Report calls for gender-based perspective in climate change action

(MENAFN- Jordan Times)

AMMAN — Women are more affected by extreme weather conditions, according to UNDP's Gender Equality and Climate Change in Jordan Exploratory Analysis.

The analysis, launched in March, is the“first report of its kind” addressing climate impacts on women in several sectors in Jordan, according to UNDP.

The outputs of the analysis include public policies, executive technical programmes and institutional frameworks to identify the gender gap in climate action, opportunities and benefits, UNDP stated.

According to the analysis, Jordanian women and girls are more vulnerable to the risks of climate change. However, Jordan recognises the importance and the value of integrating a gender-based perspective in climate change action.

The analysis said that Jordan was the“first country in the region” to integrate a gender equality perspective in its National Climate Change Policy, which is in line with the National Strategy for Jordanian Women (2020-2025) and the Gender Mainstreaming Policy adopted by the government in 2020.

The analysis showed that a female-headed household's average annual income is approximately JD9,500, while a male-headed household's average income was estimated at JD1,1500 in 2017.

In the analysis, women (especially those living in rural areas), recognised and spoke of how water shortages are affecting the farming seasons, as the change in temperature affects crops.

Forty-nine per cent of women surveyed working in farms reported receiving similar wages to those of the men, while 29 per cent of surveyed women reported that they received lower wages than men, the analysis stated.

Women interviewed for the survey suggested local solutions for their problems such as using organic waste to feed livestock and as fertiliser, re-using water from kitchen basins and using an environmentally friendly pesticide made from a mixture of herbs.

Najd Al Muhaithif, Gender Specialist at UNDP Jordan, said that one of the challenges UNDP faced while conducting the research analysis was access to data, as they relied heavily on global evidence for the impact of climate change on women.

According to Muhaithif, it is“significantly difficult” in Jordan for women specifically to access resources.

“We need to engage women and acknowledge their experiences and voices from a strategic perspective, especially when developing working plans or strategies, to ensure women are consulted in all levels and to have a gender-enabling environment,” Muhaithif told The Jordan Times during an interview.

According to Muhaithif, UNDP's project“Enhancing Women Participation in the Solid Waste Management Sector in Jordan” aims to improve the socioeconomic empowerment, well-being and stability of rural women in Northern Jordan, especially in the Solid Waste Management (SWM) sector.

“UNDP created a SWM facility, managed and run by women of the local community, which received backlash at the beginning. We aim to replicate that work and ensure that women are engaged as leaders in addressing climate change not just as beneficiaries,” she added.

Muhaithif noted that the majority of rural women work in the informal sector, which automatically gives them no protection.

“Climate change is not gender neutral and neither should our response be. Climate change exacerbates inequalities, and therefore, we need to be responsive to address gender inequalities and develop more gender analyses as they are essential to understand the gender dimension in climate change,” Muhaithif said.

Nedal Al Ouran, head of Environment, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction at UNDP Jordan indicated that efforts are made not only in Jordan but also globally to consider the impact of climate change on development sectors, but there is still limited understanding of the social impact of climate change.

“The size and intensity/severity of these impacts are different from one community to another and among social components, particularly among gender,” Ouran told The Jordan Times.

Through the partnership with Jordan National institutions, UNDP continues to develop corporation frameworks to implement joint programmes to empower women and ensure their engagement in all economic, social, political and environmental agendas in general and in climate action in particular, Ouran said.

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