CHAPTER 1: THE GENDER-ENVIRONMENT NEXUS
than that of their male counterparts due to prevailing inequalities in access to productive resources including land (UN Women/UNDP/UNEP/WB 2015; FAO 2011). For women farmers to be more productive, they need equal access to environmentally and socially sustain- able agricultural inputs, markets, and (in view of the rapidly
changing climate) climate-resilient farming
technologies and climate information. Gender equality is essential for improved performance of the agricul- tural sector through climate resilience, and thereby to increasing food and nutrition security for all, especially women and girls.
Well-being: climate change, sustainable con- sumption and production, and health
The impacts of climate change, including biodiversity loss and constraints on access to productive and natu- ral resources, amplify existing gender inequalities and jeopardize the well-being of all. Climate change and the uncertainties related to it put further pressure on already fragile, undervalued and precarious gendered roles and responsibilities at community level, which affect the nature and extent of exposure, sensitivity and impacts. The gender-differentiated consequences of climate change can intensify the factors that place women who rely on agriculture and use of natural re- sources for their livelihoods. As agricultural work be- comes more labour-intensive or alternative sources of food and income need to be found, the burden of additional work often falls on women. Climate- and disaster-related health risks and water and fuel scarcity further add to women’s unpaid care work.
Women have differentiated vulnerabilities to climate change due to gendered labour and care roles and so- cial status, both in the case of disasters and in their everyday livelihood choices, constraints and expecta- tions. From initial analyses focusing on women’s seem- ingly universalized vulnerability there is now a more nu- anced understanding of intersecting power relations, including clear shifts in the adoption of new roles by women and men as climate change coping strategies (Arora-Jonsson 2011; Denton 2002). Women’s respon- sibilities for household food management include water provisioning; thus changes in water availability affect the time and level of effort required to collect, secure, distribute and store water resources (Babugura et al. 2010). The agricultural landscape impacts of climate change linked to gender inequality become particularly prominent when few alternative forms of employment
and livelihood exist (Alston 2011). The gender gap in agriculture, a pattern documented worldwide and one which means women have less access to productive resources, financial capital and advisory services than men, will be disproportionately exacerbated by climate (change; this is particularly relevant in the context of the development of climate-smart agriculture pro- grammes (Perch 2015; FAO 2013). The impacts of en- vironmental and climate challenges on family and com- munity well-being (and on women’s unpaid care work) are especially severe when health facilities and services are unavailable or unaffordable. As seen in Figure 1.6, across a wide range of countries, women in the poor- est segments of society (“lowest wealth quintiles”) have great difficulty in accessing health care; in many countries, this is also the case for a high proportion of even relatively wealthy women.
Women’s empowerment is essential to build resilience and adapt to climate change. Gender-responsive cli- mate change policy needs to be cognizant of (and sensitive to) the nuances of local and intra-household dynamics in efforts to mitigate and transform these patterns, as well as farsighted enough to support build- ing resilience and preventing these gendered impacts from occurring. Public policy efforts are still struggling to address this dynamism; policy readiness and policy responsiveness are relatively weak in terms of identify- ing clear strategies to tackle the intersections between gender and climate.
Intensification of the use of chemicals in both agricul- tural and industrial production has led to land degra- dation and water and air pollution, as well as human health impacts (Prüss-Ustün et al. 2016; Prüss-Ustün et al. 2014; Prüss-Ustün et al. 2011). Greater consump- tion of goods containing toxic chemicals is also close- ly linked to increased wealth and disposable income. Above a certain income threshold, household con- sumption patterns shift to the acquisition of refrigera- tors, televisions and other appliances and eventually to cars – which entails a greater petrochemical impact on health and the environment. Rapid urbanization and the intensification of water demand accompanying it, especially in megacities, have increased the need for water and wastewater treatment, which is generally highly chemical intensive.
The prevalence of petrochemicals, household and food chemicals, pesticides and other pollutants (including in pharmaceutical and beauty products) has gendered
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