1. THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON GENDER
BY
ALMAZ DEMESSIE
AGRO METOROLOGIST
MSc. in Tropical Agricultural Development
(private participation)
Gender Forum Organized by the Heinrich Boell Foundation [HBF], held on 27th February 2008 at the Ghion Hotel [Blue Salon]
from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

2. The Impact of Climate Change on Gender
By: Almaz Demessie
Mrs Almaz Demessie has MSc. in Tropical Agricultural Development (Crop Protection) from University of
Reading (UK). In addition to that she has got post graduate diploma in agro meteorology from Indian
Meteorological Department and Israel Meteorological Office. Besides, she has received different Agro
meteorological certificates in Applied Remote Sensing for Rainfall Estimation from University of Reading
Meteorological Department, UK; in Remote Sensing, Rainfall estimation and GIS (Arc View) from Kenya
Meteorological Department, Nairobi Kenya ; in Agro meteorology Related to extreme events from National
Meteorological Services Agency in collaboration with World Meteorological Organization, Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia.; in Condensed Basic Course in Meteorology from Indian Meteorological Department, India; in
Agro meteorology from UN-FAO Regional Early Warning Office Zimbabwe, Harare. Currently she is
working as Meteorological Research and Studies Team Leader at National Meteorological Agency.
For the last twenty years, Mrs. Almaz Demessie has worked as an agro meteorologist since her graduation in
National Meteorological Agency from junior agro meteorologist position to Meteorological Research and
Studies Team Leader. Besides, she has been working as a national and international focal point for the
Agency in agro meteorological related matter including Gender Focal point for WMO and Participating
international workshops and seminars like IPCC, ICTP. etc
1. Introduction
The impacts of global climate change are not only physical and economic, but also social
and cultural, jeopardizing environmentally based livelihoods in many areas of the world.
As predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), “climate change
impacts will be differently distributed among different regions, generations, age classes,
income groups, occupations and genders” The IPCC also notes: “the impacts of climate
change will fall disproportionately upon developing countries and the poor persons within
all countries, and thereby exacerbate inequities in health status and access to adequate
food, clean water, and other resources.” People living in poverty are more vulnerable to
environmental changes.
Today climate change is a burning issue all over the world because of its global nature.
Fears have arisen that, climate may be changing for the worse and its impact may be felt on
agricultural production, which will reduce the supply of food to growing population,
especially in developing countries like Ethiopia. As Wlhite, (cited in Climate Variability
and Agriculture by Y.P Abrol, S. Gadgil and G. B.Pant 1996) pointed out rain fed
agriculture in the semi-arid tropics is limited mostly by high climatic variability with
principal limiting factor being rainfall. Adverse climatic conditions are the bottleneck of
Ethiopia’s rain fed agriculture development. Besides, rainfall seasonality affects forage
availability, livestock production and ultimately the livelihoods of pastoral people. In
addition to these, agricultural production suffers from periodic outbreak of crop and
livestock pests and diseases in most parts of Ethiopia. The factors involved here are
principally wind, precipitation and temperature. Climate change will alter the nature of
occurrence of agricultural pests in terms of area. The same is true for human disease like
malaria i.e. some areas becoming sensitive (different from the usual phenomenon) due to
climate change. Greater economic and individual dependence on agriculture, widespread
poverty, and inadequate technologies are likely to exacerbate the impacts of climate
change in tropical regions. Climatic and agro-ecological zones would shift, forcing farmers
to adapt, as well as threatening natural vegetation and fauna; the current imbalance of food
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3. production between cool and temperate regions and tropical and subtropical regions could
worsen; pests and vector-borne diseases would spread into areas where they were
previously unknown and distribution and quantities of fish and sea-foods could change
dramatically.
The gender-poverty links show that 70 percent of the poor in the world are women and
their vulnerability is accentuated by race, ethnicity, and age. Within the developing world,
women represent the majority of low-income earners, with lower education levels and
unequal access to social, economic and political resources. Gender differences in property
rights and in issues related to access to information and the different cultural, social and
economic roles for men and women means that climate change is likely to affect them
differentially. Since women form the disproportionate share of the poor in developing
countries and communities that are highly dependent on natural resources, they are likely
to be disproportionately vulnerable to the effects of Climate Change.
