Both ENDS

Both ENDS offers a wide range of services to NGOs in Africa, Latin America, Asia and Central and Eastern Europe, who are working in the field of environment, development and social justice.

Our standard information service includes Information packs on a wide range of topical environment issues . These packs have been written mainly for Southern NGOs. They are to enable (beginner) environmental organisations to get familiarized with an important environmental subject in a short period of time.

We are making an effort to regularly update the information included in these packs. But since people and developments are moving fast, we will inevitably lag behind somewhat.

The information presented is meant as an introduction. If you require more specific information, please feel free to contact us.

You can download the information packs from our Website or you can request an e-mail printed version.

We welcome any suggestions or comments which help improve this information pack.

This activity has been made possible thanks to the financial support of the Dutch Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and Environment (VROM).

GENDER, ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT

Introduction

The subject Gender, Environment and Development is shortly introduced in this information package. Several aspects will be described and practically illustrated through case studies. The paper concludes in listing several organisations in the North and South. These organisations can provide further information and can act as a platform for exploring the field of Gender Environment and Development.

'Gender, Environment and Development' (GED) has become an area of special interest within the world of development. But what does it really mean and how are these three elements connected? And why is it that, while the relation between the three elements is commonly recognised, 'gender and development' and 'environment and development' have developed independently in policy and planning, rather than interconnected? In answering these questions it is necessary to make a brief historical overview of how GED became this area of special interest.

In the early '70s the concept of Women in Development (WID) was introduced. In the '50s and '60s the economic role of women was mainly seen as a reproductive one and as housewives and bearers and rearers of children. Their productive role in agriculture was neglected. The recognition of women's contribution to economic development, first became institutionalised in the separate sections, departments and project components within donor countries. By the mid- '70s, Women in Development had started to become a more or less respected area of study. In 1976 the UN declared a decade for Women, which enhanced more activities around women and development. The number of publications on women and development topics has steadily increased ever since.

Since the late '80s a transition from WID to Gender and Development has taken place. The WID approach is associated with the concern to increase women's participation and benefits and the recognition of women as a human resource for development.

Gender and Development represents a transition that includes the concepts of WID to 'not only integrate women into development’, but looks further to the potential that development initiatives can have in transforming unequal social/gender relations and their ability to empower women, by strengthening and extending the power base of women.

At the same time, since the early '70s, the environment has slowly become an issue in international development policy, followed in the '80s by the recognition that environmental problems affect women in very specific ways. Especially in the areas related to water, sanitation, energy and health, areas where women have often played an important role.

Conceptualisation

To understand the concepts of Gender, Environment and Development and the way in which they are interrelated it is first necessary to describe the three concepts separately:

The concept gender has broad application and is not easy to understand. Gender refers to the specific rules and roles that society assigns to men and women. Our societal and culturalsurrounds construct our attitudes, customs and values. We learn from role models in our lives who help to shape our gender identity. The word gender is sometimes used indiscriminately to describe different things at different times. Sometimes it is used to mean ‘women’ , sometimes ‘sex’ and sometimes more precisely referring not to men and women, but to the relationship between them and to the way in which the roles of women and men, girls and boys are socially constructed (UNSO, 1997).

A very general definition of environment is: the perception of the interdependence of living creatures (human and non-human) and their natural habitat (Hombergh 1993). The environment is constantly changing due to several factors, a major factor beingthe activities of humans. Man uses the environment for the purpose of agriculture, building cities, mining etc., which in many cases undermines other values and uses of the same environment.

“Development, in general, refers to the economic and socio-political and cultural processes of change in human societies” (Schrijvers quoted by Hombergh 1993). However, the term development is often used to mean economic development: the transition from poverty to wealth. “In this way it has a negative connotation for GED, because economic development often has meant impoverishment of the majority in Southern countries, women in particular, and unsustainable exploitation of the natural resource base” (Hombergh 1993).

The concept of sustainable development was given a strong impulse by the Bruntland report (WCED 1987). The term sustainable development refers to ecological, social and political dimensions, alongside the economic dimension of development. However there is still a lot of disagreement about how the concept of sustainable development has to be explained and introduced in development policy.

