In many parts of Africa, climate change threatens to unravel women’s lives putting paid decades of efforts aimed at improving women’s lives and livelihoods. Unfortunately, women in rural areas lack of knowledge on the imminent dangers posed by climate change.
Despite the fact that women living in poverty are the most threatened by the dangers that stem from global warming, they also key actors in ensuring their communities’ ability to cope with and adapt to climate change.
In general, women lives are more intimitately connected to the environment more than men. Oftentimes, men tend to be away in the cities while the women look after children and work on the land in rural areas.
Many women depend on the ecosystem for food, energy, water and medicine, the very ecosystem which is threatened by the specter of climate change.
Women in Africa, particularly in rural areas, are responsible for conducting subsistence farming which is the main source of food.
As climate change unfolds, it will result in unpredictable weather patters and most likely affect the quality of soils with negative consequences for the levels of food production.
There is need for policy interventions that address the impact of climate change on women’s livelihoods. In particular, it is important to involve women in the design of policies and the implementation of solutions so that there is long-term ownership of potential solutions.
Women’s vulnerability to climate change particularly in rural areas needs to be researched so that solutions meets the specific needs on this already marginalized group in society.
Improving women’s economic status is a key element in reducing the impact of climate change on women – this is an imperative given the fact that women have a direct connection to locally based natural resources.
In addition, policies need to reflect women’s lived experiences of climate change so that appropriate interventions can be put in place to reduce the impact of such changes.
Educating women about the impacts of climate change as well as way to reduce the impact of climate change is also a crucial component.
Providing extension services to women farmers on appropriate technological innovations, improved storage facilities and resource management services is also key to stemming the impact of climate change on women.
i think climate change is not a gender issue but a genaral and serious issue because “what goes round comes round”