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Marcela Ballara, International ConsultantPedro Tomo, National Consultant

DESK Literature Review onDisaster Risk ReductionAnd Emergency Preparedness (DRR&EP) and Climate Change

DESK LITERATURE REVIEW ON DISASTER RISK REDUCTION AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND CLIMATE CHANGE 2

I. Introduction

II. The International Framework 10

International Arena Agenda 21 (United Nations Conference on Environment and

Development, 1992) Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (World Summit on Sustainable

Development 2002 (WSSD) Beijing Platform for Action (4th World Conference on Women, 1995)

+ 15 years The “Rio Conventions” The UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) The Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015 Building the Resilience of

Nations and Communities to Disasters (World Conference on Disaster Reduction, HFA)Mozambique compliance of International Agreements

III. Gender mainstreaming and Mozambique DRR&EP Institutional framework 19

Disaster Management Coordinating Council (CCGC) and Disaster Management Technical Council (CTGC)The National Institute for Disaster Management (INGC) The Ministry for the Coordination of Environmental Affairs (MICOA)Ministry of Women and Social Action (MMAS)

IV. International events supporting gender mainstreaming in DRR&EP 25

Third Global Congress of Women in Politics and Governance, .Gender in Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk ReductionThe Beijing Agenda for Global Action on Gender-Sensitive Disaster Risk Reduction Beijing, China

V. Good practices and lessons learned by local governments in DRR&EP and CCH 27

Role of Local Governments in DRR&EP and CCH Good Practices, Lessons Learned, Challenges and Potential Replications

Honduras grassroots women and communities in disaster risk reduction and environmental and natural resources management activities;

India a model of effective government-community partnership andfacilitates policy support needed to foster a culture of risk reduction;

Indonesia Using Political Momentum to Engender Legislation in the Reconstruction Context;

South Africa: Addressing social vulnerability of women and girls in an effective, integrative, cost effective, participatory, non-technical and easily replicable manner;


Mali: Alternatives to desertification, drought and in support of rural women empowerment

Tamil Nadu, India Focus on Single Woman’s girl children in disaster areas El Salvador The Reducing Vulnerabilities in Ahuachapán and Sonsonate Programme

(PRVAS) Nagapattinam, India, Disaster through a Gender lens: gender issues in disaster

response and recovery a case of meeting strategic interests of women through relief distribution

Approaches to address DRR&EP and CCH projects and programs Community-Based Disaster Management (CBDM) a programming approach of Asian

Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC) An approach to Participatory Vulnerability analysis with gender lens

VI. Overview of gender issues in Disaster Risk Reduction and Emergency Preparedness (DRR&EP) and Climate Change 36

Relevance for considering gender issues in Disaster Risk Reduction and Emergency Preparedness (DRR&EP) and Climate Change

Climate change affects men and women differently

Relations between Gender mainstreaming and climate change mitigation and adaptation

Factors that influence women in DRR&EP and CCH mitigation and adaptation

Some gender-specific vulnerabilities and challenges to disaster, emergency and climate change

Priority areas for action

VII. Some Findings 43

Annexes 491. General characterization of the climate change adaptation and disaster

risk reduction communities 2. Beijing Agenda for Global Action on Gender-Sensitive; and Disaster Risk Reduction

Manila Declaration for Global Action on Gender in Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction

3. Terminology 4. Summary of Reports, Manuals and Toolkits on Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate

Change

Reference Material


List of acronyms

CDS Sustainable Development Centre (Centro de Desenvolvimento Sustentável) CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women CIDA Canadian International Development Agency CONDES National Council for Sustainable Development (Conselho Nacional para o

Desenvolvimento Sustentável) CCGC Disaster Management Coordinating Council (Conselho Coordenador de Gestão

de Calamidades) CTGC Disaster Management Technical Council (Conselho Técnico de Gestão de

Calamidades)DRR&EP Disaster Risk Reduction and Emergency Preparedness DPCOA Provincial Directorate for the Coordination of Environmental Action DPTUR Provincial Directorate of Tourism (Direcção Provincial do Turismo) EADS Environment Strategy for Sustainable Development (Estratégia Ambiental para o

Desenvolvimento Sustentável) GoM Government of Mozambique MDGs Millennium Development Goals MICOA Ministry for the Coordination of Environmental Action MINAG Ministry of Agriculture MPD Ministry of Planning and Development NGO Non-governmental organization PDPMCN National Master Plan for Disaster Risk Reduction ()PAPs (GBS) Programme Aid Partners PARPA Poverty Reduction Action Plan (Plano de Acção para a Redução da Pobreza

Absoluta) PEDD District Strategic Development Plan (Plano Estratégico de Desenvolvimento

Distrital)PESOD District Social Economic and Budget Plan (Planos Económico Social e Orçamento

Distrital) PES Económico and Social Plan (Plano Económico e Social) NAPA National Adaptation Programme of Action UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNEP United Nations Environment Programme UNISDR United Nations International Strategy for Disaster reductionWFP World Food Program


I

Introduction

In the past three decades numerous international instruments have been generated to ensure gender equality and non-discrimination against women and to adopt measures related to sustainable development. This includes declarations, conventions, platforms, action plans, resolutions and agreements. They reflect the evolution of ideas and trends that guide the thinking and action of States, international organizations, academia and civil society (Aguilar et al., 2008).1

Over the past few decades, a rise in the number of disaster events has resulted in an increase in human and material losses, rising people’s vulnerability. This has led to increased emphasis on integration of poverty reduction programs with other sectoral issues such as environmental management, gender and public health, a shift from looking at disasters as extreme events created by natural forces, to viewing them as manifestations of unresolved development problems.

Approaches analyzing natural disasters and their impact on the human population have experimented evolution, from relief and response programmes and projects to vulnerability analysis to disaster risk reduction and risk management programmes and projects. This has resulted in implementation of Disaster Risk Reduction & Emergency Preparedness and Climate Change (DRR&EP CCH) programs and projects in several countries affected by natural disasters and have established linkages between people’s poverty and vulnerability. Disasters are no longer seen as extreme events created entirely by natural forces but as manifestations of unresolved development problems. In DRR&EP situations a “paradigm shift” in practice evolved largely from a top-down relief and response approach to a more inter-sectoral approach addressing the issues of risk reduction for the poor and taking into account the social and economic implications and causes of these events. This also resulted in a gradual change to an emphasis on preparedness measures, such as stockpiling of relief goods, preparedness plans and a growing role for relief agencies.

The aim of this literature review is to provide information on policies plans, guidelines and programming at international and national levels in order to identify lessons learned and best practices. The review is conducted at global level, taking into consideration experiences of other countries and regions. The final aim is that the findings should be related to the gender approach in place in DRR&EP and Climate Change in Mozambique and the specific context of the country.

The negative impacts of climate change and disaster on women and men have already been recognized. Most important is the fact that women and men experience the negative impacts of

1 Aguilar, L., Araujo, A., Kring, E., Quesada, A. and Zuñiga, P. (2008). Guía: Recursos de género para el cambio climático. Mexico: UNDP.


climate change differently. Gender inequalities have negative effects on women’s coping capacity but they are important actors of change as among others, they are holders of significant knowledge and skills related to mitigation, adaptation, and reduction of risks in the face of climate change.

Several international events have referred to the impact of climate change and disaster. Recently, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change referred to its impacts in the poorest regions, highlighting that the poorest people, especially women, will have to struggle with the impacts of increasing droughts, floods or storms. This requires that men and women understand the process of climate change, disaster risk reduction and emergency preparedness and share information on counteracting their negative impacts.

Disaster Risk Reduction & EP and Climate Change; a common approach

Over the past few decades, the challenge of reducing socio-economic vulnerability to climate and weather-related hazards has been taken on by four distinct research and policy communities operated independently from each other, namely: (i) disaster risk reduction; (ii) climate change adaptation; (iii) environmental management; and (iv) poverty reduction. Many people and institutions involved in DRR & EP and CCH programmes and projects fail to distinguishbetween “Climate change adaptation” and “Disaster risk reduction”. Based on literature, the key communalities and differences between the concepts of “Climate change adaptation” and “Disaster risk reduction” (detailed in annex 1) are as follows:

Climate change: The Climate Change Agenda is based on the growing concern of the climate’s system changes and their impacts on human activities. This has led to the establishment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1988 that since then has been assessing scientific, technical and socio-economic information and has been producing assessments based mainly on reviewed and published scientific/technical literature on climate change, its potential negative impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), that receives the IPCC reports, entered into force in 1994 and now includes 189 countries, known as “Parties” to the Convention. The UNFCCC is an international treaty to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change. The Convention established an association of all the States that are Parties to the Convention, referred to as the “Conference of the Parties” (COP) that has been meeting every year, discussing among other issues, means to strengthen emission limitation targets and associated timetables. In this context, the Kyoto Protocol was agreed and went into effect in February 2005. Parties recognized the specific needs of the 48 Least Developed Countries and invited them to prepare National Adaptation Programmes of Action, designed to convey urgent and immediate adaptation needs – those for which further delays could increase vulnerability or lead to increased costs at a later stage2

Disaster Risk Reduction:The disaster Risk Reduction Agenda addresses humanitarian actions to respond to disasters as well as how to better anticipate, reduce and manage disaster risk by integrating risk reduction

2 Based on Thomalla, F, Downin T.g, Spanger-SiegfriedE. , Han G. and Rockström J., Reducing hazard vulnerability: towards a common approach between disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation in Disasters, 2006, 30(1): 39−48. © Overseas Development Institute, 2006 Published by Blackwell Publishing, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA


measures into sustainable development planning and policies. Disaster risk reduction employs measures at all levels to curb disaster losses, through reducing exposure to different hazards, and enhancing coping and adaptive capacities of vulnerable populations. Effective disaster risk reduction practices take a systemic approach to reduce the human, social, economic and environmental vulnerability to natural hazards. Prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, rehabilitation and recovery are crucial entry points for risk reduction, with the aim of building resilience to future hazards 3.

Many of the differences between the climate change and disaster management communities are related to differences in the perception of the nature and timescale of the threat. The climate change community has a strong environmentalist approach. It focuses on longer-term changes in climate and the potential consequences of climate change. Climate change adaptation has largely focused on how individual actors and sectors may be able to adapt to shifting environmental conditions (for example, change of crops).Disasters caused by extreme environmental conditions tend to be present a situation where the immediate impacts tend to overwhelm the capabilities of the affected population and rapid responses are required.

Climate change affects a wide range of ecological systems and creates complex interactions of social, economic and environmental factors. It also raises vulnerability as it affects the ability of individuals and communities to prepare for, cope with, and recover from, disasters.

Most impacts of climate change are much more difficult to perceive and measure, since the changes in average climatic conditions and climatic variability occur over a long period and because a wide range of simultaneous environmental and socio-economic processes ameliorates vulnerabilities.

The DRR &EP focuses on a vast assortment of natural and man-made hazards, of which climate-related hazards only represent one particular area. The concept of “vulnerability” is central to disaster risk reduction. Responses are always through structural measures, such as community shelters and building protection structures in disaster areas to control natural processes and protect human lives, property and critical infrastructure. DRR&EP emphasizes on developing capabilities for hazard forecasting and providing immediate humanitarian relief once a disaster has struck.

So far, many efforts by DRR &EP and CCH projects and programmes have concentrated on reducing the vulnerability of specific sectors to a particular hazard at local scale. The most vulnerable to natural hazards tend to be women, the elderly, children, ethnic and religious minorities, single-headed households, socially excluded and those with inadequate access to economic and to social networks. They are particularly vulnerable to changes in environmental conditions and factors that limit their access to natural resources determined as well by their poor access to social and financial resources, information and technology, as well as by the effectiveness of government and private institutions.

At the international level, gender issues and sustainable development have been referred to in numerous summits and conferences. The importance of mainstreaming gender equality for the realization of human rights, sustainable development and/or poverty eradication and disaster reduction has been recognized in a series of international instruments and a number of global sustainable development agreements have commitments on gender and women. These include:

3 Op.cit


o The Agenda 21 (United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, 1992); o The Beijing Platform for Action (4th World Conference on Women, 1995);o The 1997 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women

(CEDAW); o The Millennium Declaration (2000); o The Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (World Summit on Sustainable Development

(WSSD);o The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD); the UN Convention to Combat

Desertification(UNCCD); and o The Hyogo Framework for Action (World Conference on Disaster Reduction, 2005).

Also the UN has developed a call for the mainstreaming of gender: resolutions from the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), Human rights instruments and environmental laws and policies of regional organizations such as the Organization of American States, the European Council, the United African Organization and national laws in individual states may also serve as “…means to call upon governments to fulfil their obligations in terms of gender equity” (Garcia, 1999). On Disaster Risk Reduction and Emergency Preparedness the World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe, Japan (2005) and the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA), include the main mandate in relation to gender equality and the empowerment of women in the context of disaster risk reduction.


II

The International Framework

The International arena

Agenda 21 (United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, 1992)The agenda 21 was adopted at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, in Río de Janeiro in 1992. In its chapter 24 entitled “Global Action for Women towards Sustainable Development”, the document calls upon governments to make the necessary constitutional, legal, administrative, cultural, social and economic changes in order to eliminate all obstacles to women’s full involvement in sustainable development and in public life. It also calls for the adoption of clear strategies to be achieved through government policies, national guidelines and plans to ensure equity in all aspects of society including women`s involvement in decision making and environmental management.

Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (World Summit on Sustainable Development 2002 (WSSD) On the basis of equality with men, this plan promotes women’s equal access to and full participation in decision making at all levels. Through the gender mainstreaming approach, the plan calls to include gender in all policies and strategies, eliminate all forms of discrimination against women, improve their status, health and economic welfare through full and equal women and girls access to economic opportunities, land, credit, education and health-care services.

Beijing Platform for Action (4th World Conference on Women, 1995) + 15 years Two documents emanated from the IV World Conference on Women, namely (i) the Beijing Declaration and (ii) the Platform for Action, which established a strategy and responsibilities for State Parties. The Strategic “Objective K” of the Beijing Platform for Action commits to securing the active involvement of women in environmental decision making by integrating gender concerns and perspectives in policies and programs for sustainable development; and strengthening or establishing mechanisms at the national, regional and international levels to assess the impact of development and environmental policies on women. On sustainable development, the “Beijing +10”, (2005)made a specific reference to Member States, addressed to developing countries to provide the necessary importance on land tenure and property ownership for resource mobilization and environmental management, a recommendation that was again stressed in Beijing+15 (2010). A Fifteen-Year Review of the Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action in Africa (BPfA) +15 – From 1995-2009 took place in Banjul, Gambia in November 2009 to undertake a specific examination of continent-wide progress within the time frame of 2005-2009. The regional review focused on the 12 thematic areas of concern and the 11th area of concern took the issue of “Women and the Environment” putting the accent on African women’s vulnerability to climate change as they “ lack adequate rights and access to


resources and information vital to overcoming the challenges posed by climate change. Moreover they are frequently excluded from processes and decisions relating to the use and management of natural resources, including those impacting on climate change” (BPfA 2009) and stressed that limited attention has been given to the gender differences that affect the gender aspects of vulnerability and adaptation to climate change. The lack of trained staff members in most relevant ministries that should address gender issues was also taken as part of their concerns. Therefore the recommendation, among others refer to the need of measures to integrate a gender perspective in the design and implementation of sustainable resource management, establish strategies and mechanisms to involve women in design, development and implementation of policies and programs for natural resource management and environmental protection and conservation. The African Region Beijing +15 Declaration(2009) committed to focus their actions on several strategic areas among them on climate change and food security by developing “gender-responsive policies on climate change which focus on agriculture, water resource management, energy, forest use and management, as well as transportation and technology transfer for improved food security”, including the development of agricultural policies and programs that address the differentiated impacts of climate change. Also suggestions were made to collect statistics disaggregated by sex- and gender- data analysis in scientific research on climate change and knowledge-sharing at all levels.

The Millennium Declaration4 and the Millennium Declaration Goals (2000)The Millennium Declaration commits governments to respect the equal rights of all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are an agreed set of goals that promote poverty reduction, education, maternal health, gender equality, and aim to combat child mortality, AIDS and other diseases, with 2015 as target date.

The “Rio Conventions”5

As a result of the “Rio Earth Summit” (1992 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), three international treaties were implemented: the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Convention of the Biological Diversity (CBD) and the United Nations Convention to Combat desertification (UNCCD), known as the Rio Conventions and all three interrelated. Therefore a Joint Liaison Group (JLG) was established in 2001 with the aim to coordinate and work in partnership

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)This Convention is an international framework for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources. In its Preamble the CBD recognises women’s role in the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and calls for their participation at all levels of policy-making. CBD is the only environmental agreement mentioned in the Beijing Platform of Action 6 highlighting the need

4 Declaration is a series of norms and principles drafted by states and which they pledge to abide by. However, there is no forceful component to a declaration; those States that do not observe those norms and principles are subject to “moral sanctions” before the international community (i.e., Millennium Declaration). Source: http://www.unfpa.org/5 Convention involves a series of agreements amongst States, which include norms and principles that States are obliged to comply with (i.e., the American Convention on Human Rights). Given the obligations they impose on states, the conventions enter into force only after the State’s government has ratified them. Signing these instruments is not enough for them to become legally binding. Source: http://www.unfpa.org/6 “Encourage, subject to national legislation and consistent with the Convention on Biological Diversity, the effective protection and use of the knowledge, innovations and practices of women of indigenous and local communities, including practices relating to traditional medicines, biodiversity and indigenous technologies, and endeavor to ensure that these are respected, maintained, promoted and preserved in an ecologically sustainable manner, and promote their wider application with the approval and involvement of the holders of such knowledge; in addition, safeguard the existing intellectual property rights of these women as protected under national and international law; work actively, where necessary, to find additional ways and means for the effective

http://www.unfpa.org/


for national legislation in providing protection, knowledge, best practices and innovation in traditional medicines, biodiversity and indigenous technologies taking into consideration the environment, intellectual property rights and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of such knowledge. Since 2007, the CBD has adopted the gender mainstreaming approach in their regular activities and developed a Gender Plan of Action7.

The UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)This convention is one of the few international instruments that establishes a link between the environmental situation, gender equality and social participation, and establishes that women’s and men’s participation is essential to combat desertification and to implement dryland development activities. These activities require special support for awareness rising, in training and capacity building and education. UNCCD links to local development and the eradication of poverty has an important commitment to equality among men and women and at an early stage they were adopted in many of the related activities carried out by the UNCCD in the local, national, regional and global sphere. Financial and technical support for programs directed specifically at women was provided and UNCCD efforts were characterized by its support to strengthen the role of women in all areas of its implementation.

Equality between men and women was also adopted by UNCCD governance, but still there are inequalities and some delegates to each Conference of the Parties (COP) continue requesting for their rectification, especially in the processes of preparing the National Action Programs. Very unfortunately during the COPs held to date, discussions, proposals and suggestions about the role of women and gender mainstreaming have played an insignificant part in the plenary discussions or Commission on Science and Technology and issues concerning gender and women’s roles are scarcely mentioned. This has been agreed by all participants of the CDO, specially the women groups as well as some participants countries.

The Hyogo Framework for Action. HFA, 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters (World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, Kobe, Japan 2005).

The evolution of disaster management thinking and practice since the 1970s has seen a progressively wider and deeper understanding, accompanied by more integrated and holistic approaches to reducing their impacts on society. Disaster management – disaster risk reduction is a relatively new concept in formal terms, and is now being widely embraced by international agencies, governments, disaster planners and civil society organizations.

DRR is generally perceived as the implementation of policy initiatives, strategies and practices to minimize vulnerability and disaster risks within the society. In recent years a more comprehensive approach called “Risk Management” has emerged. The term ‘Disaster Risk Management’ (DRM) is often used in the same context to mean a systematic approach to identify, assess and reduce risks of all kinds associated with hazards and human activities. It is more properly applied to the operational aspects of DRR: the practical implementation of DRR initiatives.”(UNISDR 2004).

protection and use of such knowledge, innovations and practices, subject to national legislation and consistent with the Convention on Biological Diversity and relevant international law, and encourage fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of such knowledge, innovation and practices”. Beijing Platform of Action point K.7 A CBD Gender Plan of Action was develop in 2008 and define the organization role in stimulating and facilitating efforts, with partners at the national, regional and global levels, to overcome constraints and take advantage of opportunities to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment as a important prerequisites for biodiversity conservation and sustainable development.


