In conversations about climate change, gender is not always considered.
In February 2018, the Government of the Republic of Fiji and the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) Global Network co-hosted workshops to emphasize why gender needs to be integrated into climate change planning and action.
Angie Dazé from the International Institute for Sustainable Development and Maritza Ivonne Yupanqui ValderramaDirector General of Peru’s Department of Gender Mainstreaming from the Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populationsat down to talk about integrating gender into NAP processes.
Angie Dazé (AD): Ivonne, thank you so much for sharing Peru’s experience with us today. First of all, why do you think it’s important to integrate gender considerations into the NAP process?
Ivonne Yupanqui Valderrama (IV): I want to start by saying that gender mainstreaming is crucial for climate change adaptation, and we need to hear women’s voices. Women have important proposals to make and we just have to be ready to listen and hear.
Gender is not only about a community of women, but it’s also about considering the differences between men and women. We also heard this morning that climate change affects women, men, boys and girls differently. We need to understand these effects so we can help the different groups to adapt.
For example, women are characteristically the guardians of ancestral knowledge and we need to consider it, as it plays a preponderant role in adaptation to climate change. In Peru, we have more than 47 native languages, and women are typically the guardians of that knowledge. Mostly men are the ones who speak Spanish, not the women. So when you send someone into communities to talk about climate change or adaptation, and it’s already difficult to talk about gender mainstreaming in adaptation, it will be even more difficult to find someone who speaks their native language and that would be able to communicate with women and consider ancestral knowledge.
The sexual division of labour needs to be considered also, among other aspects. Men, for the majority, go into town or the urban centres to workbut if you have an activity that is dominated by men (like fishing), you have to ask Where are the women? Because perhaps they are not going fishing, but maybe they are selling the fish in their communities or taking care of the children. These issues play a role in adaptation planning, and I think this is important to remember when we are pursuing our NAP processes.
IISD