Linking Science and Policy for Gender Based Adaptation
1. Linking science and
p
policy for gender-based
y
genderg
adaptation
Aditi Kapoor
Alternative Futures
Alte nati e F t es
December 17, 2013
TERI-IGES,
TERI IGES
New Delhi
2. Gender is ClimateClimatesensitive!
iti !
85% of Indian farmers are small and marginal and ʻincreasingly womenʼ
Feminization and casualisation of female workforce in agriculture:
Majority (87.3%) of female workers are from rural areas - twice that
of male workers.
Females outnumber men among marginal workers in cultivators,
agricultural laoburers and household industries.
Horticulture, livestock, fisheries - women main workers
Rural poverty getting concentrated in agricultural labour (& artisans)
About 18% of the farm families in India are headed by women
India,
Women gather firewood, crop waste, cattle dung to power up 92% of
rural domestic energy till today; they gather 85% of their cooking fuel
from forests, village commons and crop fields.
14 times more women than men die in disasters; shorter life spans.
Sources: X1th Plan, NSSO, Census 2011, UNDP
Plan NSSO
2011
3. The Business-as-usual
Business-asApproach
Climate scientists: ‘Climate change is gender neutral. It
affects all of us equally!’ panelist at NATCOM meeting.
Climate policy makers: ‘Gender and climate change are two
distinct areas for policy making.’ women’s
ministry/department have no role in India’s climate policy
(NAPCC/SAPCCs)
NGOs: ‘Work with’ women farmers but are not guided by
g
y
gender equality or gender empowerment. Usually refer to
them as ‘housewives’ because they don’t own productive
assets.
Self: Women too often consider labouring on kitchen
gardens and with their livestock and poultry as ‘nonproductive household work ’ On farms they see themselves
work.
as ‘assistants’ of their spouses.
4. Gender in Climate Science
Research
“Adaptive capacity and vulnerability to climate
change impacts are different for men and
women, with gender-related vulnerability
ith
d
l t d l
bilit
particularly apparent in resource-dependent
societies and in the impacts of extreme
p
weather-related events.”
“E i i l research h shown th t
h has h
“Empirical
that
entitlements to elements of adaptive capacity
are socially differentiated along the lines of
y
g
age, ethnicity, class, religion and gender.”
IPCC (2007), Chapter 17.
5. Gender in Climate Policy
“…gender equality and the effective participation of women and
gender
indigenous peoples are important for effective action on all
aspects of climate change.”
UNFCCC Shared Vision for LCA
“There would be increasing scarcity of water, reduction in
yields of forest biomass and increased risks to human health
biomass,
with children, women and the elderly in a household
becoming the most vulnerable. With the possibility of decline
i availability of f d i
il bilit f foodgrains, th th t of malnutrition may also
l t iti
l
in
the threat f
increase. All these would add to deprivations that women
already encounter and so in each of the adaptation
programmes, special attention should be paid to the aspects
of gender.”
NAPCC (pg 13)
.
7. AF Research Outline
Research Focus
Pilot Research: Understand the links between climate science,
adaptation oriented
adaptation-oriented policy and gender in 4 States
States.
Policy Change: Policy analysis to influence four of the SAPCCs to
incorporate gender concerns
Public Provisioning : Examine adaptation-oriented State level
adaptation oriented State-level
budgets using the gender budgeting tool.
Climate Science Knowledge: Scientifically document, with gender
analysis, few adaptive farming practices in 3 agro climatic zones
agro-climatic
across 3 States. Comparative analysis between 25 conventional and
25 adaptive practices farmers in each zone.
Research location
• The flood plains of Eastern Uttar Pradesh & Bihar
• The Sunderbans coastal area in West Bengal and
• Th d
The drought-prone region of A dh P d h
ht
i
f Andhra Pradesh
• Himalayan eco-system in Himachal Pradesh – limited pilot study.
8. AF Research Outcomes
Ministry of Environment & Forests ask ALL State
governments to incorporate gender concerns in
their Climate Plans.
Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh incorporate
gender concerns in their latest SAPCC versions;
Uttar Pradesh in the process of doing so.
Process ʻownedʼ by State governments through
official hosting of policy roundtables on ʻGender
d
ʼ
and SAPCC.ʼ
UNDP/government start process to mainstream
gender in the implementation of SAPCCs
SAPCCs.
Recognition of the importance of using gender
budgeting within climate-linked departments.
climate linked
9. AF Research Field-based
FieldOutputs
p
Local weather variations are very wide even in 5
neighbouring villages. (locally installed rain gauges &
Stevenson screens). Local agro-met data necessary; helps
women f
farmers take d i i
t k decisions on th i f
their farming t k - when
i
tasks
h
to sow,/irrigate crops.
Soil testing/weather variations measured show that variation
is
i very l
localised b t it i
li d but its impact on crop yield and f
t
i ld
d farming
i
practices is very significant. Policy on soil testing to be linked
with met data; helps farmers decide on which crops to be
sown.
sown
More understanding about pest and disease incidence. Eg.
temperature variation of 2 deg in a particular week, just
before sowing the pest incidence is almost double. Also if
double
sowing,
humidity is higher. Need for pest control science; Increases
women farmers labour and time burden.