The 2005 UN’s World Conference on Disaster Reduction (WCDR) in Kobe –Japan, began the process of putting in the agenda of international agencies and national governments clear targets and commitments for DRR. The first step in this process was the formal approval at the WCDR, of the Hyogo Framework for Action (2005-2015). This is the first internationally accepted framework for DRR. It sets out an ordered sequence of objectives (outcome – strategic goals – priorities), with five priorities for action attempting to ‘capture’ the main areas of DRR intervention.

The Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015 has been adopted by 168 states, and lays out a detailed set of priorities to be achieved by 2015 on reduction of disaster losses(of lives and social, economic and environmental assets of communities and countries). The HFA identifies the following 5 key priorities for action as a guide for states, international and regional organizations, and other stakeholders:

o Ensure that disaster risk reduction is a national and a local priority with a strong institutional basis for implementation.

o Identify, assess and monitor disaster risks and enhance early warning.o Use knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilience at

all levels.o Reduce the underlying risk factors.o Strengthen disaster preparedness for effective response at all levels

The Framework agreed to include a mandate in relation to gender equality and empowerment of women in the context of disaster risk reduction. The Framework states that a gender perspective should be integrated into all DRR policies, plans and decision-making processes, including those related to risk assessment, early warning, information management, and education and training. Moreover, the Platform on Gender Equality and Disaster Risk Reduction agreed by all nations represented at the World Conference, approved to implement using a gender mainstreaming approach, the five priorities of the Hyogo Framework (disaster management initiatives; capacity building in women’s groups and community-based organizations; in communications, training and education; providing opportunities to women in science and technology; and gender mainstreaming in program implementation, monitoring and evaluation).

To implement this approach a multi-stakeholder and inclusive United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) system is being strengthened and 131 countries have designated HFA focal points including the establishment of multi-stakeholder national platforms in 50 countries. Nevertheless, gender perspectives need to have a much stronger presence as agreed by the CSOs – Civil Society Organizations, especially women organizations.

The HFA has legally a non-binding character, leaving to governments the decision to set technical and organizational requirements to reduce disaster risks, including implementing details according to their needs and capacities. However it emphasizes that disaster risk reduction is a central issue for development policies, as well as issues related to the humanitarian and environmental ground.

Among the 2005-2015 priorities for action, the HFA underlines the development of a timely and understandable people centred early warning system that provides guidance and takes into consideration the demographic, gender, cultural and livelihood characteristics of the target population. A holistic approach to education and training in disaster risk reduction must include socio-cultural and gender issues. “Words into Action” (2007), the guideline to implement the


HFA, supports that gender perspective must be included in all phases of disaster cycles. In this guideline gender is a central issue and therefore differences between women and men, on risks from disasters must be acknowledged. Gender influences individual’s capacities and resources to minimize harm, adapt to hazards and respond to disasters.8“Low-income women and those who are marginalized due to marital status, physical inability, age, social stigma or caste are especially disadvantaged. At the grassroots level, on the other hand, women are often well positioned to manage risk due to their roles as both users and managers of environmental resources, as economic providers, and as caregivers and community workers. For these reasons it is necessary to identify and use gender-differentiated information, to ensure that risk reduction strategies are correctly targeted at the most vulnerable groups and are effectively implemented through the roles of both women and men”.9

Mozambique’s compliance of International Agreements

Internationally, Mozambique acknowledges and adheres to international efforts aimed at ensuring environmental sustainability. Some of them include:

o The Vienna Convention on the protection of the ozone layer; o The UNFCCC - ratified in August 25th 1995;o The Kyoto Protocol (As a non-Annex I Party), o The Montreal Protocol on the substances that destroy the ozone layer and the

respective London and Copenhagen amendments; o The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD); o The UNCCD; o The Nairobi Convention for the protection, management and development of the East

African marine and coastal areas; o The Basel Convention on the control of trans-border movements of dangerous

residuals and their elimination; o The Bamako Convention on the prohibition of importation of dangerous waste and the

control of trans-border movements of such waste in Africa; o The Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015; o The Convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women

(CEDAW) - ratified in 21st of April 1997 and o The Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA).

Within the framework of the UNFCCC, Mozambique has prepared its First National Communication in 2003 the National Plan for Capacity Building in the context of the Clean Development Mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol and the National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) in 2007. Other cross-cutting measures include: Strategy and Plan of Action for Biodiversity, Strategy and Plan of Action to prevent and control fires, Strategy and Plan of Action to prevent and control erosion, National Action Plan to Combat Drought and Desertification. Furthermore, according to MICOA (2003), under the Global Environment Facility (GEF), Mozambique is commencing its second National Communication to the UNFCCC secretariat.

8 To support national governments in achieving the goals for risk reduction, (ISDR) Secretariat convenes global platforms (June 2007, June 2009) to monitor progress and discuss emerging disaster threats, such as climate change

9 United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction Secretariat UNISDR (2007) Gender perspective: working together for

disaster risk reduction


Regarding this subject, it is important to assess climate vulnerability and adaptation options for those sectors not included in the first National Communication, e.g., health, education and fisheries, but that are important for the implementation of the NAPA.

The examples below show how four countries (Malawi, Mauritania, Sierra Leone and Niger), have integrated gender concerns in their NAPAs in support to women empowerment. While Malawi, Mauritania and Niger are mainstreaming women’s concerns and needs in their projects and programmes, Sierra Leone, with a different approach, is working on climate change sensitization campaigns addressing adaptation mechanisms.

Examples of Good Practices in Engendering NAPAs

In Malawi, women’s NGOs were consulted during the preparation of the NAPA, and gender is one of eight criteria for selecting projects. Proposed interventions include the empowerment of women through access to microfinance, ensuring easier access to water and energy sources, and a rural electrification programme. Three priority activities (out of five) will disaggregate beneficiaries by age and sex and six interventions will pave the way to empower women:

“The most vulnerable groups are rural communities, especially women, children, female-headed households and the elderly. The proposed interventions include: (i) improved early warning systems (ii) recommended improved crop varieties, (iii) recommended improved livestock breeds, and (iv) improved crop and livestock management practices.”– Malawi NAPA, p. ix

Mauritania acknowledges that women are guardians of vital local and traditional knowledge and that they need to be recognized as key stakeholders in the consultation and decision-making processes (even though they have not been represented in great numbers). Mauritania’s first approved project for implementation states that:

“The programme’s objective is to improve the incomes and living conditions of the target group, women and young people, in a sustainable manner by developing seven agricultural value chains.”15

In Niger’s NAPA, women are beneficiaries of three livestock/crop farming projects, one of which includes women’s land use and ownership as one of the activities. Women were one of the four ‘concentric circles’ of stakeholders/actors that were involved in national consultations.

Sierra Leone prepared its NAPA with one of the activities being sensitization campaigns on the impacts of climate change on women as well as their training on adaptation mechanisms. The document also considers the inclusion of women and children as a pre-condition for project sustainability.

Source: WEDO UNFPA (2009) Resource Kit Climate Change Connections: Gender, Population and Climate Change.


In 2004, Mozambique adopted a new Constitution in which the Government of Mozambique (GoM) is committed to ensure sustainable development by adopting policies and promoting initiatives that guarantee the ecological balance, conservation and preservation of the environment, aimed at improving the quality of life of its citizens.

The constitution also follows the principles of universality and gender equality (Constituição da República de Moçambique, Article 117). To pursue these objectives, the GoM has made efforts towards integrating climate concern in national development planning as demonstrated in PARPA II, the current 5-Year Plan and Agenda 2025 (GoM, 2003, 2005, 2006a). These are assisted by a good collection of legal instruments including:

o The National Environment Policy (1995), the National Environment Programme (1996) and the Environment Frame Law (Law nº 20/97 of 01 of October) that were created to systematically integrate environmental aspects in development;

o The Energy Policy adopted in 1995, which aims, on one hand, to increase the feasibility and access to low cost supply of several forms of energy and on the other hand, foresees the development of conservation technologies and environmental beneficial use of energy. The policy also stipulates the reduction in the consumption of wood-based fuels;

o The National Land Policy and its implementation strategies approved in 1996 and the Land Law (Law nº 19/97, of 1 of October), which ensure that the population have access to the land resources and participate in the management of such resources, for their sustainability and socially equitable use;

o The National Policy on Forest and Wildlife, adopted in 1997, which aims to manage forest and wildlife resources, underlining the need for their sustainable use;

o The Policy on Disaster Management adopted in 1999 that aims at the elimination of poverty and establishment of a contingency plan in view of the recurring occurrence of natural disasters that affect the country’s social and economic development;

o The National Agricultural Policy, Transports and Communication Law, commerce liberalization, access to health services and to potable water.

In recent years, Mozambique has made encouraging strides in reducing its poverty levels and is making gradual progress towards benchmarks set by the National Action Plan for the Reduction of Absolute Poverty (PARPA) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).10

The PARPA II defines its strategy around three pillars of Governance, Human Capital and Economy and Development. The strategy includes eight crosscutting issues, namely (i) demining, (ii) environment, (iii) HIV/AIDS, (iv) gender, (v) food and nutritional security, (vi) science and technology, (vii) rural development and (viii) disaster risk management. The inclusion of disaster risk management highlights the need, as a development priority, for long-term planning to reduce the vulnerability of communities and infrastructure exposed to negative natural phenomena.

In line with the HFA and the PARPA II, the Council of Ministers approved the National Master Plan for Disaster Risk Reduction (PDPMCN) in October 2006, a ten-year strategy aimed at strengthening capacity to mitigate the impact of frequent natural disasters in Mozambique.

10 Based on the information of United Nations Country Team in Mozambique delivering as One Strengthening Disaster risk Reduction and Emergency Preparedness (2007)


Its main focus of PDPMCN is reforms and improvements in the dryland development programmes (water resource management, agricultural intensification and diversification and alternative livelihoods), and emergency preparedness management, (including the creation of national early warning, preparedness and response frameworks and systems).

According to a recent (2010) UN Country Team’s report11 the underlying causes of Mozambique’s chronic vulnerability to disasters can be summarized as: (i) Weak infrastructure for basic services: “Progress towards achieving the MDGs and IADG’s in Mozambique has not followed a consistent trend. In fact, despite very positive growth rates observed over the last decade, poverty, especially in rural areas, remains stubbornly widespread at 54 %, as does income inequality with a Gini coefficient at 47.1. The majority of the population (70%) lives in the rural areas, and four-fifths of Mozambicans (about 81%) depend on agriculture, and out of these, about 90% rely on subsistence agriculture) for their livelihood. This, combined with the lack of access to basic services, means that poverty in rural areas remains chronic.“

(ii) The rapidly escalating HIV/AIDS pandemic that is weakening national capacities and considerably slowing down the rate of development: “A key constraint to achieving the MDGs and IADG’s is the HIV and AIDS pandemic which disproportionally affects more women and girls than men and boys. Reducing the spread of this disease, and establishing proper treatment for those already infected by accelerating access to diagnosis and care, will be a major contributor to Mozambique remaining on track.”.12

As a result, the impact of frequent natural disasters can have an exponential effect, including the disruption of livelihoods and services, the over-stretching of limited coping mechanisms and the exacerbation of population vulnerabilities. As much as 25% of Mozambique’s population faces a high mortality risk from natural hazards, and it ranks as the second most geographically exposed country in Africa.

According to the PDPMCN’s document, Mozambique and its population are highly vulnerable to the following natural disasters:

o Floods - Flooding is a regular seasonal phenomenon along the seven major rivers that cross Mozambique (Zambezi, Limpopo, Incomati, Licungo, Save, Buzi and Pungue). INGC estimated that 54 districts across the country are vulnerable to seasonal flooding, and this has the potential to impact over 340,000 people. In fact, in the rainy season 2000/2001, Mozambique experienced its worst floods in 50 years, which resulted in the death of 650 people and the displacement of 540,000 others.

o Cyclones - With its extensive coastline Mozambique is often affected by cyclones and tropical storms that enter the Mozambican Channel from the Indian Ocean. INGC

11 Deliver as One position Paper ( Draft) 29/08/2010 www.undp.org.mz/.../DaO%20Position%20Paper%20August%202010.docx 12 “Mozambique has made noteworthy developments in some areas while in others, such as HIV and AIDS and poverty reduction, much more needs to be done. There are still many challenges that could hamper improving the living conditions of the most vulnerable people particularly.” Deliver at One position Paper ( Draft) 29/08/2010 www.undp.org.mz/.../DaO%20Position%20Paper%20August%202010.docx


reported that since 1970, the country has been affected by 32 significant cyclones or tropical depressions

o Earthquakes - Mozambique falls on the southern edge of the East African Rift Valley, although seismic activity is not frequent in this area. In this way, INGC has identified earthquake preparedness as a priority for contingency planning.

o Drought - Is the most frequent natural disaster that occurs every three to four years. Drought conditions are relatively chronic in the southern and central regions of Mozambique, and account for a large part of the vulnerability in the country due to their impact on food security and livelihoods. The main problem is that affected populations do not have sufficient time to recover from the economic and social impacts provoked by droughts between one cycle and the next.


III

Gender mainstreaming and Mozambique DRR&EP Institutional framework

There is a strong and growing political will to improve management of disaster risk reduction in Mozambique. Efforts undertaken in recent years indicate a shift from disaster response and recovery to disaster preparedness, risk management and long-term vulnerability reduction strategies and the institutions created for that purpose have been making efforts to support the population through DRR&EP and CCH mitigation and adaptation programs and policies.

The Mozambican coordination mechanisms for DRR&EP comprise the following institutions13

Disaster Management Coordinating Council (CCGC) and Disaster Management Technical Council (CTGC)

The CCGC is an organ of the Prime Minister’s Cabinet and is the highest coordinating body for disaster risk management in the country. It is composed of ten ministers and is chaired by the prime minister. Its primary objective is to ensure multi-sectoral coordination for disaster prevention, assistance to victims and rehabilitation of damaged infrastructures. The CCGC is a political decision-making organ, advised by the Technical Council for Disaster Management (CTGC), which is comprised of National directors from the ministries represented in the CCGC. The CTGC is responsible for implementing the decisions taken by the CCGC, being chaired by the general director of INGC. Besides government officials, the CTGC includes representatives from the Mozambique Red Cross (CVM), from the UN agencies, from other international organizations and from NGO’s that operate within the disaster management and humanitarian frameworks.

The National Institute for Disaster Management (INGC)

INGC is the government body with primary responsibility for coordinating natural disaster plans, policies and interventions. 14The institute is under the Minister who oversees the area of State Administration (currently MAE, the Ministry of State Administration) and its core strategies, plans and activities address vulnerability reduction and emergency planning and response.

As regards to structures that intervenes directly to vulnerability reduction, INGC is organized at central level as follows:

Prevention and Mitigation National Directorate (DPM), responsible for early warning and preparedness against all kinds of disasters in all vulnerable parts of the country;

13 Mozambique Humanitarian Country Team Inter-Agency HCT Contingency Plan 2009/2010 Final

14 INGC IS NOT PART OF MAE. THE GENERAL DIRECTOR IS APPOINTED BY THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, WHILE THE DIRECTORS AT MAE ARE APPOINTED BY THE MINISTER. THE DIRECTOR OF INGC REPORTS TO THE MINISTER, NOT TO THE MINISTRY.


Development of Arid and Semi-Arid Zones National Directorate (DARIDAS), responsible for long-term development actions against drought in the 30 districts classified as semi-arid or arid.

National Civil Protection Unit (UNAPROC), that is in charge for search and rescue operations during disasters, in order to save human lives.

Office for the coordination of reconstruction (GACOR), in charge for coordinating post-disasters operations towards developing safe resettlement areas for people displaced as a result of natural disasters.

To complement this structure, in selected dry land districts, INGC is establishing the District Multiple Use Resource Centers (CERUM), which has the task of training the communities towards living positively with drought (ensuring their livelihoods while at the same time preserving their environment).

To ensure effectiveness of its national prevention and response efforts have, INGC has established a central National Emergency Operations Centre (CENOE) in Maputo and 3 regional CENOEs in Caia (Central region), Vilankulos (Southern region) and Nacala (Northern region). To complement the coordination efforts of the various CENOEs, province and district level operational bases (Emergency Operations Centres - COE) are being established.

Regarding the role of INGC, with the end of the war, the government decided that, under PARPA II, medium to long-term prevention activities against natural disasters should be developed. This led to the approval of the National Disaster Management Policy in 1999, with a proactive approach focused on a more holistic process that addresses a variety of disaster risks, rather than on individual disaster events. Under this context, an effective contingency planning process, with a dedicated budget for contingency activities under the coordination of INGC was put in place. Later, a Master Plan for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Disasters (PDPMCN) was developed to cover the period 2006 – 2016. Under the command of this plan, the country is pushing towards being in permanent disaster preparedness, with the ability of resisting and responding to the effects of natural disasters.

Despite the existence of a comprehensive National Disaster Management Policy and of the Master Plan for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Disasters, a national disaster’s management law has not yet been ratified and as a result, in some cases, the roles and responsibilities of the different government departments in disaster management are not yet clearly defined.

INGC is the leading government agency in DRR in Mozambique; however disaster preparedness and prevention actions are also undertaken through the Ministry for the Coordination of Environmental Action (MICOA), the Ministry of Health (MISAU) and the Ministry of Agriculture (MINAG). MISAU and MINAG do develop emergency response plans for specific disasters (disease outbreaks; drought or floods) are engaged in disaster prevention and mitigation activities and make efforts to coordinate among each other. Nevertheless, as the coordination is not able to yield enough results regarding disaster preparedness and prevention these institutions must work together with other emergency and disaster risk reduction stakeholders to achieve a more effective coordinated approach using existing inter-ministerial processes and developing cooperation forums.


The Ministry for the Coordination of Environmental Action (MICOA)15

The environmental policy defined by the Mozambican government contains strategic objectives which take (i) environmental management as a factor for the eradication of poverty; (ii) participatory and community management of the environment; and (iii) a regional and global perspective on environmental problems.

MICOA is the government agency with responsibility for overall coordination of government activities in the environment domain. It was created in 1994 (by Presidential Decree 2/94) and has as main functions (established by Presidential Decree 6/95): (i) the promotion of conservation and sustainable use of the country’s natural resource base, and (ii) the promotion of environmental policies and strategies to be integrated into sectoral development plans. MICOA is the institution responsible for promoting inter-sectoral coordination and to indulge an appropriate planning and utilization of natural resources in Mozambique. MICOA is structured around six areas of intervention: (i) inter-sectoral coordination, (ii) research, planning and environmental management, (iii) territorial planning, (iv) environmental impact assessment, (v) environmental education and dissemination, and (vi) inspection and control

MICOA is a coordination - not an implementation agency and does not have the mandate to implement directly activities. Its mandate is to coordinate environmental actions carried out by other sectoral ministries. As such, MICOA works closely with the Ministry of Agriculture (MINAG) through the Technical Secretariat for Food Security and Nutrition (SETSAN – the body responsible for coordinating the implementation of the National Food Security and Nutrition Strategy, SAN), the Ministry of State Administration, through INGC, the Mozambique Red Cross (CVM) that provides immediate assistance to vulnerable people during and immediately after natural disasters, and with other relevant institutions such as Eduardo Mondlane University as a research institution. These institutions integrate several inter-institutional groups led by MICOA whose main task is to impel the implementation of existing legislation and actions. MICOA has the responsibility of monitoring compliance with obligations under the UNFCCC and other Rio conventions.

This seems to be the only government institution that up to June 2010 had developed a Strategy and Plan of Action for Gender, Environment and Climate Change addressing the issue in a broad but concrete manner. The document defines priorities that are related to other national plans and programs dealing with environment issues. The gender strategy focuses on environment and climate change impacts on social, economic, political and cultural changes that will gradually contribute to modify women’s and men’s behaviors towards more equitable relations. This document centres its attention on the sustainable use of natural resources and its linkage with poverty eradication and men’s and women’s access and control over natural resources, as well as of climate change adaptation and mitigation technologies. On the other hand it must be mentioned that the Gender Strategy and Action Plan for the Agriculture Sector also includes among its strategic areas “access to and control over natural and productive resources”[1] but its overall goal is mainly oriented to achieve food security.

