target 5.1 (“End all forms of discrimination against all wom-


en and girls everywhere”) will require monitoring the existence and implementation of legislation that pro- motes gender equality and non-discrimination against women and girls.


The gender-and-environment nexus: priority issues


Rights to land, natural resources and biodi- versity


The livelihoods for the vast majority of local populations worldwide depend on natural resources. Their revitalized management is often of basic importance to economic recovery and development in conflict- affected settings. Persistent restrictions imposed on access to natural resources by certain communities (and groups of people) are examples of the structural inequalities and discriminations that can potentially destabilize a peaceful society. While this is particularly evident with respect to land tenure, it also extends to access and usage rights for renewable resources such as water, as well as the equitable distribution of benefits from extractive resources including minerals, metals, timber, oil and gas. There is clearly a need to create more sustainable pathways for use of natural resources and the enjoyment of their benefits by all. Addressing gender and other inequalities related to environmental sustainability and access to natural resources, including in participation and decision-making, can further efforts to achieve lasting peace and sustainable development (UN Women 2014).


Studies carried out throughout the world have demon- strated that secure land tenure is fundamental to wom- en’s economic, social and political empowerment, as well as to increased prosperity for their families and communities (Klugman and Morton 2013; Sattar 2012; Field 2007; Udry et al. 1995). Research on women and sustainability indicates that it


is security of tenure –


rather than ownership per se – that is critical (Mein- zen-Dick et al. 2014). Women’s participation in local in- stitutions governing the use of natural resources is also critical for sustainable management (Agarwal 2010; Ray 2007). Yet despite significant investments in public policy reforms in many regions during recent decades, institutional frameworks have been neither consistent nor fully successful in delivering on the promise of gen- der equality in land and resource rights. For reforms to be successful, they need to be specific about owner-


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