When natural disasters and environmental change happen, women and men are affected
differently because of traditional, socially based roles and responsibilities. It is widely
known and accepted that disasters affect women and men differently. The vulnerability of
women is much greater because of their subordinate position in the family arising out of
patriarchy and traditionally embedded cultural values. These effects have also a different
impact depending on culture and socio-economic contexts. In all societies, in many parts of
the world, gender equality is not yet realized. Men and women have different roles,
responsibilities and decision-making powers.
Much of the agricultural practices and knowledge are performed and maintained by women
in local societies in many regions of the world. The role of women for maintaining those
skills and knowledge is of fundamental importance.
Most climate change issues, policies and programs are not gender neutral. In light of this
several areas deserve, attention specifically: gender specific resource-use patterns; gender
specific effects of climate change; gender aspects of mitigation and adaptation; gender and
decision-making on climate change; women’s capacity to cope with climate change; and
gender related pattern of vulnerability.
1.1 Definition of Climate and Climate Change
1.1.1 Climate
It is the average weather parameters, usually 30 years of a given locality. The measures of
climate include mainly the estimates of average values of weather parameters and
measures of variability near to the average value.
1.1.2 Climate Change
As Biswas, (cited in Climate Variability and Agriculture by Y.P. Abrol, S. Gadgil and G.
B. Pant 1996) has stated in most cases, some deviation of average values between two
reference periods is mainly due to large weather variability. There may be real shifts of the
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4. average or changes in variability between two periods. These deviations from the mean
value constitute variation or change.
The Global warming leads climate change and its consequences include a rise in the sea-
level, changes in precipitation patterns, increased risk of droughts and floods, threats to
biodiversity, and potential challenges for public health.
Rainfall in large parts of Ethiopia shows a high level of year-to-year variability. The
rainfall variability in the rainy seasons is the most serious problem encountered by
Ethiopian farmers. Small-scale farmers are the largest group of poor people in Ethiopia.
Their average land holdings are less than 1 ha, their productivity is low and they are
vulnerable to drought and other adverse natural conditions. As a result, particularly in
drought prone regions of Ethiopia agriculture production is determined by rainfall
variability (rain fed agriculture is the dominant practice in Ethiopia).
1.1.3 Some Examples of Climate Change in Ethiopian Context
Many research studies have stated that meteorological parameters like rainfall, temperature
and wind play an important role in changing agricultural production more than other
parameters. Any deviation from the mean climatic condition would affect agricultural
activities negatively. Agriculture can show little sensitivity to moderate variations around
those means. If the condition persisted a bit longer it could affect the overall physiological
activities of the plants and result in crop damage and final yield reduction. The examples
presented in this paper are selected randomly from pastoral and crop producing areas just
to indicate the situation of climate change in Ethiopia.
Example 1 Example 2
Jijiga
As can be seen from the above examples (Example 1 & 2) there is a decreasing trend in mean decadal
rainfall amount during 1976 - 2006 in most cases. Besides the percent deviation of mean annual
rainfall shows negative deviation in most cases as of 1979.
4

5. Comparison of means for Neghele during the two
different periods (1953-983) and (1976-2006)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
1
3
5
7
9
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33
35
dekads
waterinmm
Mean 1 Mean 2 DETo DETo/2 WR Maize WR Sorghum WR Wheat
Example 3
Neghle
Here we can see both decreasing and
increasing trend in mean decadal rainfall
during the first rainy season while there is a
decreasing trend during the second small
rainy season particularly the time when high
rainfall amount is the normal feature of the
season (Example 3).
Example 4
Dire Dawa
There is a shift of rainfall season and an
increase in rainfall amount in most cases
during the first half of the year while the
reverse is true during the second half of the
year, particularly the mean decadal rainfall
pattern shows decreasing trend in most
portion of the second season during 1975-
2005(Example 4).
Example 5
In this case, 80% probability of exceedance is
taken for the rainfall season instead of mean
annual rainfall and mean monthly Reference
evapotranspiration (ETo) is the other
component to analyze Agricultural Rainfall
Index (ARI). According to this concept-
growing period is considered when ARI is
greater than 100. Thus, from this analysis we
can see sift in Length of Growing Period
(LGP) as we compare ARI 1 to that of ARI 2.