15 Lídia Cabral and Dulcídio Francisco (2008) Environmental Institutions, Public Expenditure and the Role for Development Partners; Mozambique case study, ODI


The PDPMCN is the only DRR strategy document that addresses agricultural development activities under disaster risk conditions, but limited to aiming drought vulnerability reduction at local level in the Arid and semi-arid areas. Even though it is technically well prepared, the PDPMCN lacks gender mainstreaming, in such a way to allow implementation of agricultural activities in drought prone areas with close application of social equity mechanisms. Therefore, it is advised that coordination between Gender Environment and Climate Change Strategy and Plan of Action, Gender Strategy and Action Plan for the Agriculture Sector and Master Plan for Disaster Prevention and Mitigation strategic documents should be strongly considered when planning and implementing agricultural based activities.

The Plan Of Action highlights the linkage between environment, climate change, gender equality and poverty eradication guided by several principles such as equity, non discriminatory, citizens participation in natural resources benefits and management, sustainable development, and mitigation/adaptation as a learning process.

Ministry of Women and Social Action (MMAS)

MMAS was created in 2000 with the main objective of accompanying the implementation of gender policies and programmes approved by the Government. In the same year the National Directorate of Women (DNM) was created. In 2004, the Council of Ministers created the National Council for the Advancement of Women (CNAM) as a consultative body of MMAS.

The CNAM has two organs: the Executive Secretariat and the Technical Council with gender focal points assigned to each ministry that have gender units16. Within the context of the decentralization process and the strengthening of the local authorities17, the Provincial Directorates of Women and Social Action have an Executive Secretariat and a Technical Council. At district level, MMAS is represented by the District Services of Health, Women and Social Action (SDSMAS) whose objective is to implement health services and women’s and social activities as well as promoting actions that contribute to gender equality. In 2004, the GoM approved the Family Law, an instrument which brings about the need to uplift women and promote gender equality. The guidelines of gender actions in Mozambique are contained in the Gender Politics and its Implementation Strategy (Política de Género e Estratégia de Implementação - PGEI) approved in 2007. They can also be found in the Action Plan for the Reduction of Absolute Poverty 2006-2009 (PARPA II) and in the National Plan for the Advancement of Women (PNAM - 2007-2009). The GoM’s National Gender Policy aims at equality in participation and access for both women and men, recognizing their role pertaining to national sustainable development objectives. Its principles are based on the promotion and strengthening of both women and men at all levels and at women’s empowerment. This policy clearly states the need to guarantee use, access and tenure over natural resources by women, to promote the legal mechanisms for control tenure and heritage systems and to enhance the capacity of women on environmental management and conservation. The implementation strategy defines its activities in the following

16 The Gender Units (GUs) are mechanisms created in the different ministries with the objective to influence planning and budgeting processes, which are gender sensitive, and they are catalysers so that gender aspects are placed on the agendas of sectoral programmes.17 See the Law on the Local Organs of the State (Lei of the Orgãos Locais do Estado - LOLE).


areas: socio-cultural (activities oriented towards preventive reproductive health) political (enhance women’s participation in the political arena) economic (implementation of poverty eradication policies and promotion of women’s employment), juridical (develop gender units in the government structures and promote women’s participation in the judiciary system) and security. MMAS as a coordinating institution is responsible for providing the guidelines to line Ministries to apply gender mainstreaming in their activities.

The Gender Strategy for the Agricultural Sector, designed in 2005, aims at assuring access to and control over resources, benefits, rights and equal opportunities between women and men, enhancing the capacity of vulnerable farmers to improve food security and family income. The gender mainstreaming approach is implemented in poverty alleviation and sustainable development activities and follows the five-rear Government’s plan (2005–2009), the PARPA, the national gender policy, and the four ProAgri-II pillars (1-access to markets, 2-financial services, 3-technology and 4-natural resources). The main goals of the Gender Strategy for the Agricultural Sector are mainly oriented to achieve food security through its strategic areas “(i. access to and control over natural and productive resources; ii. the development and dissemination of productive technologies with women’s active participation; iii. promotion of food security and nutrition by improving food management conservation and preparation; iv. the strengthening of access to credit by vulnerable segments, including women and the youth, and v. markets)” 18

According to several research results and analysis done in Mozambique the gender discourse has been driven by the country´s political and historical context and until today there has not been profound changes in the social and gender relations (Osorio, 2007). It is acknowledge that the recent approval of the PGEI was a step towards gender justice. However some donors from the international cooperation in Mozambique have made critical evaluations on the gender policy’s implementation19. They concluded that the concrete implications of these policies at ground have been minimal because neither national government nor donors have managed to make the transition from policy statements and legal frameworks to significant progress towards gender equality and women empowerment. Moreover, despite advances in the country, in social sectors such as education and health, evaluations concluded that women are still lagging far behind men in practically all areas. They continue to have less political influence and to be poorer than men. The evaluations also pointed out that on some issues, such as HIV-AIDS the rate is more deteriorating on women compared to men. Finally, it is noteworthy that in the Mozambican context in order to mainstream gender in any field it is important to consider the socio-cultural model that drives society’s identity and attributes roles and rights based on sex and age.

18 Gallina A. and Chidiamassamba C.Gender Aware Approaches in Agricultural Programmes – Mozambique Country Report A special study of the National Agricultural Development Programme (ProAgri II) UTV Working Paper 2010:6 Commissioned by Sida, Secretariat for Evaluation, May 2010http://sidapublications.citat.se/interface/stream/mabstream.asp?filetype=1&orderlistmainid=2947&printfileid=2947&filex=3952829810503

19 Mikkelsen, Britha (2002). Mainstreaming Gender Equality: SIDA's Support for the Promotion of Garrett, Ashley Gender Equality in Partner Countries. Stockholm: Swedish Agency for International Development., (2003). Gender Analysis of the Plan of Action for the Reduction of Absolute Poverty 2001-2005, and Recommendations for Engendering the PARPA . Washington D.C.: Gender Action., UNFPA (2006). Igualdade de Género e Empoderamento da Mulher em Moçambique. Maputo: United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Fórum-Mulher (2007). Shadow Report: Stage of Implementation of the CEDAW in Mozambique. Maputo: Forum da Mulher, Jensen, Rikke Ingrid et al. (2006). Evaluation of DFID's Policy and Practice in Support of Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment. Volume 1: Synthesis Report. Copenhagen: COWI Consult.


IV

International events supporting gender mainstreaming in DRR&EP 20

Several global-level events, such as the International Disaster Reduction Conference in Davos, Switzerland (2006), the Stockholm Forum for Disaster Reduction and Recovery and the High-Level Conference on Risk Reduction, Mitigation and Recovery from Natural Disasters in the Greater Caribbean (2007) The Third Global Congress of Women in Politics and Governance, on Gender in Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction, and its Manila Declaration for Global Action on Gender in Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction (Philippines 2008) and lately The International Conference on Gender and Disaster Risk Reduction in Beijing, China (2009) have contributed to the increased understanding of DRR and gender as cross-cutting matters into all development sectors.

Third Global Congress of Women in Politics and Governance, on Gender in Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction

The outcome of this event, the Manila Declaration, highlights the gender negative impacts due to climate change and requests that DRR and CCH measures be gender responsive, sensitive to indigenous knowledge systems and respect human rights. This declaration also recommend to document and replicate best practices, to ensure that affirmative action’s are coordinated to effectively respond to the global issues of gender in climate change, disaster risk reduction and food security.

The Beijing Agenda for Global Action on Gender-Sensitive Disaster Risk Reduction Beijing, China (Beijing, China, 22 April 2009)

The Beijing Agenda highlighted the link between gender, poverty reduction, climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction and post disaster recovery and reconstruction and recommended nine achievable actions before 2015, namely (i) increased political commitment to gender analysis and gender mainstreaming, (ii) development of national policies relevant laws, strategies, plans, and budgets, (iii) linkage between disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation from a gender perspective, (iv) gathering gender-specific data and statistics on the impact of disasters, and development of gender sensitive-indicators (v) increased public and media awareness on gender-sensitive disaster vulnerabilities and capacities (vi) support to research on costs, benefits and efficiency of gender-sensitive policies and programmes (vii) application of disaster risk assessments (viii) improved and mainstreamed gender perspective and equal participation between men and women through capacity building and training and (ix)

20 Based on info provided by Natasha Ribeiro and Aniceto Chaúque (2009) Gender and Climate change: Mozambique Case Study, Henrich Boll Stiftung S. Africa.


building and enhancement of the capacities of professional organizations, communities and national and local institutions to enable gender mainstreaming in all development sectors.

On the United Nations side all agencies have incorporated gender policies and strategies for mainstreaming gender into their respective development and humanitarian mandates. UNDP focuses more on capacity building and integration of DRR into development planning and programming and UNISDR has the mandate for coordinating the implementation of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) and the HFA within the UN agencies and the governments (details in Annex 2).


V

Good practices and lessons learned by local governments in DRR&EP and CCH

The Good practices presented below can trigger new ideas in Mozambique’s DRR&EP activities on how to mainstream gender activities that will gradually lead, in future, to change in gender relations.

Good practices, lessons learned, challenges and potential replication21

The examples below are based on a literature review of several experiences22, being most of them, case studies on the roles played by local and regional authorities in addressing disaster risks with a gender perspective. During the Literature Review, several successful experiences were found and some of them, with potential to inspire Mozambique to develop DRR&EP activities were selected, taking into consideration the five major roles of local governments in implementing DRR&EP, namely i) initiatives using participatory planning and implementation of disaster risk reduction approaches, ii) partnerships and support to local initiatives to build up social capital, iii) household and community action to reduce disaster risks with government support, iv) use of innovative approaches and tools applied creatively in local governments and in communities, and v) working with the youth and children in DRR &EP. Such experiences cover the following countries and areas:

o Honduras: Grassroots women and communities in disaster risk reduction and environmental and natural resources management activities;

o India: A model of effective government-community partnership facilitates policy support needed to foster a culture of risk reduction;

o Indonesia: Using political momentum to engender legislation in the reconstruction context;

o Mali: Alternatives to desertification, drought and in support to rural women empowerment

o El Salvador: The “Reducing Vulnerabilities in Ahuachapán and Sonsonate Programme (PRVAS)”

o India: Disaster through a gender lens: gender issues in disaster response and recovery - a case of meeting strategic interests of women through relief distribution

o India: Focusing on youth and girl children in DRR&EP and post-emergency livelihood restoration project.

In detail, the following are the relevant characteristics of the experiences:HONDURAS23

21 International Strategy for Disaster Reduction Gender Perspective: Working Together for Disaster Risk Reduction Geneva 2007http://www.unisdr.org/eng/about_isdr/isdr-publications/09-gender-good-practices/gender-good-practices.pd22 United Nations secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) Local Governments and Disaster Risk Reduction Good Practices and Lessons Learned A contribution to the “Making Cities Resilient” Campaign Geneva, Switzerland, March 2010 http://www.preventionweb.net/files/13627_LocalGovernmentsandDisasterRiskRedu.pdf

http://www.unisdr.org/eng/about_isdr/isdr-publications/09-gender-good-practices/gender-good-practices.pd


BackgroundThis project involves grassroots women and communities in disaster risk reduction and environmental and natural resources management activities that reduce both poverty and disaster risk, increasing the resilience of the poor and most vulnerable.

The main characteristics of this project were: o Integrated a holistic approach developing strategies to increase food security, to

reinforce cultural values and practices, work to improve soil conservation, develop actions to promote environmental protection and biodiversity, to increase women's participation and leadership, and to improve income generation activities.

o Integrated innovation in cropping practices (Reforestation of coastal lands with native fruit plants such as sea grapes, almonds, etc. helped reduce erosion, made the area less vulnerable to water and sand damage in the event of storm, provided environmental education to school children, improved nutrition and provided a source of income.

o Local knowledge was valued in terms of disaster reduction with women insisting they could not live on donations and instead needed assistance to make the land productive again and improve agricultural production.

o Use of women's traditional knowledge allowed direction and information of efforts and created the environment for the emergence of most innovative strategies when local cultural knowledge, particularly women's traditional knowledge is used. For example, women's knowledge about traditional medicinal plants has been the cornerstone of many efforts.

o Recognition of the community and grassroots women as experts, enabling replication of successes by sharing lessons learned between communities and even with other countries.

o Grassroots women could assess their own needs and generate their own innovative solutions. This was a key factor leading to the success of the project.

This project, developed in response to a crisis triggered by hurricane Mitch is still under way, in part because strengthening communities to withstand disasters is an ongoing process and also because hurricanes and tropical storms have, since then, continued to batter the north coast of Honduras. Though this project was linked to the local socio-economic context, it can be replicated in other regions/countries where resources are scarce, provided that some adjustments to distinct cultural settings are made.

INDIA24 Background

With a focus on women's activities, the initiative was implemented engaging women as information agents in the Repair and Strengthening programme during the rehabilitation period.

The main characteristics of this project were:

23 “Indigenous Women's DRR Efforts Trigger Sustainable Development Process Reducing Vulnerabilities in Marginalized Afro-Indigenous Garifuna Communities Garifuna Emergency Committee of Honduras”

24 Enabling Women to Play a Lead Role in Disaster-Affected Marginal Communities Gender Mainstreaming in Tsunami-Affected Areas Caritas India Tamil Nadu, Andra Pradesh, Kerala States & Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India


Women were trained in construction of disaster-safe houses Women led the community management and monitoring of the construction

process, established grievance redress systems, and liaised with local, taluka25and district-level government mechanisms.

The organization of women's self-help groups with the task to collect and disseminate information on entitlements and create access to them;

The creation of spaces for the advancement of their priorities; Training to prepare women to participate in decision making in local

government structures. The establishment of Mahila Mahiti Kendra's (MMKs - Women's Information

Centers) where women were provided with training in information collection in leadership and in organizational skills.

Through support and commitment received by the government , the activities developed created and sustained effective mechanisms for ensuring successful recovery and resilience building, and it created and demonstrated mechanisms for transferring knowledge and skills to other disaster-affected and at-risk communities - through peer exchange and community resource teams.

INDONESIA26

BackgroundThis was a project developed under UNIFEM’s initiative. It emphasized the protection of women's legal rights in relation to risks of losing access to resources (mainly land and property ownership) and protection against future disasters. The project is a policy advocacy for gender equality and strengthening women's legal rights for a better future for Acehnese women and their communities. Following the signing of the Peace Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Government of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka, GAM) on 15 August 2005 women seized and utilized the political momentum to engender the legal procedure as well as created political awareness on the need for gender equality measures that resulted in advocacy for the development of a Gender Policy and Joint Land Titling Policy by BRR (Badan Rehabilitasi dan Rekonstruksi Aceh dan Nias - Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency for Aceh and Nias). More importantly, the Joint Land Titling Policy has enabled women to register their names in the title deed as exclusive or joint owner of land distributed by the authorities.

The main characteristics of this project were: The use of a particular momentum to ensure gender responsive democratic

governance that would indirectly contribute to future gendering of DRR policy and guidelines.

Women's groups seizing the opportunity created by the Peace Memorandum of Understanding and advocating on gender equality

The new opportunities provided by a disaster situation , to build a better future that protect women and men equally, by country laws and regulations

25 Taluka in India is a subdivision of a district; a group of several villages organized for revenue purposes.26 Using Political Momentum to Engender Legislation in the Reconstruction ContextEngendering and Strengthening Women's Legal Rights in Aceh United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) Mitra Sejati Perempuan Indonesia (MiSPI) & Jaringan Perempuan untuk Kebijakan12 (JPuK), Aceh, Indonesia


The support received by the media and public opinion to understand the need for affirmative action’s to ensure gender equality in the society at local level.

MALI 27

BackgroundThe Sinsibere project worked to reduce desertification by developing sustainable sources of income for rural women as an alternative to their commerce in wood. These alternative livelihoods included vegetable gardens and making Shea butter products like soap. Besides environmental, literacy and financial education, training in soap making and in making energy-efficient stoves was organized for the rural women. These different trainings provided the women with skills that have made them more confident about themselves, better able to explore alternative livelihood options, and more eager to participate in village decision-making. The project is based on the Local Environmental Plan that the municipal councils and the local people developed collaboratively, and so, has been a cooperative effort between the project workers and the local communities from the beginning. Literacy and mathematical courses have been organized for the women so that they could be able to manage the micro loans and small commerce, encouraging entrepreneurship.

The main characteristics of this project were: Rural women develop sustainable alternatives to wood trade that act as alternatives to

desertification and drought, becoming activities that support their economic autonomy.

The importance of giving people the time to change their agricultural practices towards more environmentally friendly sources of income.

Cutting and selling wood is a convenient source of income since it can be practiced at any time of the year, while gardening depends on seasonal and climatic factors. People have also had a positive attitude towards the alternative livelihood options, since gardening is less arduous and less dangerous than woodcutting.

The empowerment of women and development of women’s entrepreneurship and its impact to educate future generations to combat climate change and desertification risks.

Individual ownership can contribute to project success, as the project promoted individual people or families to plant trees on their own land, because most of the trees planted in common land were not successfully maintained.

Success increased when seedlings were sold, even if at a very low price, than when they were given for free.

Focusing on youth and girl children in DRR&EP: the case of India

27 Mali Reducing desertification by empowering rural women Mali-Folkecenter Nyetaa, Mali (In partnership with Dodo Finland and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland ) in ISDR Gender Perspectives: Integrating Disaster Risk Reduction into Climate Change Adaptation: lessons learned ,2008


TAMIL NADU, INDIA28

BackgroundThis activity focused on girl children from single women in disaster areas EKTA29, where they were provided with educational support to reduce their economic burden in disaster risk areas. EKTA brought into a safety zone the girls and keep them at school and simultaneously challenged the convention of preferential treatment for boys. The process asserted the right to childhood for girls and the strategy included the provision of educational accessories conditional on regular health checkups and follow-ups by a woman doctor. Besides providing girls with education on disaster prevention, activities linked to the project did more than keeping the most vulnerable girl children at school. It challenged the stereotypes of male preference, underpinned the dignity of single women and girl children and asserted the right to childhood for girl children.Many single women admitted that this gender-focused intervention allowed them to send their girls to school otherwise they could not have afforded the school expenses. It was quite common for girls to drop out of school because of poverty and/or increased work burden of household chores.

The main characteristics of this project were: A field oriented support: EKTA recruited women staff directly from the dalit30and

fishing communities of the target areas and trained them on gender, reproductive health, legal rights, etc. Their brief was to maintain continuous communication with mothers and motivate them to encourage their children to go to school regularly.

Promotion of activities to resist to “male” pressures from the community: It was made clear to the community, especially the all male traditional village councils (panchayats) that it would be an either/or strategy: Either the aid would go to the girls of single women or it would be withheld completely.

Sesitizations meeting addressing women and men on the importance of providing with education to their girls in the disaster risk areas as a opportunity to strategically advance in the rights of young girls.

EL SALVADOR31

BackgroundThe “Reducing Vulnerabilities activities developed through Ahuachapán and Sonsonate Programme” (PRVAS) aimed to improve collaboration between NGOs, local government authorities and local communities. The programme has been setting up and strengthening existing Civil Protection Committees and working on a range of community-based disaster risk reduction projects.The impact has been seen through the effective communication and collaboration that occurred during a number of localized emergencies. During the 2007 and 2008 floodings,

28Chaman Pincha Gender Sensitive Disaster Management : A Toolkit for Practitioners. Oxfam America & NANBAN Trust 200829 EKTA, is a resource center for women based in Madurai, The organization’s focus is on protection and promotion of women’s human rights. It works with women, children, adolescents, youth and men.30 Dalit is a self-designation for a group of people traditionally regarded as of lower class and unsuitable for making personal relationships. Dalits are a mixed population of numerous caste groups all over South Asia, and speak various languages.31 ISDR. ITC ILO, UNDP (2010) Local Governments and Disaster Risk Reduction Good Practices and Lessons Learned A contribution to the “Making Cities Resilient” Campaign 2010.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_class


actions were coordinated between NGOs, the Municipal Committee for Civil Protection and the Mayor’s office.

The strategies used were : (i) Investment in the creation and training of teams of community field workers for early warning and information (ii) Empowerment of citizens and space creation for participation and dialogue by educating, organizing and mobilizing communities using a rights-based approach so they could be prepared to be their own advocates to negotiate with local government, (iii) Strengthening municipal and regional level coordination, by creating municipal forums for leaders from the different communities to build alliances and work together.


