16th Mar, 2023
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology
Question
Asked 9th Aug, 2014
What role do women play in meeting the challenges of climatic change in South Asia.
In many south Asian countries including India, Nepal, Bangladesh, women farmers are playing an important role in agriculture. With effects of climatic change more visible and severe than ever, women are evolving their own mechanisms to fight the after effects to mitigate the risk and uncertainty. What are your views on challenges faced by the women and strategies adopted by them to minimize the risk and uncertainty in agricultural production. Any links to studies on this topic are welcome.
Most recent answer
I agree with Dr. Sarwan Kumar Dubey that South Asian women proactively employ their own traditional ecological knowledge and skill set to adapt to the constant changes in their environments, lives, and livelihoods and in rural areas, women is the primary caretakers of the households. South Asia is one of the most vulnerable regions to climate shocks. The region is living through a “new climate normal” in which intensifying heat waves, cyclones, droughts, and floods are testing the limits of government, businesses, and citizens to adapt. Empowering women in agriculture can also have a positive impact on climate adaptation. By providing appropriate technology and resources, they can promote more sustainable farming and conservation practices and reducing poverty and adapt to the effects of climate change. Women give greater priority to protection of and improving the capacity of nature, maintaining farming lands, and caring for nature and environment's future. Climate Action Network shows that women perform additional 12–14 hours of work due to climate displacement and migration. In times of food shortages due to unfavorable weather conditions, it is the women who sacrifice and eat less than the men due to gender-biased expectations of altruism.
1 Recommendation
Popular answers (1)
The global climate crisis has exacerbated gender inequality around the world. Women are often more vulnerable than men to climatic variability and extremes based on a variety of factors, including socially constructed roles and responsibilities, limited access to and control over resources, muted voices in decision-making, restricted rights, and limited access to education. All these factors contribute to preventing women from standing up against climate catastrophes on their own. Poor women are particularly at risk from environmental stresses caused by the increased frequency and intensity of climate-induced droughts, floods, heat waves, deforestation, and the accompanying scarcity of natural resources, given that they have access to even fewer opportunities and resources. Women are the primary gatherers of water, food, and fuel, and they dominate subsistence farming, caregiving, and cleaning. These duties are more prone to feel the effects of environmental degradation and rising global temperatures as they rely heavily upon natural resources. Women give greater priority to protection of and improving the capacity of nature, maintaining farming lands, and caring for nature and environment's future. Repeated studies have shown that women have a stake in environment, and this stake is reflected in the degree to which they care about natural resources. South Asian women proactively employ their own traditional ecological knowledge and skill set to adapt to the constant changes in their environments, lives, and livelihoods. In South Asia's rural areas, women are the primary caretakers of the households. There is a significant body of literature on gender and climate change, which shows that women and men perceive and experience climate change differently, and usually women are more vulnerable due to their dependence on natural resources and structural inequity in their access and control of such resources. The simple view of women as a homogenous group is shifting toward a more complex view of identities within gender. Multiple social, economic, and cultural characteristics interact with gender in influencing power inequities and explaining how and why people face and manage climate change and environmental stresses in different ways.
4 Recommendations
All Answers (10)
Dear K.M. Singh,
This is a question of good education opportunities. Where the daughters of farmers can get good agricultural education, they can use environmentally friendly methods if they can afford them. Equal rights and democracy help to imprease the number of well trained woman farmers.
3 Recommendations
Women are far more connected to preserving their natural resources than are men, for a variety of reasons. These range from economic (for instance in hill villages most men outmigrate for jobs while women farm), to biological (women's innate ability to nurture leads to their impassioned protection, such as Chipko). In the event of greater rainfall uncertainty as well as extreme rainfall events/droughts, forested watersheds are able to buffer watersheds by disallowing extreme runoff+soil erosion as well as prolonging dry season streamflow. Women's groups engaged in forest protection can play a critical role to locally ensure the existence of forests and their ecosystem services to buffer ill-effects of climate change. There are many other examples in lowland agriculture as well as rural economies where women's cooperative groups strengthen their financial resilience based upon sustainable natural resource based livelihoods.
