At the Intersection of Inequities – Lessons Learned from CIFOR’s Work on Gender and Climate Change Adaptation in West Africa

This article states that in West Africa, gender relations, roles and perceptions are changing at the local level, furthered by environmental and climate change impacts and the adaptation process to them.

Impacts and responses to climate changes are changing gender roles and relations on the ground. The emerging new societal roles and responsibilities tend to initially increase workloads of women and children.

However, in the long run these changes could empower women to negotiate new institutional arrangements to access and control resources. Adaptation planning must take into account the specific needs of the most vulnerable – who are often women and girls – as well as issues of their participation in decision making in order to avoid exacerbating inequalities and advocating maladaptive actions and plans. Gender-sensitive analyses of climate change vulnerability and strengths must be based on solid research and should consider more complex, horizontal (inter-community) and vertical (national, regional, local) distinctions.

Source: United Nations

Date of Publication: April 14, 2021