Collaboration between international and national NGOs that pulled donor resources more effectively.

Collaboration between NGOs helped in acquiring better exchange of ideas, experiences and methods.

Training of field staff and community leaders adapted to their situation. Dialogue and collaboration between local government directly and communities to

create sustainability beyond the end of the programme.

DISASTER THROUGH A GENDER LENS gender issues in disaster response and recovery: A case of meeting strategic interests of women through relief distribution32

BackgroundThe approach used by SNEHA, 33 an NGO in Nagapattinam, India, to channel its relief activities, was linking to the Women’s Federation and supporting self help groups (SHGs) when negotiating with the all male traditional village councils (Panchayats). This approach became a strategic opportunity for institutionalizing women’s groups in disaster preparedness. The Women’s Federation had conducted a survey and prepared a gender– disaggregated data base. This proved to be an invaluable tool in the verification of the list prepared by traditional Panchayats. The gender-disaggregated survey made it possible to procure age- and gender- appropriate clothing and other sanitary items for each household in the community. Tools for unfolding and analyzing gender issues in DRR&EP including CCH were needed, so field practitioners and policy makers could understand the gender situation in the area of implementation. The daily active clock, focus groups, seasonal calendar, yearly activity clock, venn diagram, use and control tool, disaggregated data info and others were used by SENHA and women groups to unfold gender needs and answer questions related to the division of power.

32 Example taken from Pincha Ch. “Gender Sensitive Disaster Management : A Toolkit for Practitioners”, Oxfam America & NANBAN Trust2008.

33 SNEHA is a Social Needs Education and Human Awareness, is engaged since 1985, in Nagai district ( India) for the empowerment of the unorganized and marginalized fishing community and allied fish workers, especially women, children, Dalit, minorities, and other marginalized sections.


SNEHA’s strategy also included rebuilding in situ houses with community’s participation and this had a positive impact on both women and men. The approach used was to transfer cash on the name of women on instalment basis accompanied by close monitoring to ensure that the money was strictly spent on building the house. This was the first time that women had their own bank accounts. Focal Group Discussions with women and men brought to the attention positive facts such as men reducing their drinking to channelling money into building their homes.

In view of the time women normally return home from work SNEHA in coordination with other CSO extended the Balwadi (childcare centre) timing from 12 a.m. to 6 p.m. as a support to girl’s education especially those from widowed women.


Activities channelled by women’s organized groups Training women on gender analysis tools and performing this with CSO Non traditional roles for Women and Men Promoting Non traditional roles for Women and Men by supporting Housing Rights for

Women and challenging the male-only ownership of the houses, thus addressing the gender strategic needs of women.

Alternative livelihood options for women, in non-traditional skills such as masonry, mobile phone servicing, and hand-pump repairing, were enabled by other CSO and in the course of training to be masons, women became functionally literate and learnt the basic calculations necessary for masonry.

The following conclusions from data gathered in the literature review could be taken:The fact that DRR&EP activities in Mozambique are coordinated by the MAE (which coordinates district/local governments) is in line with best practices. In fact, local governments are better positioned than central governments to develop and test various experiences as well as applying them to unique settings and policy priorities. Being implemented in smaller scale they are flexible, can be more innovative and adapted to a particular situation. In general and throughout these examples, major roles of local governments in implementing disaster risk reduction relevant in the Mozambican context were highlighted, such as:

1) Local governments must play a central role in coordinating and sustaining a multi-level, multi-stakeholder platform to promote disaster risk reduction in the region or for a specific hazard: The active commitment and leadership of a local government is important for the implementation of any local disaster risk reduction measures to deal with different stakeholders and multiple layers of government. Activities to be developed must consider that they will take a long time before having tangible results and local governments have to ensure support among external stakeholders throughout the process including significant political and technical support and publicity.

2) Engage local communities and citizens with disaster risk reduction activities and link their concerns with government priorities: raise citizens’ awareness on disaster risks and consider their concerns. Even the most sophisticated national disaster risk reduction measures (such as early warning systems) may fail, if communities are not properly informed and engaged. Local governments should play a central role in community education and training.


3) Strengthen institutional capacities and implement practical disaster risk reduction actions: While government bodies are responsible for the long-term development and viability of their area, on the other hand, local governments are required to consider and institutionalize disaster risk reduction in their day-to-day operations including development planning, land use control and the provision of public facilities and services.

4) Devise and implement innovative tools and techniques for disaster risk reduction, which can be replicated elsewhere or scaled up nationwide: a local government is better positioned than a national government to develop and test various new tools and techniques, applying them to unique settings and policy priorities, because of its smaller scale and better flexibility. Consider simple and practical tools that can integrate community women and men performing e.g. gender and vulnerability analysis, information on community needs and concerns, collect data disaggregated by sex.

5) Provide training to women, men and stakeholders that address women practical and strategic needs: Non traditional training activities such as how to build houses, dig wells and ditches, build shelters that enable women to take an active role in what is considered “male tasks”. Taking into consideration the community culture and tradition, field staff and community leaders must also be trained in gender issues using very practical exercises and tools.

6) Capacity building and training to women and men in literacy, mathematics and micro-credit in communities stricken by disasters: This provides skills that will lead to their economic autonomy, a situation of key importance to recover from family losses. Non-formal education addressed to children, youth and adults, including literacy classes provides an effective platform for life skills especially within vulnerable communities whose livelihoods are climate sensitive and access to knowledge, information and basic education is lacking. The flexible curriculum promoted by the Education authorities is an opportunity to include local needs and concerns as part of its regular contents. The fact that literacy classes are attended by a large number of women provides an opportunity to discuss issues related to early warning, prevention, climate change and others, including how to develop activities that address their practical and strategic needs.

7) Disasters can become opportunities to transform women's roles and status in the

community: Women are agents of change and even if gender priorities under disaster contexts are not always recognized, current traditional perceptions of women's role as housewives can change if women are trained to participate in decision making in local government structures as well as if they are provided with leadership and organizational skills. Providing this type of training to the Local Committees for Disaster Management can motivate that more women participate in the decision making community structures.

When local governments start implementing disaster risk reduction activities it might happen that there is an initial lack of interest and of capacities for disaster risk reduction activities and difficulties in understanding local risks and vulnerabilities due to lack of sufficient knowledge about disaster risks and vulnerabilities of their communities as well as appropriate disaster risk reduction measures. Maintaining and upgrading critical infrastructure and managing long-term processes can also create constraints to implement these activities. Therefore it is very important that different stakeholders (central governments, NGOs and UN agencies) and partners provide


strong and long standing support to help local governments to better plan and manage local disaster risks.

VI


Overview of gender issues in Disaster Risk Reduction and Emergency Preparedness (DRR&EP)and Climate Change

“Disasters don’t discriminate, but people do. Existing socio-economic conditions mean that disasters can lead to different outcomes even for demographically similar communities - but inevitably the most vulnerable groups suffer more than others. Research reveals that disasters reinforce, perpetuate and increase gender inequality, making bad situations worse for women. Meanwhile, the potential contributions that women can offer to the disaster risk reduction imperative around the world are often overlooked and female leadership in building community resilience to disasters is frequently disregarded.” (Margareta Wahlström Assistant Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction United Nations, Julia Marton-Lefèvre Director General IUCN, Jordan Ryan Assistant Administrator and Director BCPR, UNDP, 2009)34

Available information shows that efforts to promote gender equality in DRR& EP and CCH have mainly focused on advocacy and lobbying by the international organizations, NGO`s and a few countries sensitive to the differences on impact and coping mechanisms between affected male and female populations.

The term “gender” refers to socially ascribed roles, responsibilities and opportunities of women and men, the power structures in their relationships. Gender is “...in essence, a term used to emphasize that sex inequality is not caused by the biological and physiological differences that characterize men and women, but rather by the unequal and inequitable treatment socially accorded to them. In this sense, gender refers to the cultural, social, economic and political conditions that are the basis of certain standards, values and behavioral patterns related to genders and their relationship” (Riquer, 1993).

Disasters can lead to different outcomes even for demographically similar communities. Several studies have shown that negative impacts affect mainly vulnerable groups, and increase gender inequality, worsening women and girls situation. In many cases this also includes elderly women and men. The potential contributions that women can offer to the disaster risk reduction are often overlooked and women are seldom recognized as agents of change in their role, among others, as leaders in building community resilience to disasters.

UNISDR, UNDP and IUCN (2009)35 developed several definitions on Disaster, Disaster Risk Reduction, Vulnerability and others related concepts that are found in Annex 3:

34


Today most of the institutions and organizations dealing with gender differences in DDR&EP and Climate Change36 are implementing their activities through the gender mainstreaming approach, "a process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programmes, in all areas and at all levels. It is a strategy for making women's as well as men's concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all political, economic and societal spheres so that women and men benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated. The ultimate goal is to achieve gender equality” (ECOSOC 1997).37 “Mainstreaming” is a process bringing an issue that could be considered marginal, into the main decision-making process of an organization or institution. A gender-mainstreaming approach is an inclusive approach that assesses the situation of women and men as beneficiaries, and does not look at women in isolation. Nevertheless, this process entitles social justice and human rights that ensure equitable and sustainable human development by the most effective and efficient means. Many efforts to mainstream gender into disaster risk reduction have found a gap in policy and practical guidance mainly because there is a lack of guidance and understanding of these concepts among government and institutions.

The United Nations’ International Strategy for Disaster Reduction acknowledge in their DRR programs and guidelines, the shift from a women-focused approach to a gender- focused approach, where men and women’s roles and relationships should be analyzed within the overall gendered socioeconomic and cultural context. In the pursuit of sustainable development, there has been a shift in the focus of DRR recently: from a reactive disaster management response towards a long-term proactive disaster risk management and vulnerability reduction, where gender and DRR are considered a main issue.

Relevance for considering gender issues in Disaster Risk Reduction and Emergency Preparedness (DRR&EP) and Climate Change

Identification of gender roles are of key importance among vulnerable people specially when dealing with development initiatives which aspire sustainable results. In most societies there are significant differences between the rights and opportunities of women and men especially in relation to land and resource rights, access to work, fair salaries and participation in decision-making processes. Norm and values, tradition and culture are in many cases at the base of inequality between men and women. Where gender inequalities are enshrined in cultural practices and/or national or customary laws, resistance to change may be strongly exacerbated by fears that gains of power, prestige and benefits by women may signify their loss by men.

Disasters, emergencies and the negative impacts of climate change affect women and girls differently from men and boys and often in situations of natural disasters they lose the capacity to sustain their own and their family’s livelihood. This results from the combined factors of

35 UNISDR, UNDP and IUCN. Making Disaster Risk Reduction Gender-Sensitive Policy and Practical Guidelines, Geneva, Switzerland, June 2009.36 According to the UNFCCC climate change refers to a change of climate that is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and that is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods. Recently the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) defines climate change as any change in climate over time, whether due to natural variability or as a result of human activity (Fourth Assessment Report - AR4, 2007).37 Extract from REPORT OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL FOR 1997 (A/52/3, 18 September 1997).


natural hazards and people’s vulnerabilities that can take several expressions such as physical exposure, socioeconomic vulnerability, and limited capacity to reduce vulnerability and disaster risk.

Women are often more vulnerable in disaster, emergencies and under the negative impacts of climate change due to their subordinate social and economic status (they are poorer and more vulnerable than men, lack participation in decision-making processes and are viewed as passive, vulnerable and helpless). As a result, they increase gender-specific physical insecurity and suffer additional abuse, especially in remote rural areas. Nevertheless, there are studies that reveal that in several cases even when uprooted, women take responsibility for themselves and for other members of their households. Addressing gender inequalities and promoting the adoption of a gender equality perspective is crucial to avoid insecurity.

In DRR activities and programmes, including emergencies and preparedness, usually women assume new roles and responsibilities to ensure the survival of their families during a crisis. If their husbands, sons or male representatives are absent, women frequently become the sole nurturers, providers and community spokespeople. They bear the burden of coping even if they have difficulty in obtaining the equal humanitarian assistance entitlements that men do have.

In these contexts, gender analysis and vulnerability assessment can help to clarify the specific and often different needs, vulnerabilities and coping strategies of women and men, so that they can be more adequately addressed in response to the DRR & EP situation as well as CCH mitigation and adaptation. Lessons learned reveal that interventions to save lives and secure livelihoods in emergencies are more efficient and effective when gender differences are properly understood.

Climate change affects men and women differently

As it has already been explained, there are differences between men and women in social expectations, roles, status, and economic power and also they are affected differently by climate change. Women are responsible for 70-80 percent of household food production in sub-Saharan Africa and CCH’s impact on food security is predicted to reduce crop yields and food production in some regions, affecting specially women and households headed by women, a situation exacerbated by the unequal access to land, information, and inputs such as improved seeds and fertilizers. Traditional food sources may become scarcer 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, may also be put at risk due to lack of time to attend training sessions coupled with high illiteracy levels, which prevent them from taking advantage of training aids that might be available.

Climate change may well have negative impacts on existing shortages of water. Women are the primary responsible for water collection in their communities. Changes in climatic conditions affect water quantity and accessibility. This will oblige women to walk longer distances for water collection, consuming more of their already limited time.

Climate change may affect human health in a variety of ways such as increased spread of vector- and water-borne diseases, reduced drinking water availability, food insecurity due to reduced agricultural production in some regions and increased cases of heat stress and respiratory


illnesses.(CIDA 2008)38Women, as primary caregivers in many families, may see their responsibilities increase as family members suffer increased illness.

Relations between gender mainstreaming and DRR&EP, CCH mitigation39 and adaptation40 efforts

The Report on the 52nd Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women make reference to the need to “Integrate a gender perspective into the design, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and reporting of national environmental policies, strengthen mechanisms and provide adequate resources to ensure women’s full and equal participation in decision-making at all levels on environmental issues, in particular on strategies related to the impact of climate change on the lives of women and girls”(CSW2008). This proposal clearly establishes a linkage between two global challenges: gender inequality and adaptation to climate change. The report recommends that a gender perspective be integrated at all levels of planning for and decision-making on climate issues and that resource be made available to ensure the full participation of women.

In disaster areas women and men experience different vulnerabilities and cope with natural disasters differently. Therefore, an increase in the magnitude and frequency of natural disasters will have different implications for men and women. In this way, gender mainstreaming is essential to be considered in mitigation and adaptation policies, strategies and programs as stated by the CSW. For example, as women’s asset determine how they respond to climate change impacts it is necessary to provide them with education, resources and technology, promote their participation in decision making and others as fundamental issues that will enhance their livelihoods in mitigation and adaptation. A good example of this is the case of Honduras. After hurricane Mitch (1998), La Masica ( a town in Honduras) , reported no deaths. A disaster agency had provided gender-sensitive community education on early warning systems and hazard management six months earlier. Women were able to assume responsibility for continuously monitoring the early warning systems, and the municipality was able to evacuate the area promptly when hurricane Mitch struck.

Factors that influence women in DRR&EP and CCH mitigation and adaptation

38 GENDER EQUALITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE Why consider gender equality when taking action on climate change? CIDA Canada200839 IPCC (2007) defines Mitigation as the technological change and substitution that reduce resource inputs and emissions per unit of output. Mitigation is reducing emissions of greenhouse gases or sequestering emissions – is critical to slowing climate change Although several social, economic and technological policies would produce an emission reduction, with respect to climate change, mitigation means implementing policies to reduce G H G emissions and enhance sinks. The current international legal mechanism for countries to reduce their emissions is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).40 Adaptation, or coping with climate change impacts, means ¨adjustments in ecological. social or economic systems in response to actual or expected climate stimuli and their effects or impacts. This term refers to changes in processes, practice and structure to moderate potential damages or to benefit from opportunities associated with climate change ¨ (source IPCC 2001) Adaptation is critical for vulnerable population specially those dependent on small-scale resources. To this group but especially for women, climate change could severely change their ability to manage natural resources, as women have different roles and responsibilities which give rise to differences to cope with change.


Some of the key issues affecting women living in places vulnerable to disaster risks and that should be considered when developing Projects, programmes and activities are described below :

o The lack of access to information, communication, education, illiteracy, play a critical role on the effectiveness of early warning systems and make women less likely to respond to DRR&EP as well as climate change adaptation and mitigation. Customs and beliefs play also an important role.

o Limited economic access and differences in access to resources, can limit their capacity to respond to disasters or to different options and ‘safety nets’ for coping with change

o The gender-based division of labour which can increase women’s work loado Difference between women’s and men’s participation at decision making level when

dealing with DRR&EP activities and policies including climate change mitigation and adaptation

o Weak political support at national and regional level.

The effects of natural disasters, emergencies and climate change are multifaceted: social, political, and economic as well as environmental. While women are generally more vulnerable but not helpless, they exhibit surprising resilience and are key agents of environmental transformation. Therefore, there is a need to elaborate responses not imposed from above, but modelled on needs, aspirations, knowledge and capabilities of women and men that are then actively involved as crucial partners in CCH mitigation and adaptation efforts. Gender considerations should be introduced in the key critical issues on the climate change agenda, namely: mitigation, the Clean Development Mechanism, adaptation and capacity building. Efforts should be directed towards a wider application of a gendered approach even in other strategic sectors, including, for instance, technology transfer and vulnerability studies (Lambrou Y. Piana G. 2005) 41

Gender as a cross-cutting issue in DRR&EP and CCH mitigation and adaptation activities needs to be addressed through a holistic and multi-stakeholder approach. Joint action and coordination through political, technical, social, developmental and humanitarian processes is needed. Implementing a mainstreaming gender approach offers an opportunity for re-examining gender relations in society from different angles and enhancing gender equality in socioeconomic development. It also makes it possible for nations and communities to achieve disaster resilience. But the implementation of special activities addressed to women must also be considered if there are cultural prevailing patterns in a community that indicate that activities must be undertaken with men an women separately. This is also true if the result of a gender analysis results in needs to support women who are in a more vulnerable situation than men.

41 Lambrou Y. Piana G. (2005) Gender: The Missing Component in the Response to Climate Change. FAO-Rome.


Some gender-specific vulnerabilities and challenges to disaster, emergency and climate change42

The unequal gender relationships that exist within most groups of men and women may pressure progress towards the advancement of women’s rights and empowerment. Gender specific vulnerabilities can also offer opportunities to reframe challenges through a new lens that examines inequalities between men and women.

o Male and young women rural-urban migration may happen due to resource shortages, generating increased workload for women left behind;

o Water and sanitation: Increased difficulty in accessing natural resources, in particular, fuel wood and water, hence, creating an increased workload for women. In most parts of the world, in rural and urban areas, women and girls are responsible for collecting water for cooking, cleaning, health and hygiene. Limited water supplies, poor service delivery, and pollution will jeopardize women’s survival and that of their families.

o Biodiversity and ecosystems: Women and men play different roles in community conservation efforts, with women often taking leadership in seed selection and preservation. Traditionally they have used indigenous resources for food, medicines and energy and also traditionally they have inherited flora and fauna knowledge and conservation methods of their environment. Loss of species due to climate change will specially impact poor rural women. In this same context, energy sources will affect more women than men especially because they will have to take more time in household activities.

o Agriculture and food security: Crop and livestock production changes could affect the gendered division of labour resulting in negative effects on both men’s and women’s incomes. Poor rural women, small landowners, subsistence farmers, and fishermen, are especially vulnerable to climate change. Rural women from developing countries are the principal basic food producers, a sector that is very much exposed to risks of drought and potential rain pattern changes, as women have specific conditions that place them in a disadvantage situation. Therefore special consideration should be taken when looking at climate change adaptation, in issues such as land use, land tenure and legal aspects.

o Women’s informal rights to resources could decrease or disappear as accesses to land natural resources dwindle due to climate change. Coastal zones: The livelihoods of people living in low-lying coastal zones may be threatened due to sea level rise. Impacts on flooding levels increase, accelerated erosion, threatened wetlands and mangroves, and seawater intrusion into freshwater resources can also occur due to heavy rain and other climatic phenomenon. These can result can impact negatively women and men work.

o Drought shortfalls in seasonal rains have resulted in drought and economic distress that lead to a 50% increase in the likelihood of civil war. Climate change accelerates the loss of vegetation and thus desertification. Preserving food, water and traditional medicines, including natural resources management is one of women’s traditional roles in developing countries. Dry lands throughout the world, is particularly affecting women decreasing their traditional crop and livestock productivity.

