The gender programme: empowering women to invest in SLM

In rural areas, especially in developing countries, women are the main managers of essential household resources such as clean water, fuel for cooking and heating, and fodder for domestic animals. Not only do women depend on the surrounding environment for their livelihoods, but today they also account for more than half of the world's agricultural workforce. Their growing contribution to household income is therefore increasingly decisive for family survival.

 

With their invaluable knowledge of natural resources, it is clear that women play an essential role in environmental management and in implementing the UNCCD. Women are proficient in managing natural resources when equipped with the right tools. However, lack of empowerment can make them extremely vulnerable to the effects of ecosystem degradation.

 

The GM has developed the Gender programme (GP) to enhance its impact at country level by strengthening the engagement of marginalized actors, particularly poor rural women, and by linking with sectors that have not traditionally been involved in UNCCD implementation, but that have significant potential for increasing investment flows for combating desertification and promoting sustainable land management (SLM). The GP is designed to increase the visibility of the links between environmental sustainability and gender equality, and to help integrate environmental policies into other sector policies such as education, water, and energy. Since gender is a cross-cutting issue, looking at SLM from a gender perspective creates links with other environmental issues, including climate change and biodiversity.

 

The GP works at different levels to support the leveraging of resources for SLM. For instance, it supports women’s networks from the South, creating linkages between these networks so they can share sustainable environmental practices and support each another. One such example is the Tchém’sou Coalition - a virtual, flexible and proactive network for the exchange of information and experiences between the various stakeholders involved in the fight against desertification in peri-Saharan and francophone African countries. The programme also creates platforms for women to exchange experiences on resource mobilization tools and mechanisms, while striving to build bridges between women from the North and the South that will help strengthen women’s capacity to invest in SLM.

 

Ultimately, the objective of the GP is to support the leveraging of resources for SLM in order to maximize the effectiveness and impact of interventions that address ecosystem degradation and its effects. A holistic approach that takes into account the important role of rural women is critical in achieving this objective.

 

For more information

Junior Programme Advisor

North Africa & South-to-South Cooperation

Tel. +39 06 5459 2548

i.chaalala(at)global-mechanism.org