NAIROBI (Kenya) (Bernama) -- Women have unique knowledge and responsibilities in the sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity and are agents of transformational change.
However, women's dependency on healthy ecosystems to feed their families has resulted in them being heavily affected by environmental degradation, biodiversity loss and climate change as well as disasters like flooding.
Women’s lives have been closely intertwined with the biodiversity around them and also influence aspects of food security, livelihoods and health of their households and their communities and through that, the world. --fotoBERNAMA (2022) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Several women activists who participated in the recent United Nations (UN) Convention on Biological Diversity’s Fourth Meeting of the Open-ended Working Group on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework expressed their frustration over the lack of women’s representation in biodiversity decision-making processes.
The meeting, hosted by the UN Environment Programme in Nairobi and held here from June 21-26, saw a total of 1,634 participants from 196 countries, including Malaysia, discussing the best plans and a post-2020 framework to save the planet’s shrinking biodiversity.
The Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) contains 21 key action-oriented targets en route to "living in harmony with nature" by 2050.
The GBF, which will be the focus of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to be held in Canada later this year, would guide biodiversity policies and programmes of all participating nations for the next 30 years.
"It is 2022 and we are still having to justify how women and biodiversity are related and why we need to have a gender-transformative framework and actionable points in international and national forums,” Women's Caucus at the CBD member Shruti Ajit said during a press conference at the UN office here.
"Women’s lives have been closely intertwined with the biodiversity around them and also influence aspects of food security, livelihoods and health of their households and their communities and through that, the world.
"Therefore, a specific target (referred to as Target 22) related to gender equality should be highlighted in this framework (Post-2020 GBF) to recognise women's rights to be equal landholders and accessibility in biodiversity."
ROLE OF WOMEN IN BIODIVERSITY
Women 4Biodiversity director, Mrinalini Rai (middle) in a meet-up session with media at UN Office Nairobi. Photo credit Earth Journalism Network
Target 22, a standalone target for gender equality, was first proposed at a session in Geneva in March 2022, and agreed to by 13 parties to the CBD, including Costa Rica, Chile, Guatemala and Tanzania, along with several non-governmental organisations. At the Nairobi session, the number of parties agreeing to Target 22 increased to 22.
Women4Biodiversity director Mrinalini Rai said women are true biodiversity warriors whose myriad contributions are vital for conservationism and environmental protection.
Taking agriculture as an example, she said that generally men are known to be dominant in that sector; however, mapping work done by Women4Biodiversity led to the discovery that women are actually more knowledgeable in terms of land territory, water resources, seeds and herbs.
"You have a vision of a farmer, what comes to your mind? Of course, men who actually earn and work on the farm most of the time.
"But the knowledge about seed handling, land territory, how and where to find food, firewood and water resources, women are better at this," she told the media.
A group of indigenous women from Kampung Bering, Gua Musang managed their farm during Bernama’s visit to the village, recently. Photo credit Soon Li Wei.
Rai, who is also chair of the Women's Caucus at the CBD, said women have been key biodiversity custodians but their rights, innovation, knowledge and practices have been neglected.
"A lot of economic jobs prioritise women because of their capacity for hard work and knowledge. However, they are also prone to gender-based violence, which is not only a human rights violation but also a barrier to conservation and sustainable development activities.
"This is why we need to push for a new specific target on gender equality (Target 22) during this Post-2020 GBF to recognise women's contributions and to protect our rights in biodiversity," she added.
Rai said the proposed Target 22 is to ensure equitable access to and benefits from conservation and sustainable development for women and girls, as well as their informed and effective participation in policy and decision-making related to biodiversity.
"A gender-specific target would serve to guide all biodiversity-related planning, policies and implementation with a gender lens that would ensure the full realisation of the GBF.
"It would drive action towards gender equality priorities and would ensure that countries consider this target in their planning, monitoring and reporting processes," she said.
LACK OF DOCUMENTATION
Lots of women activists expressed their frustration over the lack of women’s representation in biodiversity decision-making processes. Photo credit Earth Journalism Network
Meanwhile, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) International Global Governance Policy coordinator Cristina Eghenter said among the challenges faced by women activists and the working group in pushing for gender equality is the lack of documentation to support the motion in GBF.
"In fact, not many policymakers are aware of it. For example, women in rural economies make up close to 50 percent of the world's agricultural labour force and contribute to world food security. Yet they have less representation among the world's landholders and have far less access to finances," she said.
International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity and Nia Tero activist Jennifer Tauli Corpuz agreed that there is a need to come up with a specific target for gender equality.
"As of now, only Target 21 mentions women's role in the GBF, besides emphasising (role played by) indigenous people and therefore, it will be more helpful to have a standalone target for gender equality,” she said, adding that she hoped the new target will be taken up for adoption in COP15 (15th Conference of Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity).
COP15 is scheduled to take place in Montreal, Canada, from Dec 5-17.
(The writer, Bernama reporter Soon Li Wei, was part of a reporting fellowship to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity’s Fourth Meeting of the Open-ended Working Group on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, led by Internews' Earth Journalism Network.)
Edited by Rema Nambiar
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