According to Hombergh (1993) gender, environment and development are closely connected by several interrelated factors. Two of these are further explained:

ad 1) The sexual division of labour means, as mentioned above, that men and women have different tasks within a society. Women often have the main responsibility for sustaining the family. This means that women have a diversity of tasks which are related to natural resources, for example women in rural areas collect firewood, fodder, and water and last but not least, contribute in agricultural activities, for subsistence and cash income. Men are often more involved in cultivating cash crops and other income generating activities. It is clear that the above mentioned activities are strongly related with the environment. Changes in the environment affect women and men differently. For instance: Finding firewood in a populated area is hard work. The relation with development may be clear as well: When the agriculture becomes more industrialised, tasks within the agricultural sector change. In many cases women become less involved in the production, thus losing part of the responsibility and right of income from the crops.

ad 2) “Feminisation of poverty implies that the world-wide crisis of environment and development, combined with the male bias in development policies and cooperation, have caused the relatively stronger impoverishment among women” (Hombergh 1993). Because of the international economic situation in the 1980s an increasing number of women became the providers of family subsistence, while men often migrated in search of employment. In these so-called Female Headed Households women are the ones who depend directly on natural resources and have a great knowledge of the environment, but without having the decision-making power over the utilisation of resources. This is due to the dominant gender ideology which defines women in a subordinate position. In urban areas, women are often involved in small scale, informal activities, which bring in little money, while the men are more likely to find income in a regularly paid job.

Many development planners who work as managers with the concept of sustainable development, consider women as the central managers. This implies that women have control over the natural resources, which is often not the case. In this way the values of 'environment and development' are often not mutual to the values of 'women and development'.

For example the institution of national parks as a way to conserve ecosystems. Many people who used to make a living on their traditional grounds are not allowed to do this anymore. As the activities of the households around the national park are not taken into account, the women have to go elsewhere to collect firewood, water or fodder, thus increasing their workload.

It can be said that if you strive for sustainable development according to the description above, it is necessary to take the environment and the gender situation into account.

There are three essential elements in gender awareness: first the recognition that men and women have different and special needs; second that women are a disadvantaged group, relative to men, in terms of their level of welfare and access and control over the factors of production; third that women's development entails working towards increased equality and empowerment for women, relative to men. (Sara Hlupekile Longwe, 1991).

Although women in developing countries don't have the (political) control over the natural resources they are often the daily managers of the living environment. As farmers and traders they suffer most directly from environmental problems. The following examples show how the three 'elements': gender, environment and development are closely related within some major sectors like water and sanitation, forest resources, rural environment and urban environment.

Clean water and sanitation are prerequisites for human health and survival. Millions of people suffer from the lack of safe water. The availability of safe drinking water is affected by environmental degradation. Water becomes polluted through faecal contamination of humans and animals, by household waste, by industry, by draining illegal toxins, etc. Not only the availability of safe water, but also the quantity of water is affected by overpopulation, erosion and deforestation.

In many communities in the developing world, the responsibility for fetching water, storing and using it for family and community health and nutrition is with the women of the household. If there is shortage of water they have to walk longer distances, or use water of lower quality. Both alternatives affect the time and energy left for other activities and the capacity to maintain themselves and their families in a healthy way. Further the women are responsible for cleaning in and around the house and the management of waste disposal, which is often just outside the house, since sanitation is often not available or not reliable.

In the past, water and sanitation projects were only seen as technical projects which needed good hardware. In the 80s more attention was given to the participation of the community and especially the participation of women. Nowadays it's preferred to speak about gender issues, because problems of water and sanitation not only affect women, but men and children as well. It is a misconception to think that women only have domestic roles and men are in charge of the public domain. Problems of water and sanitation are always a complex of different factors which are related as demonstrated by the next example:

GAZA

In the Gaza one million people live on a piece of land of forty by nine kilometres. Overpopulation, drought, lack of water and a lot of waste are severe problems. People depend completely on rain-water for irrigation and drinking water. Every year the shortage of water becomes worse. The most tangible

problem however is the lack of places to dispose waste, industrial as well as household waste. As the Gaza never was supposed to be a permanent residence for these people, it has never invested in a sewerage system. Garbage is turned into the streets and taken away by refuse-carts to municipal garbage dumps. Some garbage dumps are nearby water wells and contaminate them. Furthermore, a major part of the waste stays in the streets and on illegal garbage dumps in the neighbourhoods, which are threatening the health of (especially) the children. Sometimes there is an outbreak of cholera.