There is an extension of Length of Growing
Period (LGP) in case of ARI 2.
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6. Example 6
In the case of Michew we can see the
increasing trend in most cases when we
compare mean decadal rainfall 1(1953-1982)
with that of mean decadal rainfall 2 (1976-
2006). Thus there is a change almost in all
cases.
Example 7
As can be seen from the mean decadal rainfall
analysis of Hosaina during the two different
periods (Example 7) the change is observed
during the first half while the rainfall situation
is remaining similar towards the second half.
1.2 Definition of Gender and Gender Analysis
1.2.1 Gender
The concept of gender, which refers to the social constructions of women and men in
accordance to their sex, facilitates an elaboration on the patterns of access and control
over resources, benefits and decision-making processes, as well as power relations
between women and men. It is worth noting, however, some general confusion over the
concept of gender. One of the prominent confusions is that gender is a western feminist
principle whereby women take the lead and exercise power over men. This notion is
misleading. It creates tensions, suspicions, avoidance and, worse, rejection.
Gender, as a time and space-bound social construction, embraces a certain cultural
context which can be any culture. As a movement, the alternate goal is a society in which
women and men relate equally; partnering and helping each other for a better world.
6

7. The reason why climate change is both a poverty and gender issue relies on the fact that
climate change affects the poor more than the affluent and is not a gender-neutral
process. Different access and control over resources, decision-making processes, and
their benefits, make women and men experience and respond to the effects of climate
change differently.
* Generally the meaning of gender refers “not to women or men per se, but to the
relations between them, both perceptual and material. Gender is not determined
biologically, as a result of sexual characteristics of either women or men, but is
constructed socially. It is a central organizing principle of societies and often governs the
processes of production and reproduction, consumption and distribution. Gender roles
are the "social definition" of women and men, and vary among different societies and
cultures, classes and ages, and during different periods in history”.
1.2.2 Gender analysis
Analyzing gender in the human causes and impacts of climate change is important. It
provides a substantial ground for the development and implementation of appropriate
policies and practices, especially on mitigation and adaptation.
* “Gender analysis seeks answers to fundamental questions such as who does or uses
what, how and why. The purpose of gender analysis is not to create a separate body of
social knowledge about women, but to rethink current processes - such as natural
resource use and management, economic adjustment and transformation, or demographic
changes - to better understand the gender factors and realities within them. Armed with
this knowledge, it should be possible to avoid the mistakes of the past and tailor
interventions to better meet women's and men's specific gender-based constraints, needs
and opportunities”.
2. The Impact of Climate Change on Gender
The effects of climate change affect women and men, sometimes in the same way,
sometimes differently. It is widely accepted that disasters affect women and men
differently. The effects of climate change manifested in the increase of extreme weather
conditions such as hot summers, droughts, storms, or floods, impact women more severely
than men, both in developing and in developed countries.
When natural disasters and environmental change happen, women and men affected
differently because of traditional socially based roles and responsibilities. Degradation of
water sources is usually a consequence of drought and natural disasters especially in a
context of poverty. Because of their roles in ensuring the household water supply and
being in charge of domestic chores, women more exposed to diseases, which thrive in such
conditions such as diarrhea and cholera. Moreover, since women are often the primary
caregivers for children and the elderly, they may also have less mobility. Cultural
*http://www.fao.org/sd/wpdirect/wpdoe001.htm Gender: the key to sustainability and food security Posted May 1997
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8. restrictions on women's mobility can compound the problem. As Lorena Aguilar (a senior
gender advisor for the World Conservation Union) said “During emergencies women are
less likely to have access to information about assistance than men," Extreme weather
effects such as flooding, landslides, and storms, cause death and injury, may affect women
and men differently, depending on the means at the disposal of each to ensure their own
safety and to re-establish their lives after the disaster. Fore instance during the 1991
cyclone in Bangladesh many more women died than men because early warnings displayed
in public spaces where women prohibited and women delayed leaving their homes because
of fears of indecency. Besides, as Oxfam International, based in Oxford, England has
pointed out 80 percent of the 2004 tsunami victims were female due to the above-
mentioned reason. In case of developed countries, the 20,000 people who died in France
during the extreme heat wave in Europe in 2003 included significantly more elderly
women than men.