1 Recommendation
Get themselves educated/well informed about CC and pass on first to their own family and then other womenfolk.
1 Recommendation
15th Nov, 2014
National Vice President Bhartiya Agro Economic Research Center New Delhi EX Head ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation (Earlier known as CSWCRTI)
Dear Sir, Woman's play a major role in climate change as in they are playing vital role in agricultural production. Only thing required to educate them about the techniques and strategies for combating CC. Thanks
1 Recommendation
The global climate crisis has exacerbated gender inequality around the world. Women are often more vulnerable than men to climatic variability and extremes based on a variety of factors, including socially constructed roles and responsibilities, limited access to and control over resources, muted voices in decision-making, restricted rights, and limited access to education. All these factors contribute to preventing women from standing up against climate catastrophes on their own. Poor women are particularly at risk from environmental stresses caused by the increased frequency and intensity of climate-induced droughts, floods, heat waves, deforestation, and the accompanying scarcity of natural resources, given that they have access to even fewer opportunities and resources. Women are the primary gatherers of water, food, and fuel, and they dominate subsistence farming, caregiving, and cleaning. These duties are more prone to feel the effects of environmental degradation and rising global temperatures as they rely heavily upon natural resources. Women give greater priority to protection of and improving the capacity of nature, maintaining farming lands, and caring for nature and environment's future. Repeated studies have shown that women have a stake in environment, and this stake is reflected in the degree to which they care about natural resources. South Asian women proactively employ their own traditional ecological knowledge and skill set to adapt to the constant changes in their environments, lives, and livelihoods. In South Asia's rural areas, women are the primary caretakers of the households. There is a significant body of literature on gender and climate change, which shows that women and men perceive and experience climate change differently, and usually women are more vulnerable due to their dependence on natural resources and structural inequity in their access and control of such resources. The simple view of women as a homogenous group is shifting toward a more complex view of identities within gender. Multiple social, economic, and cultural characteristics interact with gender in influencing power inequities and explaining how and why people face and manage climate change and environmental stresses in different ways.
4 Recommendations
At the local level, the participation of women in natural resource management is associated with better resource governance and conservation outcomes. Expanding women's access to productive resources can increase agricultural production and food security and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. By increasing access to education and empowering women to make their own decisions about the size of their family, we could potentially slow the rate of population growth, leading to an estimated 68.9 billion tons of carbon reduction by 2050. Women are the primary gatherers of water, food, and fuel, and they dominate subsistence farming, caregiving, and cleaning. These duties are more prone to feel the effects of environmental degradation and rising global temperatures as they rely heavily upon natural resources. Women show a more positive green consumption intention, consume less carbon, and purchase green products more frequently. Women share the primary responsibility for nutrition, child care and household management in almost all countries. They are also active in environmental management.
3 Recommendations
I agree with Dr. Sarwan Kumar Dubey that South Asian women proactively employ their own traditional ecological knowledge and skill set to adapt to the constant changes in their environments, lives, and livelihoods and in rural areas, women is the primary caretakers of the households. South Asia is one of the most vulnerable regions to climate shocks. The region is living through a “new climate normal” in which intensifying heat waves, cyclones, droughts, and floods are testing the limits of government, businesses, and citizens to adapt. Empowering women in agriculture can also have a positive impact on climate adaptation. By providing appropriate technology and resources, they can promote more sustainable farming and conservation practices and reducing poverty and adapt to the effects of climate change. Women give greater priority to protection of and improving the capacity of nature, maintaining farming lands, and caring for nature and environment's future. Climate Action Network shows that women perform additional 12–14 hours of work due to climate displacement and migration. In times of food shortages due to unfavorable weather conditions, it is the women who sacrifice and eat less than the men due to gender-biased expectations of altruism.
1 Recommendation
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