To resolve these problems, a brigade consisting of twelve women has been set up by the municipality. Its main activities consists of paying visits to families and listening to what people think of their environment, to explain the local government policies. Furthermore, they try to stimulate the people to solve the garbage problem within the community, instead of waiting for initiatives from the municipality. The brigade promotes cleanliness through the word of Islam in the mosques.

Women are really important in this project regarding awareness about garbage and cleanliness in the neighbourhoods.

Part of the project is also the supply of containers where people have to dump their garbage. However, for a lot of women it is considered shameful to walk with garbage in the streets, so they prefer to put it nearby their houses. This problem shows that cultural or social ideas about what women can't and can do have a lot of influence on the solution of environmental problems.

source: Internationale Samenwerking 9-1995

Forests are the lungs of the world and keep the global climate balanced. Apart from the global importance, plants, bushes and trees provide people at local level with food, fuel, fodder, construction material and medicinal products. Furthermore, the forests control erosion of the soil, improve fertility of the soil, give people shade, shelter against wind and protection from the rain. They also regulate the availability of water.

Forest resources are increasingly being threatened by numerous factors of which commercial logging, competition for land from the growing population, intensive agricultural production and cattle breeding are some important ones.

Deforestation has a strong impact on the local population. It means that men and women have to make longer trips searching for food, fuel-wood, wildlife, fodder and water. As in agriculture, men and women have different but complementary tasks, knowledge and responsibilities in forestry. Usually women collect fuel-wood, nuts, fruits and medicinal plants in the woods and take care of the trees around the house. Men are mostly responsible for construction materials and more commercial forestry activities.

National governments rarely recognise the importance of forests for local women, men and children. They only focus on the commercial benefits of forest resources. This leads to a growing number of conflicts about forest resources, which are often a product of opposing interests.

HONDURAS

In Honduras for example, certain areas were zoned by the government as areas for commercial logging while a national department zoned the same areas to be protected areas through local participation.
An additional problem was the fact that property rights of land and of trees were opposing; land can be private, communal or state-owned, but the trees are always property of the national government.

Even when development projects are focusing on reforestation, they only focus on commercial interest of reforestation and forget other utilities of forest resources, which are important to the survival of human beings.

Another point of interest is that needs of men and women concerning forestry resources can be opposite. Trees which can give men an income, can reduce subsistence farming of women.

To guarantee that the needs of both men and women are regarded in development projects it is very important to involve both of them in the design and implementation of the project. Women have to be asked about their preferences for certain species and for what kind of use they need them. Women do have a lot of knowledge about their environment which is often neglected and which should be used more in striving for sustainable development.

A large part of the world population (still) lives in rural areas and depends on agricultural activities. Male and female farmers cultivate land for their living and earning. However this is increasingly difficult due to the exhaustion of the soil by factors like overpopulation, less access to water, the use of modern techniques such as pesticides and fertilisers.

In agriculture, tasks are gender specific. Men often produce cash crops while women are important producers of the food supply for their own households. Unfortunately the role of women in agriculture is often neglected. Statistics show percentages of economic production in general, they don't reflect the contribution of women in these agricultural activities. Studies have shown that women in developing countries are often the backbone of the rural food system. They produce, process and store food, and purchase it when necessary and income is adequate. The United Nations estimates that women's share in family food production is 80% in Africa, 60% in Asia and the Pacific and 40% in Latin America.

The introduction of new agricultural methods has had negative effects on women in the South by changing the traditional gender system. Looking at the division of labour between men and women: The change from cultivation of food crops to cash crops in many areas has meant that women have had to weed and harvest cash crops as well as continue to cultivate food crops, which put a bigger burden on the activities of women. In other cases as Boserup (1970) mentions, herbicides, have overtaken women's role in weeding traditional crops and newly introduced high yield varieties took away women’s traditional role in seed selection, thus reducing their importance in decision-making in their society. With the use of modern technology, men not only became increasingly engaged in commodity production for export but also took over women's traditional tasks and in some cases sources of income.

Studies, conducted in Latin America over the past decade, show that the marginalisation of women in agriculture is mainly caused by limited access to production resources (land, credit, technology, technical assistance) and it is seen as a big obstacle to equal opportunities for men and women in agriculture. Women for example, profit less then men from credit facilities. In Latin America only 7 to 11% of the participants in credit programs are women (Human Development Report 1995).

However in many countries nowadays women’s organisations have been introduced and policy makers have become increasingly aware of the role of women as food and cash crop producers.