42 CIDA ( 2008) GENDER EQUALITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE Why consider gender equality when taking action on climate change? Canada.


o During natural disaster situations men are assigned a protection role although they could also face situations of risk-taking during and after the natural disaster and they can be caught between gendered demands that define the notions of ‘manhood’ in patriarchal societies. In some regions, like the case in Latin America, the strong cultural expectation of men being “protectors” and indulging in risk-taking behaviour can result in higher mortality, as was the case, for example, during Hurricane Mitch in Central America (1998). Men also may experience strong feelings of frustration and alienation after disasters. This can be expressed physically, in increased domestic and sexual violence.43

Gender equality in DRR&EP, CCH mitigation and adaptation does not mean merely addressing women’s issues. It means addressing concerns of men and women, the relations between them and the root causes of imbalances. Therefore, mainstreaming gender raises several challenges, due to poor understanding of gender issues and DRR linkages at the policy and practitioner levels. Furthermore:

o Gender issues are often institutionally marginalized within organizations specially when applying Gender Focal Points or Gender Desks mechanism. Usually people occupying these positions lack enough financial support to carry out gender equity activities

o Institutions tend to treat gender as “women issues“. Gender ”expertise” is applied in isolation from the mainstream of the development processes like DRR.

o Seldom gender is identified as an integral component of DRR&EP and CCH mitigation and adaptation and in many cases it is not given the real dimension when it is not understood to be a cross-cutting issue.

o Scarce financial support for global advocacy and action and commitment largely remain on the NGO`s side that face constraints when lobbying government for concrete policies, finances, substantive programmes or accountability measures. Gender mainstreaming in DRR&EP and CCH mitigation and adaptation remains a free choice.

o Difficulties in institutionalizing capacity and tools to mainstream gender due to lack of knowledge and training among managers, professionals and decision making government professionals.

43 InfoResources Focus No 2/09 Disaster Risk Reduction a Gender and livelihood perspective. Intercooperation (IC-HO), Info Service CDE and InfoAgrar / SHL, in partnership with IC India / Bangladesh / Mali / Andes, CETRAD (Kenya) and SIMAS (Nicaragua). 2009


VIII

Some Findings

The findings from international best practices and innovative activities in relation to gender-responsive DRR&EP and CCH, are developed below. These findings include activities and programming approaches relevant to Mozambique

DRR&EP and CCH approaches

The evolution of approaches from relief and response to DRR&EP has begun to influence the way disaster risk reduction and management programs are being planned and financed. There are initiatives aimed at reducing social and economic vulnerability and investing in long-term mitigation activities, in consonance with the paradigm shift in the mainstream development practice, which is now characterized by emphasis on good governance, accountability and greater focus on bottom-up approaches. Linking climate change to human development remains an important challenge because it addresses better the gender dimensions of climate change and clarifies the linkages between gender and climate change mitigation and adaptation and to Disaster Risk Reduction and Emergency Preparedness. The Climate Change Agenda is based on the growing concern of the climate system changes and its impact on human activities. It has a strong environmental approach. Disaster risk reduction agenda addresses humanitarian actions to respond to disasters as well as how to better anticipate, reduce and manage disaster risk by integrating risk reduction measures into sustainable development planning and policies. Using a systemic approach DRR&EP work to reduce exposure to different hazards, and enhance coping and adaptive capacities of vulnerable populations. In this manner, it can decrease the human, social, economic and environmental vulnerability to natural hazards. The concept of vulnerability is central to DRR. It acknowledges women, the elderly, children, ethnic and, socially excluded tend to be most vulnerable to natural hazards.

Mozambique and the International Agreements

Mozambique has compliance with several International Agreements and is a signatory of several international agreements focusing on environment dealing with DRR&EP, CCH. One example is the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) 2005-2015the global disaster risk reduction agenda that identifies several priorities for action as a guide for states, international and regional organizations, and other stakeholders. The HFA includes a mandate in relation to gender equality and empowerment of women in the context of disaster risk reduction, referring the need for mainstreaming gender into all DRR policies, plans and decision-making processes, including those related to risk assessment, early warning, information management, and education and training. Moreover the Platform on Gender Equality and Disaster Risk Reduction agreed by all nations represented at its World Conference, established that gender, should be mainstreaming in the five Hyogo Framework priorities. Gender approach should be included in disaster management initiatives; in capacity building that addresses women’s groups and community-based organizations; in communication and information dissemination, in training and education with


holistic approach that include socio-cultural issues; in providing opportunities to women in science and technology; and in program implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

Mozambique has made encouraging strides in reducing its poverty levels and is making gradual progress towards benchmarks set by the national Action Plan for the Reduction of Absolute Poverty (PARPA) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Gender and disaster risk management are among the eight cross cutting issues of PARPA II. In line with HFA a ten-year strategy aimed at strengthening the capacity to mitigate the impact of frequent natural disasters in Mozambique (National Master Plan for Disaster Risk Reduction (PDPMCN). Provincial and district level authorities, including INGC representatives, need to be supported to take on their leadership role in preparedness and response. As it has been highlighted in several worldwide experiences (see case studies and lessons learned), local governments are key actors when implementing DRR&EP and CCH activities and tools in the region/area. Therefore effective DRR in Mozambique requires coordination and that capacity building efforts at central level be replicated and strengthened at provincial, district and community levels where the disaster risks are evident.

Effective coordination on gender issues in DRR &EP and CCH is one of the key issues. No single intervention, individual actor or organization can effectively address the diverse needs of women and men alone, particularly if entities in the field are not sensitive to these gender differences. An effective coordination requires assessment of the situation and needs of men and women, development of common strategies; coordination meetings with all stakeholders and setting aside adequate funds for coordination mechanisms.

Support at this level is also needed to address early recovery once an emergency is over and the external humanitarian partners have left, in order to ensure a smooth transition to the reconstruction/development phase. In this phase it is important that institutions are prepared and have already a plan of action to provide and implement several activities according to women’s and men’s needs (e.g: skills training; income generation training activities).These should definitively include gender analysis as a cross-cutting matter especially at the decentralized level, a situation that through the official documentation of Mozambique that were studied, was not clearly found.

Gender equality in DRR&EP, CCH mitigation and adaptation does not mean merely addressing women’s issues. It means addressing concerns of men and women, the relations between them and the root causes of imbalances. It is important to consider that gender inequalities have negative effects on women’s coping capacity but they are important actors of change as they are holders of significant knowledge and skills related to mitigation, adaptation, and reduction of risks in the face of DRR and CCH. The importance of mainstreaming gender equality for the recognition of human rights, sustainable development and/or poverty eradication and disaster reduction has been acknowledged in a series of international instruments. In Mozambique even if the efforts to comply with gender mainstreaming are recognized, they still remain at a macro level with constrains on how to implement at field level the guidelines provided in the several government instruments and mechanisms.


Gender-specific vulnerabilities and challenges in DRR&EP: good practices and lessons learned what does the literature shows as key issues to mainstreaming gender

From the literature review, there are common agreements in that, to address communities at risk, local governments play an important role in:

o Coordinating and sustaining a multi-level, multi-stakeholder platform to promote disaster risk reduction in the region or for a specific hazard;

o Engaging local communities and citizens with disaster risk reduction activities and link their concerns with government priorities;

o Strengthening institutional capacities to implement practical disaster risk reduction actions;

o Implementing innovative tools and techniques for disaster risk reduction.

All of these are key issues to be considered by the international community, donors and the GoM when supporting DRR&EP activities at local level.

In many cases, at local and field level it has been acknowledged that there are difficulties in understanding local risks and vulnerabilities due to the lack of sufficient knowledge about disaster risks and vulnerabilities of their communities and appropriate disaster risk reduction measures. Therefore it is important that different stakeholders (national governments, NGOs and UN agencies) and partners provide strong support to help local governments to better plan and manage local disaster risks. In this context training to local staff is essential to implement accurate, efficient and effective programs that address the most vulnerable.

Some considerations for successful experiences on gender mainstreaming in DRR&EP and CCH are presented below :

o The use of an integrated holistic approach, that is innovative creating and adapting several tools to highlight and integrate gender considerations in projects and programmes. Gender must be a cross-cutting issue in DRR&EP and CCH mitigation and adaptation activities, addressed through a multi-stakeholder approach where political, technical, social, developmental and humanitarian activities are coordinated. Holistic approach mainstreamed by gender offers an opportunity for re-examining gender relations in the community and help to achieve disaster resilience. Implementing activities addressing women a will be needed when there are cultural prevailing patterns in the community that indicate that activities must undertaken with men and women separately.

o Using the women local and traditional knowledge in DRR&EP and CHH activities, can stimulate innovative strategies adapted to the environment allowing the development of actions that reflects their practical needs and interests.

o Natural disasters exacerbate existing gender inequalities. Programmes and projects on DRR &EP may create further discrimination and injustices if gender is not taken into account, and the policies to respond are built on the same unequal power relations that created the problem. Women are agent of change. Use disaster recovery activities


as an opportunity for women’s access to and control over resources at all levels through income generation projects, revolving funds, and other schemes that can provide their economic autonomy.

o Addressing women’s strategic needs in projects and programs are needed, that can lead to changes in traditional women roles that will challenge the “male” culture. Developing and implementing non-traditional training and skills such as masonry, mobile phone servicing, and hand-pump repairing are options that could lead women to acquire economic autonomy, and enabling them to negotiate a change in gender traditional roles.

o In Mali the use of a participatory approach in project development to allow grassroots women to assess their own needs and generate their own innovative solutions, was a key factor that lead to the success of a project where women developed sustainable alternatives to wood trade, changing their agriculture practices to a more environmental friendly source of income.

o In Indonesia the use of DRR&EP and CCH activities as an opportunity to change women’s traditional role and status in the community, helped to open new opportunities to engender Acehnese women’s legal rights for a better future in the law and regulations that protect both women and men equality.

o Collection of qualitative data on the vulnerabilities of women and men contributes to build their capacity profile in the community. This will help to identify sources of resilience, coping strategies and alternative livelihood opportunities that exist within communities. This information will contribute to develop activities in view of needed changes on the gendered division of labour and gender roles. Collecting, developing and implementing data disaggregated by sex on DRR&EP, was a good example implemented by SNHA NGO in Nagapattinam India, that showed how it is possible to respond to an emergency in a manner that is equitable and gender-sensitive. The relief, rehabilitation and disaster mitigation policies call for this information to be periodically collected, updated and analyzed from a gender perspective.

o Development of tools is essential to analyze gender issues in DRR&EP and CCH so that field practitioners and policy makers can understand gender-based vulnerabilities when they develop projects.

o Gender analysis and participatory vulnerability assessments in communities subjected to natural disasters is of vital importance. Developing a participatory in-depth examination of women and men vulnerability empowers and motivates women and men to take appropriate actions. Linking disaster preparedness and response to long-term development helps to understand vulnerability, its root causes and to identify the most vulnerable groups.

o Gender issues in DRR &EP and CCH are not gender neutral. Rehabilitation, and reconstruction, processes need to include a gender perspective in view of the pre-existing socio-cultural and economic vulnerabilities rooted in the unequal gender relationships that exists within most groups of men and women. One of the challenges is to involve men in reproductive activities that lead to changes in their roles. This is a long process that has to take into consideration cultural and traditional norms, to avoid future negative reactions that can jeopardize changes.

o Training of national and local authorities and staff working in DDRR&EP and CCH using a holistic approach that includes socio-cultural analysis, is indispensable. This also includes how to use and adapt existing different tools to implement a gender analysis and a vulnerability assessment.


o Ensure that all girls and boys benefit equally from education in emergency situations. It is important to understand the social and gender dynamics that might affect boys and girls, on the supply and the demand of education.

o Women and men have different perception of hazards. Often women are at risk of violence and may be unable to have access to aid and make their needs known. Commonly men are assigned a protection role however they can also face situations of risk-taking during and subsequent to a natural disaster. They can be caught between gendered demands that define the notions of ‘manhood’ in patriarchal societies.

Priority areas for action

It emerges from the data collected in the literature review, that under the context of Mozambique, the following recommendations apply:

o Implementation of gender analysis and vulnerability assessments before starting a project proposal , in coordination with all mechanisms and institutions responsible for disaster risk reduction, climate change, and poverty reduction activities;

o Mainstreaming of gender into strategies and plans and implementation of a gender approach in planning and programming;

o Insurance of equal access to early warning systems on natural hazard for women and men;

o Development and production of statistics desegregated by sex on the impact of disasters, carrying out of gender-sensitive vulnerability, risk and vulnerability assessments and developing gender-sensitive indicators to monitor and measure progress;

o Public and media awareness increase on gender sensitive vulnerabilities and capacities in disasters and gender specific needs and concerns in disaster risk reduction and management and CCH;

o Organization and development of research on cost-benefit and efficiency of gender-sensitive policies and programmes in disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and poverty reduction;

o Linkage of DDRR&EP and CCH mitigation and adaptation from a gender perspective;o Mainstreaming of gender in disaster preparedness, response and contingency planning

making them respond to concerns and needs specific and men and women;o Increase of women’s participation in disaster relief coordination and insurance of equal

access to disaster relief assistance between men and women;o Building and enhancement of the capacities pertinent to national institutions to enable

gender mainstreaming into all development sectors.

In the aftermath of natural disasters, affected communities will need help to restart agricultural activities as soon as possible, in order to meet household food security needs adequately and restore resilience. Food security is multidimensional and multi sector and involves many different stages from production to storage. Women, girls, boys and men have a special role in each of food security dimension and in each of them there are gender implications specially when referring to secure family wellbeing. Women are the main responsible for the processing, preparation and provision of food for the household in the family. In a post-disaster situation, the roles of women and men may change and therefore it is recommended to assess division of labor


in food security and nutrition wellbeing for the household. This is also true in the distribution process because in some societies, women and/or children can be victims of food discrimination. Gender issues should be mainstreamed in availability, access, utilization of food. Gender aspects are relevant to most of these issues since women and men are generally affected differently by natural disasters, emergency and displacement and have different access to and control over resources.

Literature and experience, all steer towards the conclusion that working towards gender equality (i.e. women and men) is central to develop successful initiatives. The value of incorporating gendered stakeholder analysis into projects is not to consider poor women as victims who need to be saved but mainly to call attention that they are also agents of change. Gender analysis in projects and programmes highlight the different roles, and impacts on women and men in the proposed activities and how to support them in pro gender equality. In view of the different forms of vulnerability, inequalities and other social characteristics of men and women and of their options/potential and consequences in different areas, a vulnerability assessment is an essential element both in terms of program-efficiency and in terms of empowerment. Lessons learned in the example of this literature review, reveal that interventions to save lives and secure livelihoods in emergencies are more efficient and effective when gender differences are properly understood.

Taking a new, cutting edge approach to the issues around gender and DRR&EP and CCH requires a reframing of the problem in a way that takes account of core power differentials, particularly the relationships between women and men. A forward-looking approach requires more than a simple integration of gender into existing policies, but somewhat an emphasis on transformation and change that need analysis of the causes and impacts of natural disasters and climate change in order to find key opportunities to bring together men and women at the centre of all responses, as participants and beneficiaries in the immediate and longer-term programs and projects .


ANNEX 1General characterization of the climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction communities44

CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION DISASTER RISK REDUCTIONApproach

risk management strong scientific basis environmental science perspective highly interdisciplinary vulnerability perspective long-term perspective global scale top-down

risk management engineering and natural science basis traditional focus on event and exposure and

on technological solutions shift from response and recovery to

awareness and preparedness short term but increasingly longer term local scale community-based

Organizations and institutions United Nations Framework Convention on

Climate Change(UNFCCC) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

(IPCC) Academic research National environment and energy

authorities

United Nations (UN) Pro Vention Consortium (World Bank) International Federation of Red Cross and

Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) International, national and local civil society

organizations National civil defence authorities

International conferences Conference of the Parties (COP) World Conference on Disaster Reduction

Assessment IPCC Assessment Reports IFRC Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment

(VCA) IFRC World Disasters Report International disasters databases:

EM-DAT NatCat SERVICE (Munich Re) Sigma (Swiss Re)

44 Thomalla, F, Downin T.g, Spanger-SiegfriedE. , Han G. and Rockström J., Reducing hazard vulnerability: towards a common approach between disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation in Disasters, 2006, 30(1): 39−48. © Overseas Development Institute, 2006 Published by Blackwell Publishing, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA


Strategies National communications to the UNFCCC National Adaptation Plans of Action (NAPA)

for Least Developed Countries

UN International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR)

Yokohama Strategy and Plan of Action for a Safer World

UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR)

Hyogo Framework for Action 2005–15Funding

Special Climate Change Fund Least Developed Countries Fund Kyoto Protocol Adaptation Fund

National civil defence/emergency response International humanitarian funding (for

instance, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

Multilateral banks Bilateral aid


ANNEX 2

Beijing Agenda for Global Action on Gender-Sensitive Disaster Risk Reduction45

Beijing, China, 22 April 2009We, the participants of the International Conference on Gender and Disaster Risk Reduction7 from 43 countries, bringing expertise and knowledge from all regions of the world, have met in Beijing, China, from 20-22 April 2009. This conference has built on the gains of a series of regional and international events promoting gender equality in disaster risk reduction, including all gender-sensitive policies, risk assessment, early warning, and success indicators for building resilience of nations and communities to disasters.

We acknowledge key regional and international processes and declarations such as the Hyogo Framework for Action, Ministerial Conferences on Disaster Risk Reduction in Asia and Africa, the Call for Action on Gender and Climate Change by the International Colloquium in Liberia, the Nairobi Plan of Action for African Parliamentarians on Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation, the Beijing Platform for Action, and the Manila Declaration for Global Action on Gender in Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction. These processes and declarations present a consensus among the world’s political leaders on the critical importance of gender mainstreaming to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

We, the participants from 43 countries, UN agencies and civil society organizations around the world, have carefully reviewed progress and have identified and agreed upon challenges from gender perspective under the five themes of the Conference: (1) Promoting policy changes for gender-sensitive disaster risk reduction; (2) Linking disaster risk reduction with poverty reduction from a gender perspective; (3) Making disaster risk reduction a tool for climate change adaptation; (4) Ensuring equal participation of men and women in building community resilience to disasters and (5) Women and post-disaster relief and reconstruction: One year after the Wenchuan Earthquake in China.

We fully recognize that disasters triggered by natural hazards such as flood, drought, tropical storms and earthquakes are on the rise. Today, the most frequent disasters are climate-related. The rising trend of disasters poses serious challenges for the world to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, especially food security, poverty reduction, and environment sustainability. International data available shows that disasters hit poor people the most, although the rich are not necessarily excluded from the impacts.

We are fully aware that women comprise 70% of the world’s poor and that women are more vulnerable to the impact of disaster due to existing socio-economic, political and cultural disadvantages. Prevailing policies and frameworks do not adequately recognize and support the crucial role that women play in sustaining household and community economies and social networks. Climate change will make the daily lives of millions of women in developing countries even more difficult, primarily due to environmental degradation.

45 The International Conference was organized by All China Women’s Federation and UNISDR. Co-hosted by the Ministry ofCivil Affairs of China and the UN System in China


We raise concern that gender remains a marginalized issue in the current national and international negotiations around disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. Gender considerations have barely been applied as a fundamental principle in policy and framework development.

We are fully convinced that the issues of gender, poverty reduction, climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction and post disaster recovery and reconstruction that we discussed at this conference are all components of the development process. Gender equality is a fundamental development issue that needs to be integrated and addressed throughout the development process. Disaster risks and the risks arising from climate change and rapid urbanization are ever increasing challenges that the development process faces.

We need political will and commitment, scientifically sound approaches, policies, programmes and action plans to address these complex issues. It is important to adopt an innovative and comprehensive approach. We need integrated development policies, planning and implementation processes that take into account disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation with gender as a cross-cutting issue.

We fully promote multi-stakeholder, multi-sector, multi-disciplinary and multi-level cooperation and collaboration as a win-win option to achieve and sustain gender equality. Only in this way will sustainable development be achievable.

We are all convinced of the importance and need for integrating a gender perspective in policies and programmes in our own capacities as politicians, senior government officials, and development and humanitarian actors, and we are committed to advocating for this.