Pursuant to the IPCC analysis, “the impacts of climate change will fall disproportionately
upon developing countries and the poor persons within all countries, and thereby
exacerbate inequities in health status and access to adequate food, clean water, and other
resources.” People living in poverty are more vulnerable to environmental changes. The
gender-poverty links show that 70 percent of the poor in the world are women and their
vulnerability accentuated by race, ethnicity, and age.
In natural disasters that have occurred in recent years, both in developing and in developed
countries, it is primarily the poor who have suffered-and all over the world, the majority of
the poor are women, who are all levels earn less than men. In developing countries, women
living in poverty bear a disproportionate burden of climate change consequences. Because
of women’s marginalized statues and dependence on local natural resources, their domestic
burdens increased, including additional work to fetch water, or to collect fuel and fodder.
In some areas, climate change generates resource shortage and unreliable job markets,
which lead to increased male-out migration and more women left behind with additional
agricultural and households duties. Poor women’s lack of access to and control over
natural resources, technologies, and credit mean that they have fewer resources to cop with
seasonal and episodic weather and natural disasters. Consequently, traditional roles
reinforced, girls’ education suffers, and women’s ability to diversify their livelihoods (and
therefore their capacity to access income-generating jobs) diminished.
As Irene Dankelman (vice-chair of the Women's Environment and Development
Organization), has pointed out in her opening remarks at the annual roundtable meeting of
the U.N.general assembly. "Not only are women adversely impacted by climate change,
they also contribute differently from men to its causes and its solutions”.
Understanding how the different social expectations, roles, status, and economic power of
men and women affect, and are affected differently by, climate change will improve
actions taken to reduce vulnerability and combat climate change in the developing world.
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9. 2.1 How climate change will affect men and women differently?
Climate change has many gender-specific characteristics: Women affected differently, and
more severely, by climate change and natural disaster because of social roles,
discrimination, and poverty; Women still underrepresented in decision-making about
climate change, greenhouse gas emission, and adaptation/mitigation;
There are gender biases in carbon emissions. They should be included not only because
they are most vulnerable but also because they have different perspectives and expertise to
contribute. Gender is a significant dimension to take into account when understanding
environmental change. Perspectives, responses, and impacts related to disaster events are
different for men and women, as men and women have different social responsibilities,
vulnerabilities, capabilities, and opportunities for adjustment and unequal asset and power
relations; they experience environmental change and disaster differently.
According to recent studies, climate change predicted to reduce crop yields and food
production in some regions, particularly the tropics. Women are responsible 70-80 percent
of household food production in sub-Saharan Africa, 65 percent in Asia, and 45 percent in
Latin America and the Caribbean. They achieve this despite unequal access to land,
information, and inputs such as improved seeds and fertilizer. Traditional food sources
may become more unpredictable and scarce as the climate changes. Women’s specific
knowledge of maintaining biodiversity, through the conservation and domestication of
wild edible plant seeds and food crop breeding, a key factor to adapting to climate change
more effectively.
Climate change may exacerbate existing shortage of water. Women, largely responsible for
water collection in their communities, are more sensitive to the changes in seasons and
climatic conditions that affect water quantity and accessibility that make its collection even
more time-consuming.
As primary caregivers in many families, women may see their responsibilities increase as
family members suffer increased illness. Further, in the developing world, women often
have less access to medical care than men do.
Although climate change impacts will affect all countries, its impacts will differently
distributed among different regions, generation, age classes income groups, occupation and
gender.
Pursuant to IPCC’s prediction:-
• 75-250 million people across Africa could face more severe water shortage by
2020.
• Agriculture production and access to food will be severely compromised in many
African countries: agricultural land will be lost, and there will be shorter growing
seasons and lower yields. In some countries, yields from rain-fed crops could be
halved by 2020.
• Rising water temperatures will decrease fish stocks in large lakes, already depleted
by over fishing.
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10. The poor (of which 70% are women) will disproportionately affect. Women are also
powerful agents of change by playing a key role in energy consumption, deforestation,
burning of vegetation, population growth and economic growth.