Urban Environment

In the ‘environment and development’ debate there is a strong emphasis on rural problems . But, all over the world a process of urbanisation is taking place, and urban environmental problems are becoming more severe. The lack of food and income generating possibilities in the rural areas have caused a growing number of people to migrate to urban centres.

The growing cities are facing a lot of problems. There is a shortage of land to provide proper housing for everybody. The poorer people are forced to build their houses illegally in areas far from the centre or in areas which are not suitable for placing houses, for example steep hills. Furthermore, the construction of the houses is often not very solid. The houses are most of the time overcrowded by the high number of family members. The areas where the slums are being built often lack the most basic facilities, such as drinking water, proper sanitation and the disposal of solid waste. The lack of facilities causes a lot of health problems for the inhabitants of the slums. Also schools, clinics and child care centres are not sufficiently available or inadequate.

Another problem faced in the urban areas is the high level of pollution caused by a concentration of industries. In many countries no strict regulations exist for the establishment of factories, so in many cities the increasing problem of air, water and soil pollution are alarming.

These urban environmental problems are differently felt by men and women. Especially among the poorer part of the population, women are most hit by urban environmental problems. The division of labour is similar to rural areas with women carrying the responsibility of finding suitable drinking water and taking care of the household waste.

In order to improve the situation of their neighbourhood, communities are forming groups which strive for better basic facilities, income generating activities, environmental education projects, waste recycling initiatives and start action campaigns against polluting industries. Often women are the initiators of these initiatives, as they are the first to face the consequences of the problems.

The women of Chorotega, San José in Costa Rica

Waste is one of the biggest problems in the Chorotega region and the women in the neighbourhood have decided to undertake action in order to improve their living situation. Doña Martha, the president of the local women's organisation says: " The waste is everywhere in the street and causes a lot of problems. It attracts a lot of flies and other vermin which causes illness to the people. The horrible smell is not bearable, in particular when it is warm. On some spots people dump their waste in the river where we usually collect our water. Drinking this water is not safe anymore".
Doña Martha also tells: " It seems like the local government does not care about the fact that we are living among the rubbish. They don’t do anything to improve this. Therefore our group raised the idea to set up a waste recycling centre". Such a centre could be a solution for the waste problem, and at the same time a possibility to gain some extra income for their families.
In cooperation with the Women's Collective Pancha Carrasco, an organisation that aims to support local women's groups, this idea was elaborated further. It was agreed to gather the waste from Chorotega and other quarters in the surroundings. The materials that can be recycled like paper, glass, metal, organic material and plastic will be separated and sold to recycling companies. The rest of the waste will be dumped on the local rubbish-dump.
All the women were enthusiastic and have discussed the idea with the local government. They fully supported the plan and have promised that they will help to gather the waste which they will transport from and to the waste recycling centre in Chorotega.
Unfortunately, the plan is stagnant now due to a small group of people who are afraid that the centre will cause annoyance of bad smell and vermin in the surrounding areas. They also fear that the nearby water source will get contaminated. Doña Martha says that she will try to come to a shared solution and will continue her activities to improve their quarter.

This is one of the many examples of women who struggle for improvements in their urban environment. NGOs often fulfil an important role in supporting these local initiatives by the provision of technical assistance and capacity-building on lobby-efforts. This support is very important because changes on local level can only take place when they coincide with changes on policy level.

Also, it should be taken into consideration that women and men in urban areas have different interests in the quality of their living environment just as in rural areas. In the search for solutions to the problems of housing, basic facilities, infrastructure, pollution and employment facilities, both women and men should be involved. Women and men should both be part of the planning and execution process of local policies in urban areas. Only then can the cities be a liveable environment for all their residents.

GED in international policy

Introduction

As gender became acknowledged as an important factor in development and environmental issues, it reached the agendas of international conferences. And in women’s conferences, development and environment became important subjects of discussion.

UNCED1992

The big conference in Rio in 1992, UNCED (United Nations Conference on Environment and Development) was the first environment & development conference where gender issues were on the agenda. The result of a well-organised international women's lobby was that women were mentioned in the final document Agenda 21 (world-wide action plan for sustainable development) as one of the major groups that should participate in decision-making about environmental policies. There was a specific mention of women's rights and conditions, especially in the chapters on land use, technology transfer and conditions. It was stated that gender perspectives should be integrated systematically into policies on environment.