We, therefore, recommend nine achievable actions before 2015. We request national Governments to make strong commitments in line with international mechanisms:

1. Increase political commitment to gender analysis and gender mainstreaming through enhanced cooperation and collaboration between Ministries responsible for disaster risk reduction, climate change, poverty reduction and gender issues, with the participation of civil society;

2. Develop and review national policies, relevant laws, strategies, plans, and budgets and take immediate action to mainstream gender into national development policies, planning and programmes;

3. Foster the linkage between disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation from a gender perspective through policy and administrative measures;

4. Collect gender-specific data and statistics on the impact of disasters, carry out gender-sensitive vulnerability, risk and capacity assessments and develop gender sensitive-indicators to monitor and measure progress;

5. Increase public and media awareness of gender-sensitive disaster vulnerabilities and capacities, and of gender-specific needs and concerns in disaster risk reduction and management;

6. Support research institutions to study the costs, benefits and efficiency of gender-sensitive policies and programmes in disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and poverty reduction;

7. Secure the actual application of disaster risk assessments as part of development policy-making and programme formulation to prevent disasters from making the poor even poorer;

8. Improve and mainstream a gender perspective and equal participation between men and women in the coordination of disaster preparedness, humanitarian response, and recovery through capacity building and training;


9. Build and enhance the capacities of professional organizations, communities and pertinent national and local institutions to enable gender mainstreaming in all development sectors.

We, the participants, endorse the nine points listed above and reaffirm our commitment to gender equality as a fundamental development issue needing to be integrated and addressed throughout the development process.

We, the participants, require accountability from all development stakeholders, in particular requiring that:

Governments, especially national committees or platforms, development cooperation partners for disaster risk reduction, review and report their progress in the implementation of the above actions, as part of the reports to UNISDR for the mid-term review of Hyogo Framework of Action in 2011;

Parliamentarians and counsellors take action to ensure gender mainstreaming in national legislation through policy and budget allocations at national and local levels;

UNISDR and UNIFEM facilitate the process in mainstreaming a gender perspective into disaster risk reduction and provide technical support to the governments and all stakeholders;

UNISDR in collaboration with other relevant UN agencies continue to develop tools and methodologies to build awareness and support national processes to ensure that gender equality considerations are fully integrated in all disaster management processes and practices;

UNDP in collaboration with other UN agencies provides concrete guidelines and support for making disaster risk assessment and reduction an integral part of poverty reduction strategies and programmes at country and local level;

The World Bank and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) take action to ensure disaster risk reduction measures are an integral part of country and sector development assistance;

UNFCCC secretariat and UNISDR work closely together to provide concrete guidelines for making gender-sensitive disaster risk reduction part of the Copenhagen strategy for climate change adaptation at COP-15.

We therefore recommend that the global initiative on gender and disaster risk reduction should be linked to the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action and use the biennial Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction as a mechanism to monitor and assess the progress made at national level.

Manila Declaration for Global Action on Gender in Climate Change and Disaster Risk ReductionManila, Philippines, 22 October 2008

We, the participants of the Third Global Congress of Women in Politics and Governance, on Gender in Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction, have gathered in Manila, Philippines, 19-22 October, 2008,

UNDERSCORING that women are vital agents of change, holders of valuable knowledge and skills, and can be powerful leaders from community to global level in climate change mitigation, adaptation and in disaster risk reduction;

RECOGNIZING that effects of climate change are one of the most urgent human security, ecological and development challenges of our time— exacerbating poverty, forced migration and conflict;


HIGHLIGHTING the close link between climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction for which the Hyogo Framework of Action 2005- 2015 provides a guide to better protect our societies and economies from current and future hazards;UNDERLINING the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that climate change impacts will vary among regions, generations, ages, classes, income groups, occupations and gender, and that the most marginalized will be disproportionately affected;ACKNOWLEDGING that industrialized countries have a historical responsibility for climate change;NOTING the lack of awareness in many countries on the issue of climate change and disaster risk reduction;EMPHASIZING that women make up the vast majority of the world’s most impoverished people and face unequal access to and control over resources, technology, services, land rights, credit and insurance systems, and decision-making power;RECALLING the 2007 Human Development Report, which states that climate change is likely to magnify existing patterns of gender inequalities; andDENOUNCING the absence of a gender perspective in the global agreements on climate change, despite national, regional and international commitments, and legally binding instruments on gender equality;

HEREIN DECLARE THATa) Climate change and its negative impacts must be understood as a development issue with

gender implications that cuts across all sectors (social, cultural, economic, and political) from the community to the global level; and concerted efforts are required by all stakeholders to ensure that climate change and disaster risk reduction measures are gender responsive, sensitive to indigenous knowledge systems and respect human rights;

b) Women and men must equally participate in climate change, disaster risk reduction decision-making processes at community, national, regional and international levels;

c) The Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) urge its Secretariat to adhere to human rights frameworks and standards, and international and national commitments to gender equality, such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Agenda 21, the Beijing Platform for Action, Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820, ECOSOC 2005/31, the Millennium Development Goals, the Hyogo Framework for Action and the UN Convention on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples;

d) Parties to the UNFCCC:1) Shall request its Executive Secretary to develop and implement a strategy to ensure

gender considerations are fully integrated in the Secretariat’s work plan, programs, assistance to the Parties, and cooperation with financing mechanisms;

2) Shall ensure participation of women and gender experts during the preparation and presentation of national communications, as well as gender parity at national and international meetings, in particular at the Conference of Parties, and recognize women as a Constituency;

3) Should request the Secretariat to cooperate with international organizations and donors, in the development of gender sensitive policies and program guidelines to aid Governments in ensuring gender equality while reducing climate-related risks and adapting to climate change at national and community level;

e) Financial institutions and funding mechanisms supporting climate change measures and disaster risk reduction should:

1) Integrate gender-sensitive criteria into planning, design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of programs, projects and initiatives;

2) Allocate adequate resources to address the needs of women in climate change mitigation, adaptation and disaster risk reduction, for example through funding


appropriate and environmentally sound technologies and supporting women’s grassroots initiatives in sustainable use of natural resources;

3) Refrain from funding of extractive industries, such as mining, logging and oil and natural gas extractions that exacerbate climate change, poverty and gender inequality.

f) Market-based mechanisms, such as the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), carbon trading funds and credits, must be made accessible to both women and men and must ensure equitable benefits. Thus, CDM should fund projects that enhance energy efficiency and make renewable energy technologies available and affordable to women for household needs, enhancing economic activities and socio-economic mobility,

g) Building on the Bali Plan of Action, UNFCCC (Article 6), and the Hyogo Framework for Action (Priority 3) Governments should:

1) Promote, facilitate, develop and implement public awareness campaigns, education and training programs on climate change and disaster risk reduction, targeting women and men, and boys and girls alike;

2) Facilitate access to information on climate change and disaster risk reduction policies and results of actions, which are needed by women and men to understand, address and respond to climate change and disaster risk, taking into account local and national circumstances such as quality of internet access, literacy and language issues;

3) Systematically document and make accessible best practices on gender responsive climate change and disaster risk reduction initiatives, facilitating replication of such practices;

4) All development partners shall ensure that affirmative action is promoted, and climate change and disaster risk reduction measures are rapidly adopted in high risk areas, such as Africa and small island states;

h) Governments, their respective statistical offices or bureaus, international organizations and financial institutions should collect sex-disaggregated data in every sector and make these readily available;

i) Governments and international organizations must pursue gender responsive budgeting to ensure adequate allocation of resources to enhance the capacity of women, especially the poorest and most disadvantaged, to foster their resilience to climate change and disasters;

j) Governments, regional and international organizations should monitor, prepare for, and respond to climate-induced human displacement, migration and conflict, paying special attention to the needs of women and children;

k) South-South and South-North cooperation must be promoted and coordinated to effectively respond to the global issues of gender in climate change, disaster risk reduction and food security;

l) Women organizations and specialized agencies, civil society, parliamentarians, government ministries and departments responsible for gender equality and women’s affairs must have a stronger voice and role in the discussions and decisions that are being made on climate change and disaster risk reduction.

WE DECLARE OUR FULL COMMITMENT to contribute to these goals and to cooperate with each other and all relevant stakeholders – including governments, parliamentarians, the private sector, civil society, indigenous peoples, academia, religious institutions and individuals – with the intent to carry this declaration forward to all meetings through which decisions on climate change, disaster risk reduction are made, including UNFCCC COP-14 (Poznan), COP-15 (Copenhagen), the Second Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction and beyond.


October 22, 2008Dusit Thani HotelManila. Philippines


ANNEX 3Terminology 46

Disaster means “A serious disruption of normal life that includes major loss of lives or property, too severe for a society or community to cope with and recover from on its own. Disasters can result from natural, biological or technological hazards, like, among others, hurricanes, earthquakes, drought and floods.”

Disaster risk reduction (DRR):47 is “a cross-cutting development process with the goal of reducing losses from natural hazards. DRR can be expressed as an overarching philosophy or framework embedded in sustainable development. It aims to reduce disaster vulnerability and increase resilience by encompassing disciplines like disaster management, disaster mitigation and disaster preparedness, and pursuing action across the social, political, scientific, and humanitarian and development sectors.”

Natural hazards by themselves do not cause disasters. It is the combination of an exposed, vulnerable and ill-prepared population with a hazard event that results in a disaster. Climate change increases disaster risks in two ways: increasing the frequency and/or severity of weather and climate hazards, and increasing communities’ vulnerability to natural hazards due to the combined effects of ecosystem degradation, reduced availability of water for ecosystems and agriculture, and changes in peoples’ livelihoods.

Awareness of risk is a necessary condition for disaster risk management and reduction and “ Risk assessment is a required step for the adoption of adequate and successful disaster reduction policies and measures.”, a methodology that determines the nature and the extent of risk and analyzes potential hazards, evaluates vulnerabilities by applying quantitative and qualitative analysis of risk and its consequences.

The disaster risk reduction approach understands risk comprehensively: “Disaster risk reduction is a conceptual framework of elements considered with the possibilities to minimize vulnerabilities and disaster risks throughout a society, to avoid (prevention) or to limit (mitigation and preparedness) the adverse impacts of hazards, within the broad context of sustainable development” (Source: ISDR).

The probability of harmful consequences, or expected loss of lives, people injured, property, livelihoods, economic activity disrupted (or environment damaged) resulting from interactions between natural or human induced hazards and vulnerable conditions. (Source: ISDR). Function of probability and magnitude of different impacts (Source: IPCC).

How do practitioner asses DRR and CCH? The conceptual emphasis of this term unites practitioners seeking to address vulnerabilities across different contexts. They have common factors such as the people, wildlife, buildings, etc. that can experience the outcome; the identification of endogenous and exogenous factors that

46 UNISDR, UNDP and IUCN. Making Disaster Risk Reduction Gender-Sensitive Policy and Practical Guidelines, Geneva, Switzerland, June 200947 http://ocha.unog.ch/drptoolkit/PDisasterPreparednessPlanning.html


influence and can be influenced and estimated time over which the outcome is expected to emerge.

Disaster/risk analysis involves understanding (i) the types of hazards that might affect people and also (ii) the different levels of vulnerability of different groups of people. Disaster risk reduction practitioners are concerned with increasing exposure to hazards and seek to address it by influencing a society's intrinsic capacity to cope with, and adapt to, changing environments and shocks. Disaster risk reduction practitioners are likely to assess the intrinsic characteristics of the affected population – and how these elements at risk might influence/ contribute to the probable outcome. This difference perhaps also bears significance on the estimated time over which the outcome is expected to emerge.

Disaster Preparedness: definition pre-disaster activities that are undertaken within the context of disaster risk management and are based on sound risk analysis. This includes the development/enhancement of an overall preparedness strategy, policy, institutional structure, warning and forecasting capabilities, and plans that define measures geared to helping at-risk communities safeguard their lives and assets by being alert to hazards and taking appropriate action in the face of an imminent threat or an actual disaster.

Disaster Preparedness and the HFA: Priority 5 of the Hyogo Framework for Action specifically focuses on the need to strengthen disaster preparedness for effective response at all levels. Implementing Priority 5 requires a common understanding of what constitutes and effective disaster preparedness system - including an understanding of disaster risk factors. The HFA specifically underlines a few key activities that should be undertaken in view of strengthening disaster preparedness at all levels. These are:

Strengthen policy, technical and institutional capacities in regional, national and local disaster management, including those related to technology, training, and human and material resources.

Promote and support dialogue, exchange of information and coordination among early warning, disaster risk reduction, disaster response, development and other relevant agencies and institutions at all levels, with the aim of fostering a holistic approach towards disaster risk reduction.

Strengthen and when necessary develop coordinated regional approaches, and create or upgrade regional policies, operational mechanisms, plans and communication systems to prepare for and ensure rapid and effective disaster response in situations that exceed national coping capacities.

Prepare or review and periodically update disaster preparedness and contingency plans and policies at all levels, with a particular focus on the most vulnerable areas and groups. Promote regular disaster preparedness exercises, including evacuation drills, with a view to ensuring rapid and effective disaster response and access to essential food and non-food relief supplies, as appropriate, to local needs.

Promote the establishment of emergency funds, where and as appropriate, to support response, recovery and preparedness measures.

Develop specific mechanisms to engage the active participation and ownership of relevant stakeholders, including communities, in disaster risk reduction, in particular building on the spirit of volunteerism


Vulnerability: refers to “Conditions determined by physical, social, economic, and environmental factors that increase the susceptibility of a community to the impact of hazards”. The more vulnerable a community is to a natural hazard, the greater its disaster risk. Disastrous losses can result from natural hazards; but whether or not a disaster occurs, and how bad the disaster is, depends on the strength of the natural hazard, and on how vulnerable the people are. Disaster risk can be reduced by reducing human vulnerabilities.

The concept of vulnerability is central to disaster risk reduction and there are some few Key Definitions:48

a) The degree to which a system is susceptible to, and unable to cope with, adverse effects of climate change, including climate variability and extremes. Vulnerability is a function of the character, magnitude, and rate of climate change and variation to which a system is exposed, its sensitivity and its adaptive capacity (Source: IPCC).

b) ISDR defines Vulnerability as the conditions determined by physical, social, economic and environmental factors or processes, which increase the susceptibility of a community to the impact of hazards. For positive factors, which increase the ability of people to cope with hazards

All individuals and communities are to varying degrees vulnerable to hazards. Among disaster risk reduction practitioners, there are different dimensions of vulnerabilities according to the elements at risk – physical, social, economic, and environmental. Vulnerability refers to susceptibilities of the built environment and may be described as “exposure”.

Factors of vulnerability include levels of literacy and education, health infrastructure, the existence of peace and security, access to basic human rights, systems of good governance, social equity, traditional values, customs and ideological beliefs and overall collective organizational systems. The poor and predominantly female and elderly populations are characterized by higher economic vulnerability as they suffer proportionally larger losses in disasters and have limited capacity to recover. Similarly, an economy lacking a diverse productive base is generally more vulnerable to disasters in the sense that it is less likely to sustain recovery from disaster impacts and will perhaps also lead to forced migrations. Diminished biodiversity, soil degradation and water scarcity threaten food security and health.

Often, when disaster risk reduction practitioners assess vulnerability, they wish to ascertain the intrinsic 'condition' of people—the physical, social, economic and environmental factors that determine people's capacity to reduce the potential impacts of a hazard event and cope with its occurrence. They are often interested to determine if a particular climate hazard will impact a particular locale, including the population living in that locale. In other words, for many managers working on climate change, if a climate impact, such as sea-level rise will affect a particular coastline, including its population and ecosystems, the area is considered vulnerable. Climate change experts are more likely to consider the long term impacts, in decades and centuries, of climate variability and change as well as related environmental change (e.g., degradation of coastline and sea level rise).

48 summarized from “On Better Terms: A Glance at Key Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction Concepts” International Strategy for Disaster Reduction ISDR, United Nations Development Programme Bureau for Crisis UNDP, Institute of development Studies, IDS, 2007. http://unisdr.org/eng/risk-reduction/climate-change/docs/On-better-terms.pdf

http://unisdr.org/eng/risk-reduction/climate-change/docs/On-better-terms.pdf


Global trends indicate that at present it is growing vulnerability that is driving the increase in disaster risk:49

Participatory vulnerability analysis (PVA) PVA is a systematic process that involves communities and other stakeholders in an in-depth examination of their vulnerability, and at the same time empowers or motivates them to take appropriate actions. The overall aim of PVA is to link disaster preparedness and response to long-term development. PVA is a qualitative way of analyzing vulnerability, which involves participation of vulnerable people themselves. The analysis helps to understand vulnerability, its root causes and most vulnerable groups, and agree on actions by, with and to people to reduce their vulnerability. 50 It is a one-step forward in development methodologies to identify the root causes of different types of vulnerabilities and action to reduce those vulnerabilities. Thus, the main purpose of PVA documentation is to understand time line, time trend and mobility pattern; assess how seasonality affects the vulnerability; identify the correlation between vulnerability and existing Institutional set-up, and document the types of risks, hazards and vulnerabilities and identify how these vulnerabilities affects the people's life and livelihoods.51

Gender: The social attributes and opportunities associated with being male and female and the relationships between women and me and girls and boys, as well as the relations between women and those between men. These attributes, opportunities and relationships are socially constructed and are learned through socialization processes. They are context/time-specific and changeable. Gender determines what is expected, allowed and valued in a woman or a man in a given context. In most societies there are differences and inequalities between women and men in responsibilities assigned, activities undertaken, access to and control over resources, as well as decision making opportunities. Gender is part of the broader socio-cultural context. (OSAGI/UNDESA)

Gender mainstreaming: Mainstreaming a gender perspective is the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programmes, in all areas and at all levels. It is a strategy for making women’s as well as men’s concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all political, economic and societal spheres so that women and men benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated. The ultimate goal is to achieve gender equality. (Report of the ECOSOC (A/52/3, 18 September 1997)

Gender analysis: Refer to the study of the different roles of women and men in order to understand what they do, what resources they have, and what their needs and priorities are. Gender roles are not static and are shaped over time by other differences such as age, class and caste.

Natural hazard: A natural process or phenomenon – such as a hurricane, earthquake or drought - that can potentially result in a loss of life, property damage, livelihoods and services, social and economic disruption, or environmental damage.

49 Op.cit 450 ActionAid, Participatory Vulnerability Analysis step by step guide for field staff. London.51 ActionAid, March 2007 Participatory Vulnerability Analysis (PVA) Process Outputs .Nepal Kathmandu


Risk: The probability of harmful consequences, or expected losses (deaths, injuries, property, livelihoods, economic activity disrupted or environmental damaged) resulting from interactions between natural or human-induced hazards and vulnerable conditions.

Risk Assessment and Climate Change impact Assessment :52

Risk Assessment: a methodology to determine the nature and extent of risk by analyzing potential hazards and evaluating existing conditions of vulnerability that could pose a potential threat or harm to people, property, livelihoods and the environment on which they depend. These assessments include detailed quantitative and qualitative understandings of risk: its physical, social, economic, and environmental factors, and consequences The process of conducting a risk assessment is based on a review of both the technical features of hazards such as their location, Intensity, frequency and probability; and also the analysis of the physical, social, economic and environmental dimensions of vulnerability and exposure, while taking particular account of the coping capabilities pertinent to the risk scenarios. (Source: ISDR).

Climate Impact Assessment: the practice of identifying and evaluating the detrimental and beneficial consequences of climate change on natural and human systems (Source: IPCC WG II).

Risk assessment forms the core of the disaster risk management process and results in the identification of potential risk reduction measures. As might be expected, assessing vulnerability and capacity is as important as identifying and assessing the potential impact of hazards.

A gender-sensitive risk assessment can be achieved if gender issues are considered when planning and carrying out the main steps of risk assessment: (i) Identify the nature of the risk; (ii) Determine the human vulnerability to the risk;(iii) Identify the capacities and available resources for managing and reducing vulnerability; (iv) Determine acceptable levels of risk.

Mitigation is reducing emissions of greenhouse gases or sequestering emissions – is critical to slowing climate change Although several social, economic and technological policies would produce an emission reduction, with respect to climate change, mitigation means implementing policies to reduce G H G emissions and enhance sinks. The current international legal mechanism for countries to reduce their emissions is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). IPCC (2007) defines Mitigation as the technological change and substitution that reduce resource inputs and emissions per unit of output.