2.2 Gender issues and UN Conventions
This paper focuses on the three Rio Conventions i.e. UNFCCC, UNCCD and CBD, which
are the main international legally binding agreements for sustainable development and
Ethiopia is one of the countries that have ratified these Conventions.
In all societies, in many parts of the world, gender equality is not yet realized. Men and
women have different roles, responsibilities, and decision-making powers.
Fore instance until very recently, gender issues have not played a major role in climate
protection discussions in case of UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC). It does not mention either a gender perspective or women and men as specific
stakeholders in the convention. In the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the issue
of women and men is mentioned only in the preface, which states: “Recognizing also the
vital role that women play in the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity
and affirming the need for the full participation of women at all levels of policymaking and
implementation for biological diversity conservation, (…)” (CBD, 1992). The United
Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is the only one of the three Rio
conventions to have clearly addressed the importance of targeting participation of women
as well as men at all stages of the process. The UNCCD has mainstreamed the concept of
gender by recognizing the role of women in ensuring rural livelihoods and by explicitly
encouraging the equal participation of women and men in capacity building. It is through
the full participation of local people, particularly at the local level, especially women and
youth, with the cooperation of non-governmental and local organizations that the efforts to
combat desertification can be most effective.
Desertification is caused primarily by human activities and climatic variations and occurs
because dry land ecosystems, which cover over one third of the world's land area, are
extremely vulnerable to over-exploitation and inappropriate land use. Poverty, conflict,
deforestation, overgrazing, and bad irrigation practices can all undermine land fertility.
According to FAO/UNCCD investigation, over 250 million people are directly affected by
desertification. In addition, about one billion people in over one hundred countries are at
risk. These people include many of the world's poorest, most marginalized, and politically
weak citizens.
Recognizing the link between desertification and poverty, the UNCCD stresses the
importance of a “bottom-up participatory approach in identifying, implementing,
monitoring, and evaluating projects that combat desertification and mitigate the effects of
drought”. The UNCCD approach thus seeks to combine science and technology with local
knowledge, to come up with effective solutions for sustainable dry land development.
Given the intimate relationship between desertification and poverty, a local-level gender-
sensitive understanding of livelihood roles is all the more relevant for finding solutions.
Whatever the difference in roles may be, the specific targeting of sex and age groups in
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11. needs assessment and solution design and implementation is an essential factor of
programme success.
3. The situation of Gender Issue in Ethiopia
3.1 The general situation of Gender Issue in Ethiopia
Even though their contribution is very significant to the country's economy, mainly in the
agricultural and the informal sectors, and given the importance of their social role, women
in Ethiopia do not have equitable access to economic resources and have little decision
making power. Besides, though the Ethiopia has a great ethnic, religious and cultural
diversity, attitudes towards women's rights are relatively homogenous in rural societies.
Eighty-seven per cent of women in Ethiopia are engaged in agriculture, contributing about
50 percent of income based on subsistence agriculture. However, little attention has been
given to involving women in rural development efforts and enabling them to benefit
directly from agriculture extension services. With regard to livestock production, Ethiopia
is the home for thousands of pastoral people who herd their livestock in the semi-arid to
arid areas of the country. Rainfall seasonality affects forage availability, livestock
production and ultimately the livelihoods of those people. Ethiopia’s rural poor include
many of the country’s seven million people who depend on herding for a livelihood. About
20 per cent of herders’ households are headed by women. Households headed by women
are particularly vulnerable. Women are much less likely than men to receive an education
or health benefits, or to have a voice in decisions affecting their lives.
3.2 The Federal Democratic Government of Ethiopia’s attention on
gender equality
Until recently, governments in Ethiopia have not had any policy on women's affairs.
Although women have made substantial contributions to the struggle Ethiopian people
have waged to ensure their rights and freedoms, their struggle up to now has not been
sufficiently institutionalized. Gender issues do not only concern women. Women's
problems cannot be solved by women alone, but by the coordinated efforts of the society
as a whole, including government. Careful planning in full consultation with women is
essential, drawing lessons from past failures and experiences.
In 1992 the creation of a Women’s Affairs Office within the Prime Minister’s Office
mandated to coordinate and facilitate conditions to promote gender equality in areas of
development.