Unfortunately it was not mentioned how women's participation could be ensured by UNCED and the governments attending. Nor was it mentioned who will gain from women's participation in sustainable development. Women's labour is still largely unpaid labour, and together with the earth's natural resources it forms the basis of the present economic growth model.

Beijing 1995

The declaration (Platform for Action) of the fourth women's conference in Beijing does contain important language on environmental issues and endorses the principles of Agenda 21.

The report analyses that the continuing deterioration of the environment is affecting human beings and especially women. They are threatened by pollution, deforestation, desertification, drought and exhaustion of the soil. It is increasingly recognised that these changes affect particularly the health of women. Women in the countryside and indigenous women depend directly on sustainable ecosystems. Equal access for women, in the agricultural sector, to education, land, natural and productive resources, credits and development programs can help them to participate actively in the realisation of sustainable development.

Poverty and deterioration of the environment are closely related. Deterioration of the environment causes poverty just as poverty places strong pressure on the environment. However the major cause of continued deterioration of the global environment are the non-sustainable consumption and production patterns, particularly in industrialised countries. Especially in these areas women can exercise great influence in changing these systems.

The report stresses the advancement and empowerment of women all over the world. It identifies three strategic objectives, that concern the environment:

2) to ensure integration of gender concerns and perspectives in policies and programmes

3) to establish or strengthen mechanisms at the national, regional and international levels to

Still the Platform for Action didn't add much to Agenda 21 and some major environmental problems like the transportation of illegal toxic and hazardous waste, or the development of a code of conduct for multinational corporations were not considered as particularly 'women's issues'.

Nevertheless Beijing offered a discussion platform and an initiative to develop international networks which will be important regarding the discussions and implementation of policies concerning the relation between women, environment and development.

POLICY INITIATIVES: AN EXAMPLE

An important contribution to sustainable development are the treaties signed in 1994 between the Netherlands and Costa Rica, Bhutan and Benin. These countries want to stimulate sustainable development on a reciprocal and equal base, the idea is that countries from the North and South can learn from each other. The treaties concentrate on sustainable agriculture, control of natural resources (biodiversity and eco-tourism), industry/energy, urban development and waste-problems. All these aspects will be seen within their economic, ecological and social context, a so-called integrated approach to sustainable solutions. For example in Costa Rica more than 400 organisations and social groups are involved. This results in very different projects varying from support of the indigenous population in the South of Costa Rica; the protection of the environment and support of poor groups in the region of Heredia. The treaties are recently evaluated. Women from these countries met each other in separate meetings during the international women's conference in Beijing in 1995 and in New York in 2000. There are also regular exchanges between women’s organisations from both countries. Women from Costa Rica and the Netherlands have made a report on ‘women's say’ in local government.

Following is a list of organisations which can give more information on GED, or form a network to offer more support on this subject.

Between Costa Rica, Bhutan, Benin have signed a sustainable development agreement with the Netherlands. The foundation Eco-operation is commissioned with facilitating further elaboration and imlementation of the contracts. In 2001, an evaluation report on the treaties is available from Eco-operation.

The International Women's Tribune Centre (IWTC) is an international non-governmental organisation set up in response to demands for information and resources from many of the more than 8,000 women who participated in the United Nations International Women's Year (IWY) World Conference and the non-governmental IWY Tribune in Mexico City, 1975. For the last 20 years, IWTC has played an important role as a major information, education, communication, networking, technical assistance and training resource for women world-wide. Today, IWTC continues as a networking and information clearinghouse for some 25,000 women and women's groups in Africa, Asia/Pacific, Latin America/Caribbean and the Middle East. They publish The Tribune, IWTC's newsletter on women and development issues and regular newsletters via email and practical manuals and community action guides. Furthermore, they have formed Women Ink., marketing and disseminating women and development materials from a wide variety of women authors and publishers. With an emphasis on publications produced and published by women in the Global South.

UNIFEM promotes women's empowerment and gender equality. It works to ensure the participation of women in all levels of development planning and practice and acts as a catalyst within the UN system, supporting efforts that link the needs and concerns of women to all critical issues on national, regional and global agendas. UNIFEM focuses its work at the country level within the context of the United Nations Resident Coordinator System. Playing a strong advocacy role, the Fund concentrates on fostering a multilateral policy dialogue on women's empowerment.