Mitigation is a human measure to reduce the sources or enhance the sinks of greenhouse gases (Source: IPCC). Climate change mitigation measures recognize that the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere will influence the rate and magnitude of climate change. Therefore it is within the capacity of humans to influence their exposure to change. It include energy conservation measures, implementing land use plans, strengthening institutional and legislative mechanisms, energy efficiency measures, waste management, substituting fossil fuels with renewable energy sources and measures in the transport and agricultural sectors, as well as sequestering carbon biologically through reforestation or geo-physically (inside the earth's core). These activities contribute to reducing disaster risk by reducing expected climate change impact.

Disaster mitigation activities relate to environmental management, land use and urban planning and the engineering protection of critical facilities. Specific examples include reforestation to

52 Op.cit.


avoid landslides and the re-establishment of corals to limit the damage of tsunamis.. A drought reduction strategy may be to build water reservoirs and improve agricultural practices to conserve water.

Adaptation, or coping with climate change impacts, means ¨adjustments in ecological social or economic systems in response to actual or expected climate stimuli and their effects or impacts. This term refers to changes in processes, practice and structure to moderate potential damages or to benefit from opportunities associated with climate change ¨ (source IPCC 2001) Adaptation is critical for vulnerable population specially those dependent on small-scale resources. To this group but especially for women, climate change could severely change their ability to manage natural resources, as women have different roles and responsibilities which give rise to differences to cope with change.

Adaptive Capacity: The ability of a system to adjust to climate change (including climate variability and extremes) to moderate potential damages, to take advantage of opportunities, or to cope with the consequences. (Source: IPCC)

Coping capacity: The means by which people or organizations use available resources and abilities to face adverse consequences that could lead to a disaster. In general, this involves managing resources, both in normal times as well as during crises or adverse conditions. The strengthening of coping capacities usually builds resilience to withstand the effects of natural and human-induced hazards. (Source: ISDR)

Hazard is a natural or manmade phenomenon that may cause physical damage, economic loss and threaten human life and wellbeing. Such phenomena may affect different places singularly or in combination at different times. The hazard has varying degrees of intensity and severity.

Exposure is the likelihood of individuals, household, community or nation experiencing the hazard

Climate variability and climate change53: Climate variability refers to variations in the mean state of the climate and variations in other statistics (such as the occurrence of extremes) on all temporal and spatial scales beyond that of individual weather events. The average range of temperature for a location, as indicated by minimum, maximum and average temperature values, is an example of a measure of climate variability. This differs from climate change which refers to a long-term change in the state of the climate and which is identified by changes in the means and/or changes in the variability, or changes in the frequencies or intensities of extreme events.

For Further REFERENCES on Terminology: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction Glossary of terms used by Working Group II: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability in the Third Assessment Report in 2001. “Adaptation: Assessment to Action.” The UNFCCC Compendium, Methods and tools to assess impacts of, and vulnerability and adaptation, to climate change. Issued by the Climate Change Secretariat, Bonn, Germany. 2004 Version, Volume I. “Living with Risk: A global review of

53 http://www.fao.org/docrep/013/i1721e/i1721e02.pdf


disaster reduction initiatives.” United Nations, New York and Geneva. “Terminology of disaster risk reduction”. Available at: http://www.unisdr.org/eng/library/lib-terminology-eng%20home.htm

http://www.unisdr.org/eng/library/lib-terminology-eng%20home.htm


ANNEX 4Summary of Reports, Manuals, Training Packages and Toolkits on Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change

All publications are available in Prevention Web at www.preventionwe.net

Making Disaster Risk Reduction Gender-SensitiveSource:Publication date: 2009Number of pages: 163It was prepared in respond to the request of governments attending the First Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in 2007. This publication offers policy and practical guidelines for national and local governments to further implement the HFA. This publication is the result of extensive consultations and a response to the call for clear policy and practical guidance for mainstreaming gender perspectives into disaster risk reduction.

Indigenous knowledge: disaster risk reduction, policy noteSource(s): European Union; Kyoto University; SEEDS; UNISDRPublication date: 2009Number of pages: 18 p.This policy note aims to provide a directional path for mainstreaming indigenous knowledge in disaster risk reduction by national authorities and ministries of disaster management and education, institutions of higher education in disaster management, and international and national NGOs in Asian countries. It addresses thematic areas such as: climate change and food security, rural development, urban risk reduction, gender and inclusion, mountain ecosystems, coastal zones, river basin management, water resource management, and housing.

Progress of the world’s women 2008/2009: who answers to women? Gender and accountabilitySource(s): United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)Publication date: 2009Number of pages: 152 p.This report demonstrates that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and other international commitments to women will only be met if gender-responsive accountability systems are put in place both nationally and internationally. It provides examples of how women are demanding accountability for action on commitments to promote gender equality and women’s rights from national governments, justice and law enforcement systems, employers and service providers, as well as international institutions.

http://www.preventionwe.net/


Stories from the Pacific: the gendered dimensions of disaster risk management and adaptation to climate changeSource(s): AusAid, Government of Australia; UNDPPublication date: 2009Number of pages: 36 p.This publication targets donors and development practitioners across the Pacific region and is intended to be used as a tool to guide the substance and direction of future programming in disaster risk management and adaptation to climate change.

Adaptation to climate change by reducing disaster risks: country practices and lessonsSource(s): ISDRPublication date: 2009Number of pages: 12 pThis note reports on examples of recent experience in eight countries where national and local governments and civil society participants have worked to strengthen their disaster risk reduction and adaptation actions. These cases, along with similar experience in other countries, provide a number of useful insights and lessons for climate change negotiators and policymakers, development planners, and managers and practitioners at national and local levels. The eight countries profiled are: India, Maldives, Peru, the Philippines, Samoa, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and Viet Nam.

Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery Annual Report 2007Source(s): BCPRPublication date: 2008Number of pages: 80 p.This second Annual Report of UNDP-BCPR, Outlook 2007, provides an overview of how UNDP has continued to increase its efforts to deliver tangible results in preventing crisis and promoting recovery. Since its inception in 2001, the Bureau has sought to promote new ways of doing business – faster, earlier and in riskier situations – to restore the quality of life for those who have been affected by disaster or violent conflict.

Community based disaster risk reduction regional consultative meeting, West Asia, Middle East and North Africa region: summary and proceeding reportSource(s): IFRC; UNISDRPublication date: 2008Number of pages: 5 p.This report gives a summary of the meeting, as well as recommendations to integrate disaster management and risk reduction as a part of the development agenda, through disaster risk reduction training and capacity building, and comprehensive disaster risk reduction planning processes and frameworks at national and local level.

Enabling women’s empowerment in post disaster reconstructionSource(s): DIT; RICSPublication date: 2008Number of pages: 19 p.This study explores women’s status in post disaster situations and examines the concept of empowerment in response to the need to include women’s contribution to disaster management and to emphasize its importance in building disaster resilient communities. It discusses the factors that influence women’s empowerment in post disaster reconstruction.


From grassroots to global: people centered disaster risk reductionSource(s): ProVention ConsortiumPublication date: 2008Number of pages: 26 p.The aim of this forum report is to record the energy, ideas and views resulting from discussions and presentations in the formal sessions and also in the corridors of the event, which is designed to allow free talking and frank exchange of ideas, challenges and innovation on disaster riskreduction.

Gender mainstreaming in emergency management: opportunities for building community resilience in CanadaSource(s): PHAC, Government of CanadaPublication date: 2008Number of pages: 95 p.This report builds on international efforts over the past decade to develop more gender-sensitive approaches to disaster risk management. It addresses recent initiatives by researchers, practitioners and policy makers to promote gender mainstreaming.

Gender perspectives: integrating disaster risk reduction into climate change adaptationSource(s): UNISDRPublication date: 2008Number of pages: 76 p.This publication points out the vital nexus between women’s experiences of natural resource management, climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction, and how they can come together to make whole communities strong and sustainable. It also provides inspirational case studies of grassroots women’s leadership, and of ways to support and encourage women’s full participation as citizens in risk reduction, climate change adaptation, development, and disaster preparedness. The case studies also point to practical tools for implementing gender equality and mainstreaming gender perspectives

Gender sensitive disaster management: a toolkit for practitionersPublisher(s): Earthworm BooksPublication date: 2008Number of pages: 116 p.This Toolkit is the outcome of a research study undertaken to understand gender mainstreaming strategies used by NGOs and the Government in the context of their responses to and management of the Tsunami aftermath in Tamil Nadu.

Natural disasters and remittances: exploring the linkages between poverty, gender, and disaster vulnerability in Caribbean SIDSSource(s): United Nations UniversityPublication date: 2008Number of pages: 14 p.This research paper explores the linkages between poverty and disaster vulnerability in the context of remittance flows to households in the Caribbean. Jamaica is used as the case study country.


Participatory impact assessment: a guide for practitionersSource(s): FICPublication date: 2008Number of pages: 63 p.This guide aims to provide practitioners with a broad framework for carrying out project level Participatory Impact Assessments (PIA) of livelihoods interventions in the humanitarian sector.

Poverty in a changing climateSource(s): Institute of Development StudiesPublication date: 2008Number of pages: 120 p.This bulletin explores adaptation using different insights and approaches – exploring linkages from chronic poverty, gender, social exclusion, livelihoods, economics, and asset-based approaches.

Rethinking disasters: why death and destruction is not nature’s fault but human failureSource(s): Oxfam InternationalPublication date: 2008Number of pages: 43 p.This report shows that successful disaster risk reduction policies, integrated into development work, save lives and money, making vulnerable communities more resilient and protecting development gains.

Women as equal partners: gender dimensions of disaster risk management programmeSource(s): Government of India; UNDPPublication date: 2008Number of pages: 57 p.This documents addresses sustainable reduction in disaster risk and states that one of the critical indicators of disaster risk reduction is gender equity in disaster preparedness.

Building better futures: empowering grassroots women to build resilient communitiesSource(s): GROOTSPublication date: 2007Number of pages: 12 p.This publication highlights roles that grassroots women are playing in building resilient communities and insights emerging from resilience building efforts led by grassroots women in Peru, Jamaica, Honduras, Turkey, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India.

Evaluation and strengthening of early warning systems in countries affected by the 26 December 2004 tsunami: reportSource(s): UNISDR - PPEWPublication date: 2007Number of pages: 81 pThis report presents an initiative which objective was to provide an overall integrated framework for strengthening early warning systems in the Indian Ocean region by building on the existing systems and to facilitate coordination among various specialized and technicalinstitutions.


Gender matters: lessons for disaster risk reduction in South AsiaSource(s): ECHO; ICIMODPublication date: 2007Number of pages: 51 p.This report draws attention to gender as an indicator of vulnerability and discusses how women are disproportionately affected, particularly in the field of disaster preparedness and management

Gender perspective: working together for disaster risk reductionPublisher(s): UNISDRPublication date: 2007Number of pages: 54 p.This publication is part of ongoing efforts facilitated by UNISDR to build a global partnership for mainstreaming gender issues into the disaster risk reduction process.

Mainstreaming gender equality and equity in ABS governanceSource(s): IUCNPublication date: 2007Number of pages: 105 p.This document aims to serve as the basis for a methodological proposal to mainstream a gender equity and equality perspective into the processes involving the access and benefit-sharing of biodiversity resources.

People-centred climate change adaptation: Integrating gender issuesSource(s): FAOPublication date: 2007Number of pages: 2 p.This brief explains the links between gender issues and climate change and recommends ways to integrate gender into climate change adaptation policies and activities.

Women pastoralists: preserving traditional knowledge, facing modern challengesSource(s): UNCCDPublication date: 2007Number of pages: 45 p.This publication is devoted to women pastoralists, their knowledge of and contributions to sustainable land management, and the coping mechanisms they have developed in their struggle to survive.

Words into action: a guide to implementing the Hyogo FrameworkSource(s): UNISDRPublication date: 2007Number of pages: 165 p.This Guide has been created to provide advice on useful strategies for implementing the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters (HFA).


Good Humanitarian Donor ship and Disaster Risk Reduction a Concept Paper, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway Source(s): Ministry of Foreign Affairs, NorwayPublication date: 2007Number of pages: 48 p.The paper addresses the need to invest in DRR, in light of a dramatically increased spending on humanitarian action during the last 15 years. The paper’s starting point is the responsibility of donors, but it gives clear guidance to how resources should be spent. The paper states that DRR is currently lost in the gap between humanitarian assistance and development, and requests stronger coordination between the two in order to address the problem: “DRR is an important interface between relief, recovery and development. It is imperative to address DRR as early as possible in the development cycle in order to avoid the recreation of risks, or potential magnification of risks. Assessment should not only cover impact, but also underlying causes, vulnerabilities and capacities.” The paper does not recommend add DRR as another mainstreaming task, but rather add it to ongoing processes, such as gender or climate change. It also states that actions should target the most vulnerable groups of a population, but these should not only be considered as passive victims, but as a potential resource base. It is recommended that DRR are included in poverty reduction strategies, and that needs assessments, risk analysis and vulnerability assessments are integrated.

Disaster risk reduction: a call to actionSource(s): ILO; IRP; UNISDRPublication date: 2006Number of pages: 84 p.The document assists in facilitating and supporting efforts by governments, local authorities, international organizations, and multilateral financial and trade institutions to invest in reducing disaster risk and to promote sustainable development policies that will createbetter opportunities for all.

Gender and desertification: expanding roles for women to restore drylandSource(s): IFADPublication date: 2006Number of pages: 27 p.This review examines the impact of desertification on women, their role in the management of natural resources and dry lands, and the constraints they face

Gender and qualitative interpretation of dataSource(s): SDC, Government of SwitzerlandPublication date: 2006Number of pages: 70 p.The aim of these matrices is to assist users to reach a more qualitative understanding in their reading and interpretation of quantitative data from a gender perspective.


Gender: the missing component of the response to climate changeSource(s): FAOPublication date: 2006Number of pages: 37 p.This report analyzes the gender dimension of climate change and the policies enacted to mitigate and adapt to its impacts with the aim of developing gender sensitive approaches with regard to mitigation measures, adaptation projects and national regimes.

Let our children teach us!: a review of the role of education and knowledge in disaster risk reductionSource(s): UNISDRPublication date: 2006Number of pages: 135 p.This review examines good practices to reduce disaster risk through education, knowledge and innovation (including efforts to protect schools from extreme natural events).

Women, girls, boys and men, different needs, equal opportunities: IASC gender handbook in humanitarian actionSource(s): IASCPublication date: 2006Number of pages: 112 p.This handbook sets forth standards for the integration of gender issues from the outset of a new complex emergency or disaster, so that humanitarian services provided neither exacerbate nor inadvertently put people at risk; reach their target audience; and have maximum positive impact.

Guidelines for Gender Sensitive Disaster Management: Practical Steps to Ensure Women’s Needs are Met And Women’s Human Rights are Respected and ProtectSource(s): Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD)Publication date: 2006Number of pages: 76 p.These guidelines have been formulated to assist governments, the non state sector and civil society in dealing with women who have been affected by disaster. They are meant to be practical, easy to follow steps that need to be taken in responding to women’s concerns in post disaster situations. They have been categorized into immediate, midterm and long term responses. The guidelines draw from reports of countries that were affected by the December 2004 tsunami: Thailand, Aceh, India, Sri Lanka and the earthquake in northern Pakistan in October 2005

Gender and disaster sourcebook: a samplerSource(s): PERIPublication date: 2005This one-stop user-friendly electronic guide is aiming to help answer the following questions: What is the link between gender equality and disaster risk? What lessons have been learned in the field and through scientific study? How can this knowledge be applied in practice to reduce risk and respond equitably to disaster events? The Gender and Disaster Sourcebook is a one-stop, user-friendly electronic guide to help answer these questions.


Living with risk: a global review of disaster reduction initiativesSource(s): UNISDRPublication date: 2004Number of pages: 429 p.This book provides guidance, policy orientation and inspiration, as well as serving as a reference for lessons on how to reduce risk and vulnerability to hazards and to meet the challenges of tomorrow.

Gender Perspectives on the Conventions on Biodiversity, Climate Change and Desertification (2004)Source(s): FAOPublication date: 2004Number of pages: 65 pThe paper provides a gender-sensitive perspective on the three Rio Conventions on Biodiversity, Climate Change, and Desertification. First, the Rio conventions are placed in their historical context and their administrative and financial framework. Secondly, the main gender issues relevant to the three conventions are exposed. A comparative overview of the level of gender mainstreaming in each of the international instruments relating to the Rio Conventions at study here is given. The essay concludes with a review of a few key issues in convention implementation, in relationship with gender.

Working with Women at Risk: Practical Guidelines for Assessing Local Disaster RiskSource(s): International Hurricane Centre Florida InternationalPublication date: 2003Number of pages: 104 p.This is a workbook for training community women to conduct hazard assessments and plan mitigation for their local neighbourhoods. The model was developed and tested in communities in the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, St. Lucia and Dominica.

Farmers in a changing Climate: Does Gender matters ? Food Security in Andhra Pradesh, IndiaSource: FAOPublication date: 2010Number of pages: 82p.This report presents the findings of research undertaken in six villages in two drought-prone districts of Andhra Pradesh, India, Mahbubnagar and Anantapur. The study, carried out by anInternational team led by FAO, used gender, institutional, and climate analyses to document the trends in climate variability men and women farmers are facing and their responses to ensure food security in the context of larger socio-economic and political challenges to their livelihoods and well-being. The findings confirm that there is a strong gender dimension to the way in which climate variability is experienced and expressed by farmers in their coping strategies to ensure their livelihoods and food security. Women’s and men’s perceptions of and responses to impacts of dry conditions, as well as their access to resources and support, differ in important ways. These findings demonstrate that gender analysis enhances our understanding of what farmers perceive as risks and how they respond to climatic changes. Such findings are essential for informing policy decisions by ensuring that the experiences of both women and men are embedded into policy design. Recommendations are made for future research and for incorporating gender issues into adaptation to long term climate change.


Resource Guide on Gender and Climate Change Source: UNDPPublication date: 2009Number of pages: 134 ppThis guide aims to inform policymakers and precisionists on linkages between gender equality and Climate Change and their importance in relations to the achievement of the MDG. It make the case for including women’s voices, needs and expertise in climate change, policy and programming, and demonstrate how women’s contributions can strengthen the effectiveness of climate change measures.

Network and links to publications on gender and DRR

GenaNet Based in Germany, this network is a leader in gender and climate change work globally with a focus on policy interventions and gender dimensions of climate change in the developed world. http://www.genanet.de/home.html?&L=1

Prevention Web – Gender Contains articles, address lists and other useful resources. http://www.preventionweb.net/english/themes/gender/

Emergency Events Database Includes an extensive database on disasters, although not only linked to disasters provoked by climate change. It also has some useful publications, most notably on data collection. http://www.emdat.be/Publications/publications.html

Training packages

CARE Climate Vulnerability and Capacity Analysis (CVCA) handbookSource(s): CAREPublication date:2009Number of pages:41The Climate Vulnerability and Capacity Analysis (CVCA) methodology facilitates understanding of the implications of climate change for the lives and livelihoods of the people. By combining local knowledge with scientific data, the process builds people’s understanding about climate risks and adaptation strategies. It provides a framework for dialogue within communities, as well as between communities and other stakeholders. The results provide a solid foundation for the identification of practical strategies to facilitate community-based adaptation to climate change

Gender Mainstreaming in Emergency Management: A Training Module for Emergency Planners (Canada) Source(s): Elaine Enarson,for the Women and Health Care Reform and the Prairie Women’s Health Centre of Excellence.Publication date: 2009Number of pages: 123 p.Includes background and general information and specific exercises and tools for assessing and improving existing approaches to better incorporate gender issues and opportunities to engage

http://www.emdat.be/Publications/publications.html

http://www.preventionweb.net/english/themes/gender/

http://www.genanet.de/home.html?&L=1


with women to reduce risk. The manual is potentially of use to emergency managers in the US as well, including Issues Facing Women in Disaster, Frequently Asked Questions about Gender and Disaster, Gender Matters through the Disaster Cycle, Mapping Gendered Vulnerability and similar resources.

Training manual on gender and climate changeSource(s): Global Gender and Climate Alliance; IUCN; UNDPPublication date: 2008Number of pages: 227 p.This manual has been designed as a practical tool to increase the capacity of policy and decision makers to develop gender-responsive climate change policies and strategies.