The Federal Democratic Government of Ethiopia has declared its clear commitment to the
development of women with the announcement of the National Policy on Women in 1993.
Moreover the Government in 1995, under its new constitution, renewed its commitment
towards this policy
The Women's Policy primarily aims to institutionalize the political, economical, and social
rights of women by creating an appropriate structure in government offices and institutions
11

12. so that the public policies and interventions are gender-sensitive and can ensure equitable
development for all Ethiopian men and women. The ultimate goal here is to achieve a level
where government policies on economic, political and social spheres and all development
intervention plans become gender-sensitive and gender inclusive.
To enhance the status of women, the Government formally adopted a National Program of
Action in 1997. The program seeks to expand educational and work opportunities for
women, improve women's access to health care, and educate women about certain
unhealthy traditional practices such as early marriage. There have been few improvements
in the status of women since the inception of this program; however, girls reportedly
attended school in greater numbers in some regions, and according to a study done by the
National Committee on Harmful Traditional Practices (NCTPE), certain harmful
traditional practices such as early marriage and marriage by abduction appeared to be on
the decline.
Land redistribution programs undertaken in some regions had treated women equally with
men. In addition, the Government has put in place policy and legislative measures, which
empowered women to have access to credit facilities and extension services and improved
agricultural technology. Thus, the position of women to mitigate the effect of natural
disaster and climate change at large would be improving time to time. However, more
work and effort has par amount importance from both women and men to eradicate poverty
and to ensure sustainable development for the future. Sustainable Development defined as
a process of use of natural resources in a wise manner with a full participation of the
people in the effort to eliminate poverty and work towards the general improvement of the
livelihood of society. Sustainability is hence development that meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Sustainable development encompasses social, economical, cultural, security and
participatory in decision-makings.
According to recent findings, interventions for women largely consist of ad hoc and
unconnected self-standing projects, which, if continued, will remain gender neutral and
ineffective in delivering benefits to women. The biggest challenge faced by the regional
governments is that top-down activities do not reach women effectively due to lack of
institutional capacity at the sub-regional level and because of lack of participation in
delivery assistance services. Moreover, the development plans for women were not
demand-driven and therefore failed to recognize substantial variations across regions. This
resulted in disconnected women from all development interventions.
NGO'S and women groups are major partners in the implementation of the policy at grass
roots level. Development organizations, Religious and community organizations and
women professional associations, and movements are involved in the implementation of
the National Plan of action whereby poverty eradication being the priority focuses.
Various women's associations formed to promote women issues in different areas like
women's health association, women lawyer's association, women education association,
women association of the disabled target to tackle the problems in the respective areas and
target women's interests; they bring out issues where women are disadvantaged and find
solutions. They work in collaboration with other similar organizations in and outside the
12

13. country. They promote Women's capacity by providing training programs and experience
sharing forums.
The national committee for the eradication of harmful traditional practices has been
playing major roles in brining about a change of attitude, knowledge and practice of
various target audience, through training and information campaign with the involvement
of government machineries health personnel's, school teachers and grassroots community
members, traditional and religious leader, Youth groups and government officials.
There are also indigenous women associations that work at grass roots level in
communities with a focus on the specific needs of women in their respective communities.
This are part of larger development associations but focusing and targeting women. They
provide skill-training, credit and introduce labor saving devices to minimize the labor of
women concerning household chores and assist women to develop their leadership skills
and participate in the democratization process.
The grass roots women have access to credit, training, and get self-employment through
their associations. Besides, they tried to create various activities that are productive and
beneficiary. They also look for sources of fund and have projects that improve their lives
and satisfy their necessities of course there is still a long way to go.
4. Gender and adaptation polices and strategies
There is a suggestion that vulnerability and adaptation are largely social issues, however
the issue of gender is not yet playing a more explicit role in adaptation studies, projects and
policy. Because of the feminization of poverty, other existing gender inequalities, and
men’s and women’s gendered roles in society and in the division of labor, there are gender
differences in climate change impacts and in adaptive capacities. Such differences, in
vulnerability and also in adaptive opportunities, should be recognized in the adaptation
process to avoid further increases in gender inequality and to ensure the successfulness of
adaptation policies and measures.