UNIFEM is represented at the regional and country level by its 12 Regional Programme Advisors (RPAs). They are the front-line of contact between UNIFEM and its partners and clients. The RPAs develop and oversee UNIFEM's projects in their regions and identify trends and issues affecting women in the region as a basis for new programming directions.

WorldWIDE Network was founded to enable women at all levels of society to increase their participation in protecting the environment and managing natural resources. WorldWIDE Network’s goals are to: establish a world-wide network of women concerned about environmental management and protection; educate the public and policy makers about the vital links between women, natural resources and sustainable development; promote the inclusion of women and their environmental perceptions in designing and implementing policies and mobilise and support women, both individually and in organisations in environmental and natural resource programs. WorldWIDE Network encourages women from all walks of life to share information and help create solutions for environmental problems.

WEDO is a non-profit educational organisation. WEDO aims "to foster women's leadership and advocacy skills to transform women's concerns about the environment, development, population and gender equity into actions, programs and policies in countries around the world". WEDO organises campaigns around international meetings and supports local capacity-building activities. It passes on information via its internet site and has a newsletter, News and Views.

WEN has a history of successful action and public information campaigns, often breaking new ground and exploring hidden issues. WEN has campaigned on chlorine free paper, sanitary protection, wasteful packaging, dioxins, nappies, and pesticides in chocolate. WEN offers support and guidance on how to take positive, practical action at home and in your local community.

WIDE is a European network of gender specialists, women active in NGDOs, and human rights activists. It was formed in 1985 in response to the Forward-Looking Strategies developed at the Third UN World Conference on Women in Nairobi. The vision of WIDE is to strive for a world based on gender equality and justice which ensures equal treatment and political participation of women and men. The mission of WIDE is to articulate the relevance of the principles of gender equality and justice to the development process through research, documentation, information dissemination, economic empowerment, capacity building and advocacy, networking, and the organisation of conferences.

The Society for International Development (SID) is a unique global network of individuals and institutions concerned with development which is participatory, pluralistic and sustainable.

ELCI-WEDNET (The Women's Network of the Environment Liaison Centre International)

REDEH is an NGO which has the mandate to promote gender perspective on health and environmental issues. It was created in 1986 by a group of professional health activists. In conjunction with other organisations, REDEH has been developing new methodologies and projects for building alternatives for a better common future. REDEH publishes a quarterly newsletter GENte and books that bring the perspectives of women on global issues. REDEH together with CEMINA has set up a documentation centre named PAGU.

DAWN consists of a group of women researchers, activists and policy makers world-wide. The group acts as a catalyst in development efforts at the international level with a view to proposing and implementing new alternatives for the future through influencing policy changes, research and community action. These efforts also advocate women’s full participation in the decision making process in order to assure that new alternative development programmes are actually implemented and fulfil women’s demands. DAWN’s activities stimulate cross cultural comparative research at the national , regional and international levels, on the following issues: food, energy and the debt crisis in relation to women and women’s visions and movements.

The group also facilitates communications and networking among Third World Women’s groups, including publications and the use of all available media. The group operates mainly as a network and catalyst rather than as a membership organisation.

WECF brings together organisations, expertise and initiatives from different parts of Europe in joint projects on health, the environment and sustainability. WECF was established in 1992 during the UNCED Earth Summit in Rio by women from European organisations who participated in the successful women's lobby on Agenda 21.

WECF activities include: 1) Developing Action Plans from a gender perspective on sustainable development; 2) Publications on women, the environment and sustainable development; 3) Workshops, skill sharing and symposia; 4) Networking; 5) Fund raising for partner organisations in Europe and Newly Independent States.

YWCA/Ys EYES (Commission on Energy and Environment of the Young Women's Christian Association)

The International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) is a private, non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting social and economic development with women's full participation. ICRW generates quality, empirical information and technical assistance on women's productive and reproductive roles, their status in the family, their leadership in society, and their management of environmental resources. ICRW advocates with governments and multilateral agencies, convenes experts in formal and informal forums, and engages in an active publications and information program to advance women's rights and opportunities. ICRW was founded in 1976 and focuses principally on women in developing and transition countries. A list of interesting publications can be found on its home page.

INSTRAW (UN International Research and training Institute for the Advancement of Women)

The United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW) is the only United Nations institute with the mandate for research and training on the advancement of women. The creation of INSTRAW as an autonomous institute within the framework of the United Nations, was recommended by the World Conference of the International Women's Year, held in Mexico City, in 1975 and established by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) resolution 1998 (LX) of 12 May 1976.