Gender Sensitive Disaster Management: A Toolkit for PractitionersSource(s): Chaman PinchaPublication date: 2008Number of pages: 123 p.This Toolkit authored by Chaman Pincha is the outcome of a research study undertaken to understand gender mainstreaming strategies used by NGOs and the Government in the context of their responses to and management of the Tsunami aftermath in Tamil Nadu. The field outcomes were analyzed through a gender perspective to understand the differential impact of disasters and coping strategies on women/girls, men/boys, and other marginalized groups, including Aravanis.

International Training Materials for Gender Mainstreaming in Disaster Risk Reduction (international) This set of materials was designed and collated by Maureen Fordham (with help from colleagues in UNDP, UNISDR, Oxfam, AIDMI) for a Training of Trainers for UNDP. Designed primarily for use in developing nations, some materials are readily adapted to the US

Inter-Agency Contingency Planning Guidelines for Humanitarian AssistanceSource(s): IASC Sub-Working Group on Preparedness and Contingency PlanningPublication date:2007Number of pages: 40 p.The following guidelines seek to provide practical guidance for Humanitarian Country Teams, composed of UN Agencies and other International Organizations, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement1 and NGO representatives, who are embarking on a process of inter-agency contingency planning in order to increase their level of preparedness and enhance their ability to respond to emergencies.

Within a broader framework of emergency preparedness, inter-agency contingency planning is essential to ensure that humanitarian agencies/organizations are as ready as they can be to manage future uncertainty by developing responses to natural disasters, conflicts and other crises. Inter-agency contingency planning should also be mindful of and linked with other initiatives on disaster prevention, risk reduction and early recovery. The first version of the Inter-Agency Contingency Planning Guidelines for Humanitarian Assistance was developed in 2001. These guidelines have served as the principal reference document for inter-agency contingency planning. Since their release, the humanitarian context has continued to evolve, a wealth of experience has been gained by agencies/organizations around the world and a process of strengthening humanitarian response systems has been initiated. The revision of these guidelines

http://www.gdnonline.org/resources/Pincha_GenderSensitiveDisasterManagement_Toolkit.pdf

http://www.gdnonline.org/resources/Pincha_GenderSensitiveDisasterManagement_Toolkit.pdf


was undertaken in an attempt to reflect accumulated good practice and efforts to enhance humanitarian response capacity, predictability, accountability and partnership in order to reach more people with comprehensive, appropriate, needs-based relief and protection in a more effective and timely manner. In particular, the cluster approach represents a raising of the standards for sectoral coordination, leadership and accountability and thus is integral to interagency contingency planning and preparedness processes.

Working with Women at Risk: Practical Guidelines for Assessing Local Disaster Risk.Source: International Hurricane Centre, Florida International University,Publication Date 2003 Number of pages : 91 p.This is a workbook for training community women to conduct hazard assessments and plan mitigation for their local neighbourhoods. The model was developed and tested in communities in the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, St. Lucia and Dominica. Elaine Enarson with Lourdes Meyreles, Marta González, Betty Hearn Morrow, Audrey Mullings, and Judith Soares. June

Gender Note SeriesE. Enarson for the global Gender and Disaster Network Gender Note # 1 Women, Gender and the Hyogo Platform for Action http ://www.gdnonline.org/resources/GDN_GenderNotes1.pdf Gender Note #2 Women, Gender and Disaster: Hazards & Hazard Mitigation http ://www.gdnonline.org/resources/GDN_GenderNote2_Mitigation.pdf Gender Note #3 Women, Gender and Disaster: Men & Masculinities http ://www.gdnonline.org/resources/GDN_GenderNote3_Men&Masculinities.pdf Gender Note #4 Women, Gender and Disaster: Abilities and Disabilities http ://www.gdnonline.org/resources/GDN_GenderNote4_Abilities.pdGender Note #5 Women, Gender and Disaster Risk Communication http ://www.gdnonline.org/resources/GDN_GenderNote5_RiskCommunication.pdf Gendering Disaster Risk Reduction A Working Glossary http ://www.gdnonline.org/resources/GDN_Gendering_DRR_Glossary.pdf

Gender-sensitive Preparedness Guides also offer good background information and tools

Sexual Violence in Disasters: A Planning Guide for Prevention and Response The Louisiana Foundation Against Sexual Assault (La FASA) & the National Sexual Violence Resource Centre (NSVRC) created this guide to ensure that those planning for disaster relief and response do not forget to consider safety from sexual victimization and the importance of creating policies that could prevent it. It offers readers important information about sexual violence and disasters that will help communities to understand the connection and develop better disaster responses. It presents a range of recommendations from suggesting small changes to developing comprehensive plans, making preparations, and coordinating far-reaching policy change. Available in English and Spanish.www.nsvrc.org/.../sexual-violence-disasters-planning-guide-prevention-and-response

It Could Happen to Your Agency! Tools for change—Emergency Management for Women. During and after disasters, violence against women increases and it is more difficult for women to obtain help. This workbook helps agencies develop an emergency response plan. Developed by the Ending Violence Association of British Columbia.

http://www.nsvrc.org/.../sexual-violence-disasters-planning-guide-prevention-and-response


http://www.endingviolence.org/node/382Battered Women in Disaster: Case Study of Gendered Vulnerability Enarson, 1998, 4 pp. Transcript and related materials from on-line emergency management discussion, including a planning guidelines for shelters and planning guides for emergency management agencies http://www.emforum.org/library/980603.htm

Emergency Preparedness and Response, Publications and Materials, Centers for Disease Control Office of Women’s Health. Short, practical guides on public health emergencies with attention to women’s health conditions and concerns.http://www.cdc.gov/women/pubs/epr.htm#2006

Critical Needs In Caring For Pregnant Women During Times Of Disaster For Non-Obstetric Health Care Providers, 1 p. Centres for Disease Control. http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/pregnantdisasterhcp.asp

Climate Change

Gender, climate change and natural disasters (2008) by Tranter, Kellie http://www.sciencealert.com.au/opinions/20080502-16850-2.htmlThe article is a summary of existing knowledge on the area, including the following: More women than men die as the direct and indirect result of natural disaster Men in Sri Lanka coped better in the tsunami then women because they had been taught to swim and clim. Women trying to save their children from the tsunami in Aceh were themselves swept away while pushing children on to buildings or trees .

The text also sums up the recommendation given by four organizations and female environmental ministers to the countries at the Bali Conference and the Secretariat of the UNFCCC: Recognizes that women are powerful agents of change and that their full participation is critical in adaptation and mitigation climate policies and initiatives, and guarantee that women and gender experts participate in all decisions related to climate change; Take action in order to ensure UNFCCC compliance with human rights frameworks, international and national commitments on gender equality and equity, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Develop a gender strategy, invest in gender-specific climate change research and establish a system for the use of gender-sensitive indicators and criteria for governments to use in national

Final Report: Gender and Climate Change Workshop Dakar, 2-3 June 2008http://www.wedo.org/files/FINALReport.%20Dakar%20Workshop.%202008.pdfConclusions from the workshop were: Climate change is happening now, must take action now A holistic approach to manage climate change is needed. In many examples, entities develop policies and guidelines without coordination. Adaptation efforts should embrace a bottom-up approach. There is a gap between policy and implementation. There is a disconnection between what exists on the paper and the actual situation on the ground. Important to use clear and unified messages and avoid technical jargon. Adding the gendered dimension cannot be an excuse to further marginalize or fragment the issue. Focus must not only be on women or women’s vulnerability. A gendered approach means a rights-based approach

http://www.wedo.org/files/FINALReport.%20Dakar%20Workshop.%202008.pdf

http://www.sciencealert.com.au/opinions/20080502-16850-2.html

http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/pregnantdisasterhcp.asp

http://www.cdc.gov/women/pubs/epr.htm#2006

http://www.emforum.org/library/980603.htm

http://www.endingviolence.org/node/382


Outcomes of advocacy will include awareness-raising and education in target communities; mobilize women’s groups to take leadership on the issue of climate change and comprehensive gender-sensitive climate change policies on local and national level

Gender Equality and Adaptation by Araujo, Ariana and Andrea Quesada-Aguilar http://www.wedo.org/files/GenderEqualAdaptation.pdfWomen and children are 14 times more likely to die than men during a disaster. In the 1991 cyclone disasters which killed 140,000 in Bangladesh, 90% of victims were women (Aguilar, 2004). Similarly, in industrialized countries, more women than men died during the 2003 European heat wave. During Hurricane Katrina in the USA, African-American women who were the poorest population in that part of the country faced the greatest obstacles to survival. During the 2006 tsunami, more women died than men – for example in Indonesia and Sri Lanka, male survivors outnumber female survivors by 3 or 4 to 1 (Davis et al. 2005).

In Sri Lanka, swimming and tree climbing are taught mainly to boys, which helped them survive and cope better than women when the waves of the tsunami hit. Social prejudice keeps girls and women from learning to swim, which severely reduces their chances of survival in flooding disasters (Oxfam, 2005). Women become less mobile because they are the primary care-givers in times of disaster and environmental stress.

After a natural disaster, women are more likely to become victims of domestic and sexual violence therefore women often avoid using shelters from fear (Davis et al. , 2005). The household workload increases substantially after a disaster, which forces many girls to drop out of school to help with chores (Davis et al. , 2005). Nutritional status determines the ability to cope with the effect of natural disasters (Cannon, 2002). Women are more prone to nutritional deficiencies because of their unique nutritional needs, especially when they are pregnant or breastfeeding, and some cultures have household food hierarchies. For example, in South and Southeast Asia 45–60% of women of reproductive age are underweight and 80% of pregnant women have iron deficiencies. In sub-Saharan Africa, women carry greater loads than men, but have a lower intake of calories because the cultural norm is for men to receive more food (FAO, 2000).

Gender Perspectives on the Conventions on Biodiversity, Climate Change and Desertification by Lambrou, Yianna and Regina Laub FAO, 2004 http://www.fao.org/sd/dim_pe1/docs/pe1_041002d1_en.docThe article deals with gender and climate change in the broader sense as the impact on human security. It then presents case studies from Senegal, Ghana and Bangladesh. A case study from Bangladesh may illustrate the gender issue on this subject: a community-based cyclone preparedness program in Bangladesh has found that sites where women were not involved in village level disaster preparedness committees, responsible for maintaining cyclone shelters and transmitting warnings, made up the highest proportion of cyclone victims. In Cox’s Bazaar in east Bangladesh, where women are now fully involved in disaster preparedness and support activities (education, reproductive health, self-help groups, and small and medium enterprises), there has been a huge reduction in the numbers of women killed or affected by cyclones.”

Climate Wrongs and Human Rights Oxfam, September 2008 http://www.oxfam.org/files/bp117- climate-wrongs-and-human-rights-0809.pdf Executive Summary: http://www.oxfam.org/files/bp117-climate-wrongs-human-rights-summary-0809.pdf

http://www.oxfam.org/files/bp117-climate-wrongs-human-rights-summary-0809.pdf

http://www.oxfam.org/files/bp117-climate-wrongs-human-rights-summary-0809.pdf

http://www.oxfam.org/files/bp117-%20climate-wrongs-and-human-rights-0809.pdf

http://www.fao.org/sd/dim_pe1/docs/pe1_041002d1_en.doc

http://www.wedo.org/files/GenderEqualAdaptation.pdf


The text argues that continuing emissions from rich countries is a violation of the human rights of people in poor countries. It says that the rich world cannot use an economic argument to continue emissions, and says it is appalling to weigh off financial costs of emissions cuts to human costs of climate change among the world’s poor. It lists how the effects of climate change are in breach with human rights, and also suggests a human rights-based approach to mitigation and adaptation. A table for this is presented in the executive summary. “Safeguarding women’s rights must also be at the core of adaptation strategies. Yet a focus on women is missing from the text of the UNFCCC: gender-disaggregated data are not even required in national reporting on impacts or adaptation. Likewise, the vast majority of National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs), drawn up by the 50 LDCs, acknowledge the importance of addressing gender in adaptation, but fail to propose specific activities to ensure it happens. One exception is Malawi, which plans to build women’s resilience by digging more boreholes and planting new trees to ensure easier access to water and fuel, and by promoting micro-credit schemes so women can diversify their incomes.”

Network and link to several publications on Climate Change ReliefWeb – Humanitarian Implications of Climate Change Wide collection of articles and documents of the broader issue of climate change and humanitarian implications. It has a section on gender, of which most articles are revised in the table above. http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/hlp.nsf/db900ByKey/climate_change

Gender and Climate Change A resource more relevant to development issues.http://www.gencc.interconnection.org/resources.htm

Women Environment and Development Organization, WEDO WEDO’s mission is to empower women as decision makers to achieve economic, social and gender justice, a healthy, peaceful planet, and human rights for all.http://www.wedo.org/

GGCAGlobal Gender and Climate AllianceIs a network of 13 UN agencies and 25 civil society organizations, working together to ensure that climate change decision-making, policies and initiatives, at all levels, are gender responsive.http://www.wedo.org/category/themes/sustainable-development-themes/climatechange/ggca

GenderCC – Women for Climate JusticeWomen for Climate Justice is a global network of women and gender activists and experts from all world regions working for gender and climate justice.http://www.gendercc.net/

http://www.gendercc.net/

http://www.wedo.org/category/themes/sustainable-development-themes/climatechange/ggca

http://www.wedo.org/

http://www.gencc.interconnection.org/resources.htm

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/hlp.nsf/db900ByKey/climate_change

Aguilar, L., Araujo, A., Kring, E., Quesada, A. and Zuñiga, P. (2008). Guía: Recursos de género para el cambio climático. México: UNDP

Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC) Asian Urban Disaster Mitigation Program (AUDMP) 5th Working Group Meeting Phnom Penh, Cambodia 23-25 February, 2000http://www.adpc.net/audmp/wgm/2000/default.html

CIDA (2008) GENDER EQUALITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE Why consider gender equality when taking action on climate change? Canada

Dit; RICS (2008) Enabling Women’s Empowerment in Post Disaster Reconstruction

Development Assistance in Mozambique: Institutional Barriers and Opportunities. Policy Research Working Paper 4711.

Forum-Mulher (2007).Shadow Report: Stage of Implementation of the CEDAW in Mozambique. Maputo: Fórum da Mulher,

García, S. (1999) Algunas consideraciones sobre la protección internacional de los derechos económicos, sociales y culturales de la mujer. In: Obra colectiva Mujer y Pobreza .Centro Integral de la Mujer, el Niño y el Joven (CIM). Argentina.

Garrett, Ashley (2003) Gender Equality in Partner Countries. Swedish Agency for International Development. Stockholm:

Gender Analysis of the Plan of Action for the Reduction of Absolute Poverty 2001-2005, and Recommendations for Engendering the PARPA. Washington D.C.

GenderCC (2001) Recommendations Gender and climate change research

Government of Mozambique(2006b).Joint Review of the Government’s implementation of the poverty reduction strategy (PARPA) and of the performance of PAPs. Government of Mozambique

------------ (GoM), Programme Aid Partners (PAPs). www.pap.org.mz

------------ (2003) Plano de Accao para a Reducao da Pobreza Absoluta PARPA I, Maputo

------------ (2005)Report on the Millenium Development Goals. Maputo

------------ (2006a) Plano de Accao para a Reducao da Pobreza Absoluta 2006-2009 PARPA II, Maputo Gallina A. and Chidiamassamba C.Gender Aware Approaches in Agricultural Programmes – Mozambique Country Report A special study of the National Agricultural Development Programme (ProAgri II) UTV Working Paper 2010:6 Commissioned by Sida, Secretariat for Evaluation, May 2010http://sidapublications.citat.se/interface/stream/mabstream.asp?filetype=1&orderlistmainid=2947&printfileid=2947&filex=3952829810503

HTC (2009) Mozambique Humanitarian Country Team, Inter-Agency HCT Contingency Plan 2009/2010

IASAC (2006) Gender Handbook in Humanitarian action: o Women, Girls, Boys and Men Different Needs - Equal Opportunities

INGC Natural Calamities Management Master Plan

------------ (2010) Gender and drought baseline DRAFT

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http://www.pap.org.mz/

http://www.adpc.net/audmp/wgm/2000/default.html


INE (2008) Mulheres e Homens em Moçambique: Indicadores seleccionados de género

Jensen, Rikke Ingrid et al. (2006). Evaluation of DFID's Policy and Practice in Support of Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment. Volume 1: Synthesis Report. Copenhagen: COWI Consult.

Killick,T.; Castel-Branco,C.N. and Gerster, R. (2005). Perfect Partners? The performance of Programme Aid Partners in Mozambique, 2004.A report to the Programme Aid Partners and Government of Mozambique.www.pap.org.mz

MICOA, (2003)Mozambique Initial National Communication to the UNFCCC, Mozambique April

------------ (2005) Avaliação da vulnerabilidade as mudanças climáticas e estratégias de adaptação.MICOA. Maputo.

------------ (2007) DIRECÇÃO NACIONAL DE GESTÃO AMBIENTAL Programa de Acção Nacional para a Adaptação Às Mudanças Climáticas (NAPA)MICOA. Maputo.

------------ (2010) Estrategia de Genero, Ambiente e Mudancas Climáticas. MICOA. Maputo.

Mikkelsen, Britha (2002).Mainstreaming Gender Equality: SIDA's Support for the Promotion of gender equality Stockholm

Mozambique Humanitarian Country Team Inter-Agency HCT Contingency Plan 2009/2010Final

National Directorate of Studies and Policy Analysis Ministry of Planning and Development (2010) Poverty and wellbeing in Mozambique :THIRD NATIONAL POVERTY ASSESSMENT

Programa Quinquenal do Governo para 2010-2014

Pincha CH.(2008) Gender Sensitive Disaster management: a toolkit for practitionists. published by Earthworm Books for Oxfam America and NANBAN Trust

------------ (2008) Indian Ocean Tsunami through The Gender Lens: Insights from Tamil Nadu, India Oxfam America & NANBAN Trust Mumbai

------------ (2009) Participation women community based DRR. CARE India

Política do genero (2007) Mozambique

Ribeiro Natasha and Chaúque Aniceto (2009)Gender and Climate change: Mozambique Case Study, Henrich Boll Stiftung S.

Republic of Mozambique Action Plan for the Reduction of Absolute Poverty 2006-2009(PARPA II)Final Version Approved by the Council of Ministers on May 2, 2006Maputo May 2, 2006

Sietz, D.; Boschütz, M.; Klei, R.J.T. and Lotsch, A.(2008). Mainstreaming Climate Adaptation

UNDP (2010) Gender sensitive community adaptation

UNFPA (2006). Igualdade de Género e Empoderamento da Mulher em Moçambique. Maputo: United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA),

United Nations Country Team. Mozambique Delivery as One.(2007) Strengthening Disaster risk Reduction and Emergency Preparedness

http://www.pap.org.mz/


UNISDR (2004), Living with Risk: A global review of disaster reduction initiatives (Geneva: UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction)

------------ (2007) Gender Perspective: Working Together for Disaster Risk Reduction. Geneva http://www.unisdr.org/eng/about_isdr/isdr-publications/09-gender-good-practices/gender-good-practices.pdAfrica

------------ (2008) Gender perspectives Integrating DRR CC good practices. Geneva

------------ (2009) Making DRR gender sensitive. Geneva

------------ (2010 )Local Governments and Disaster Risk Reduction Good Practices and Lessons Learned A contribution to the “Making Cities Resilient” Campaign Geneva, Switzerland, March 2010 http://www.preventionweb.net/files/13627_LocalGovernmentsandDisasterRiskRedu.pdf

UNISDR, UNDP and IUCN. Making Disaster Risk Reduction Gender-Sensitive Policy and Practical Guidelines, Geneva, Switzerland, June 2009.

UN Commission on the Status of Women. Report on the 52nd Session, 25 February - 7 and 13 March 2008; E/CN.6/2008/11,

WEDO UNFPA (2009) Resource Kit Climate Change Connections: Gender Population and Climate Change

Yodmani Suvit, Disaster Risk Management and Vulnerability Reduction: Protecting the Poor Paper Presented at the Asia and Pacific Forum on Poverty Organized by the Asian Development Bank

http://www.preventionweb.net/files/13627_LocalGovernmentsandDisasterRiskRedu.pdf

http://www.unisdr.org/eng/about_isdr/isdr-publications/09-gender-good-practices/gender-good-practices.pdAfrica

http://www.unisdr.org/eng/about_isdr/isdr-publications/09-gender-good-practices/gender-good-practices.pdAfrica

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