The extent and nature of negative impacts imposed by climate change can be managed by
effective adaptation. In the context of climate change, adaptation refers to adjustments in
human and natural systems to respond to actual or expected climate impacts. Climate
change adaptation is a process of socio-institutional co-learning that recognizes often-
competing goals and processes and uses information at various levels and in many ways to
reduce vulnerability to climate risks. Adapting to climate change will depend on
adjustments and changes at every level - from community-based to national and
international. However, the capacity to adapt will vary significantly from country to
country, community to community and in particular to the level of development. In
general, the preferred adaptation strategies are actions with multiple economic and
environmental benefits, including for current and future conditions and needs to be based
on sound scientific assessment. The range of practices that can be used to adapt to climate
change is diverse, and includes changes in behavior, structural changes, policy based
responses, technological responses or managerial responses.
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14. As a great portion of women in Ethiopia are involved in agricultural activities any
adaptation measure taken towards that activity is directly linked women’s day to day life.
Adaptation process has the potential impact to reduce adverse effects of climate change
and enhance beneficial developmental activities which can be the driving force for
sustainable development. The capacity of human nature to adapt to and cope with climate
change depends on such factors as wealth, technology, education, information skill,
infrastructure, access to resources, and management capabilities. In line with this attention
should be given for the following possible adaptation processes in Ethiopian context.
• Applying improved knowledge to develop better techniques and to resist the effect
of climate change in a given locality (developing different water points and water
collecting systems; developing alternate energy source for fuel; etc).
• Change in land use by using deferent techniques such as changing farm area,
change to crops with higher thermal requirements and drought-tolerant crop, a
switch to crops with lower moisture requirements and change in crop location.
• Change in management in terms of the use of irrigation, fertilizer, in the control of
pests, in soil drainage, infrastructure.
• Create favorable environment for research activities to define the gender-
differentiated impacts of global climate change, including a focus on gender
differences in capabilities to cope with climate change adaptation process.
• Create awareness among people about the gender aspect of adaptation process and
the causes of climate change so that the vulnerable groups (women, youth and girls
of the poor society) could change their wrong management practices such as
deforestation, overgrazing, collecting dung form the ground for fuel, using fire
around vegetation and forest areas with negligence, etc. which are the main causes
for land degradation, desertification and climate change at large.
5. Gender issue and mitigation
At both international and national levels, it remains difficult for women to gain recognition
in the field of climate protection. As indicated in the above statement the Ethiopia
government gives attention in this matter and there is also favorable stricture to implement
any issue related to gender mainstreaming.
Women are not only victims of climate change, but also effective agents of change in
relation to both mitigation and adaptation. Women have strong body of knowledge and
expertise that can be used in climate change mitigation, disaster reduction and adaptation
strategies. Women’s responsibility in households and communities towards natural
resources has positioned them well for livelihood strategies adapted to changing
environmental realities. Women tend, however, to be underrepresented in decision-making
on sustainable development, including on climate change, and this impedes their ability to
contribute their unique and valuable perspectives and expertise on climate change.
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15. As the expert group meeting (held in Ankara, Turkey, 6-9 November 2001) has pointed out
strategies and policies to cop with climate change are neglecting the gender dimensions of
climate change and the current gender-climate change agenda. Women are poorly
represented in planning and decision-making processes in climate change policies, limiting
their capacity to engage in political decisions that can impact their specific needs and
vulnerabilities.
The level of women’s participation in planning and decision-making on climate protection
is very low even in industrialized countries, and this is linked above all to the heavily
technical nature and male dominance in key areas of work; energy, transport, town
planning.
Women are able to map their risks and vulnerabilities from their own standpoint and to
play an important role in early warning. Drumming women’s interest in disaster mitigation
and preparedness has led to improved community welfare during and after disasters.
Ensuring strategies, including gender-sensitive target group analysis, identification and
preparation of safe areas for villagers to escape floods, establishing local early warning,
monitoring and communication systems, research on indigenous resilience practices and
the creation of women-accessible emergency loan funds, help the poor reduce their risks in
natural disasters.