INSTRAW's objectives are: 1) To stimulate and assist, through research, training and the collection and dissemination of information, the advancement of women and making women's contribution to development more visible; 2) To assist the efforts of inter-governmental, governmental and non-governmental organisations in this regard. INSTRAW relies on international networking with its focal points (now numbering 41 world-wide) and other national, regional and international organisations. For more information about INSTRAW Focal points, please contact INSTRAW Headquarters.

Bgy. Central
Diliman, Quezon City
P.O. Box 1837
Quezon City Main
Quezon City, Philippines

+63-2-436.0312 / 7863
Fax: +63-2-924.1065
ask for local 103 or 104
Email: library@isiswomen.org

ISIS- International is an international non-governmental woman’s organisation founded in 1974 to promote the empowerment of women through information sharing, communication and networking. ISIS focuses on those advancing women’s rights, leadership and empowerment in Asia and the Pacific. Its network reaches over 50,000 individuals and organisations in 500 countries. It has a periodical Women in Action.

Solidarite Canada Sahel (SCS)
1030, rue Cherrier, Bureau 510
Montréal, H2L 1H9 Canada
Phone: +1-514-522.6077
Fax: +1-514-522.2370

Contactperson: Ruth Mubiru
P.O. Box 10351, Kampala, Uganda
Phone: +256-41-254240/259668
Fax: +256-41-255288
E-mail: uwtpm@infocom.co.ug

Zambia Alliance of Women
Contactperson: Margaret Kaemba
PO Box 52066, Lusaka, Zambia
Phone: +260-1-253203

RIOD is a network that was set up in November 1994 by the NGOs that were involved in the negotiations towards the Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The implementation of the UNCCD is very much based on an integrated approach in which all stakeholders are involved. There is particular emphasis on the role that women play in combating desertification.

Through exchange of information, experiences and ideas NGOs and CBOs (community based organisations) will be more effective in their efforts to contribute to humane and sustainable livelihoods for people living in drylands. Since the first Conference Of Parties in 1997, NGO can put their priorities on the official agenda through two Open Dialogue Sessions within the programme of the COPs. Gender has been a regular topic in the Open Dialogue Sessions.

c/o Center for Gender and Development Studies (GENDEV) - School of Environment, Resources and Development - Asian Institute of Technology

Gender and Environment Research Network in Asia is a regional network which aims to promote the formation of an interdisciplinary, cross-cultural forum of researchers and organisations in the field of gender and environment. It is planned to build an Asian collegiality through sharing research findings, various approaches and methodologies, information about researchers and organisations in the field and through directly communication with researchers and organisations.

The formation of the network is based on the recognition of the following: the existing development mode has increasingly proved to be a major cause of environmental degradation; women are differentially affected by environmental degradation; women are not only victims of environmental degradation, but also play a significant role in environmental movements and the perspectives and needs of women are not adequately addressed. More systematic efforts are needed on understanding of women's knowledge and initiatives in natural resource management and environmental activities. Hence, there is need for close collaboration between researchers/action researchers and organisations in the region. GERNA's mission is to create an interdisciplinary, cross-cultural group of researchers and organisations engaged in exploring new development modes directed towards greater social, gender equity and environmental sustainability.

(IUCN-USA International Union for the Conservation of Nature, Regional Office for North America)

(International Union for the Conservation of Nature, Regional Office for Central America)

AECO-FOE has two main objectives: 1) to generate popular movements in response to the environmental crisis and 2) to promote ecological ideologies and practices which renew the traditional relationship between humans and the environment and which allow for a true and democratic participation of Costa Ricans in the development. They promote processes and activities for education, research, training communication, defence of the environment and the mobilisation of Costa Rica’s urban and rural communities, as part of the fight for a healthy environment and an overall improvement of life. The AECO-FOE has a gender programme and attempts to develop processes of sensitisation and transformation in the relations between men and women, in the different areas of AECO-FOE’s work, through taking on a gender perspective in the general activities of the Association. The programme also co-ordinates with other areas at a national level.

Both ENDS

Information Package

Nr. 8

GENDER, ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT

GENDER, ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT

Introduction

Conceptualisation

Urban Environment

GED in international policy

Introduction

UNCED1992

Beijing 1995

Further reading

Magazines

Websites

Bibliography