In the context of climate change, mitigation refers to a human intervention to reduce the
"sources" of greenhouse gases or enhance the "sinks" to remove carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere. Climate change mitigation in agriculture includes measures that prevent
greenhouse gas emissions such as reducing energy demand and using biomass energy and
other alternative energy sources. Other measures increase carbon storage by reducing land
clearing, avoiding deforestation, afforestation, improving soil, and crop and grazing land
management. Offset measures include planting trees to capture carbon dioxide.
6. Conclusion
To be successful, adaptation policies and measures within both developed and developing
countries need to be gender sensitive. To understand the implications of adaptation
measures for all people involved, it is necessary that all members of an adapting
community be represented in climate change planning and governance processes. Taking
the different daily realities of women and men into account can produce a qualitative
improvement in climate change policy and measures. It is therefore important to integrate
gender into all mechanisms, policies and measures, and tools and guidelines within the
Climate Change debate.
Women must be recognized as agents of change who have a significant role to play in
creating sustainable models for energy consumption and production, and in responsible
climate change mitigation adaptation efforts. There is an urgent need to include gender
equality and involvement of women at all environmental planning and decision-making
levels. Empowerment through capacity building and technical training will increase
women’s capacity to effectively participate in energy policy-making and decision-making
bodies.
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16. Addressing the absence of the gender dimension in the UNFCCC, and the scarcity of
research focusing on the gender aspects of climate change will also help to build a more
consistent and solid approach regarding climate change policies.
Equal involvement of men and women in adaptation planning is important not only to
ensure that the measures developed are actually beneficial for all those who are supposed
to implement them, but also to ensure that all relevant knowledge, (that is, knowledge from
men and women) is integrated into policy and projects.
Technological development related to climate change should take in to account women’s
specific priorities and needs and make full use of their knowledge and expertise, including
traditional practices. Women’s involvement in the development of new technologies can
ensure that they are user-friendly, effective and sustainable. Women should also have equal
access to training, credit and skills-development programs to ensure their full participation
in climate change initiatives.
Financing mechanism must be flexible enough to reflect women’s priorities and needs. The
active participation of women in the development of funding criteria and allocation of
resources for climate change initiatives is critical, particularly at local levels. Gender
analysis of all budget lines and financial instruments for climate change is needed to ensure
gender- sensitive investments in programs for adaptation, mitigation, technology transfer
and capacity building.
7. The way forward
The important role played by women in regions affected by desertification and/or
drought, particularly in rural areas of developing countries like Ethiopia should be
assessed, and the importance of ensuring the full participation of both men and
women at all levels of activity to mitigate the effects of adverse climatic effects that
can causes climate change.
Favorable environment should be available to create a balanced and equal
participation of both women and men in formulating and implementing policies and
programmes will allow utilizing the maximum talent available. Such an approach can
help identify the different needs, perception and roles.
It is necessary to build capacity and resilience to enable women and men to cope with
the negative impacts of climate variability and climate change.
Funds should be mobilized for greater research in understanding the complex links
between gender and poverty (with regard to climate change) and how to build the
adaptive capacity of the poor.
The development plans for women should be demand-driven in order to improve and
increase their participation in social, economical and political activities.
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17. Create favorable environment at regional level in order to reach at grass root level to
implement the top-down activities and to understand the situation of the poor and
more vulnerable society appropriately as well.
Women must be recognized as agents of change who have a significant role to play in
creating sustainable models for energy consumption and production, and in
responsible climate change mitigation adaptation efforts.
Gender is an important dimension should be taking into account. Environmental
management is not gender neutral and it is important that climate vulnerability
assessments adequately reflect the different circumstances of men and women within
communities.
Last but not least gender issues should be mainstreamed in the climate debate and the
climate negotiations. The relevant bodies should ensure that this issue gets attention.
8. References
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Tropics of the World with some example of Ethiopian Agriculture. Published in
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Demessie, A (2002). Agorclimatical Analysis of Ethiopia with a Particular Emphasis of
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Doorenbos, J. & Pruitt, W. O. (1984). Guidelines for Predicting Crop Water Requirements.
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Doorenbos, J. & Kassam, A. H. (1979). Yield Response to Water. FAO Irrigation and
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Frere, M. & Popov, G. F. (1979). Agrometeorological Crop Monitoring and Forecasting.
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Frere, M. & Popov, G. F. (1986). Early Agro meteorological Crop Yield Assessment. FAO
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73. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of
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