Farmers are contributing to the knowledge generation
process, understanding farming resilient models for changing
weather parameters. Empowering women farmers as
g
;
knowledge leaders; Extension workers.
10. AF Research Budget
Studyto gender-based
Gender budgeting not related
labour force in a sector.
Highest outlays on programmes related to poverty
alleviation, food subsidy and livelihoods subsidy;
miniscule on risk mitigation, disaster management
and agriculture and allied activities.
Within i k iti ti
Withi risk mitigation and di
d disaster management,
t
t
no gender-responsive budgeting.
Gender budgeting not based on actual spends but
Gender-budgeting
ʻcalculatedʼ as per mandate given, even by junior
IT staffers!
No move to calculate ʻadaptationʼ budgets.
Negligible knowledge about gender budgeting
among senior-most officers.
11. What do women know about climate
science?
And where are women scientists?
12. Womenʼs Anecdotal Speak and Scientific Evidence
West Bengal
W tB
l
Storms are increasing in frequency
and intensity
Earlier women could collect wild
fish species, small crabs, mussels
etc from the sea to tide them over
the crisis period. After AILA these
are hardly available. Herbs and
leafy vegetables can no longer
y g
g
grow in saline fields & pond sides
“After giving time and hard labour,
the yield of paddy is very low due
t erratic rainfall,” Aji
ti
i f ll ” Ajina Bibi
to
Bibi,
village Chakpitambur, S. 24
Parganas
Rising frequency of Severe
Cyclonic Storms Over Bay of
Bengal
Retreat of shoreline, beach
,
erosion and consequent
siltation in the estuarine
channels cause threat to the
human habitat tourism
habitat, tourism,
agriculture and fishing
Decline of Aman Paddy yield
with increasing Post Monsoon
Rainfall in Coastal W. Bengal (S.
24 Paraganas)
Source: Sugata Hazra, Jadavpur Univ, Kolkata
Women put in many more hours (upto 10) &
labour into paddy fields
13. Womenʼs Anecdotal Speak and Scientific
Evidence
de ce
Himachal Pradesh
Less winter rains affecting
wheat production
Less water in kul reducing
water availability
Untimely rains and hail
storms in new areas
Delayed snowfall so snowfall
for less period & gets less
cooler temperatures so
l f
d does not f ll
melts faster and d
fill
the kul through the year like
it used to
Multiplication of invasive
weed species Lantana due to
higher temperatures
New, undiagnosed crop
pests
Poor precipitation in
winters
Rapid retreating of glaciers
g
y
reducing water availability
Erratic rainfall and delay in
monsoon
Declining volume o
ec
g o u e of
snowfall over last 10-15
years, now limited to high
altitudes
I
i
i Lantana
Invasive species L t
(Lantana camara) due to
higher temperatures
Changed pest spectrum of
crops
Source: NBPGR (RS, Shimla), GBPIHED
14. Womenʼs Anecdotal Speak and Scientific
Evidence
de ce
Uttar Pradesh
Untimely rainfall: more
y
rainfall in shorter time
period
Water logging
Variation in temperature;
end-Feb hot eastern winds
come early and the growing
wheat grain, needing cooler
temperatures, becomes
p
,
smaller; yield also decreases
More and diverse pests
Impact on livestock
reproduction. Cow or buffalo
earlier reproduced within 2
years, now within 3-4 years
ithi 3 4
Erratic weather patterns
Due to heavy rainfall in
this low-lying area water
gg g
logging has become a
perpetual problem in last
10-15 years
In February – March 200708, then i 2010, th
08 th
in 2010 the
temperature shot up
suddenly resulting in
shrinking of wheat grains
Increase in all sorts of
crop diseases (air borne,
)
seed borne and soil borne)
Source: N.D. University; UPCAR
15. Womenʼs Anecdotal Speak and Scientific
Evidence
de ce
Andhra Pradesh
Disturbed distribution and
Rainfall variability; changes
frequency of rainfall; more
f
f
f ll
in rainfall patterns;
early withdrawal of
untimely rainfall
monsoon
temperature
Hotte summers; warmer o Changes in temperature,
Hotter mme
me or
very cold winters:
increase in frequency of
“Summers are scorching.
Working with soil has
become very difficult. Our
hands get burnt & we can’t
roll our ragi-rice morsels at
h
!”
home!”
More drought years: earlier
once every five years, now
thrice every five years
Pest infestations
extreme events like cold
wave,
wave heat waves floods
waves, floods,
droughts, cyclones
4 droughts in the last
decade out of which two
were severe; 4-5 droughts
y
in last 10 years
More sucking pests &
growing minor pests
Source: CRIDA, ANGRAU
S
CRIDA
17. Some Recommendations
Adaptive
Interventions
Gender-based impact
Scientific and policy interventions
Organic or l
O
i
low
input
agriculture
More food security f b th
M
f d
it for both
More labour and time
invested by women; Less
information/knowledge/
inputs accessed b women;
i
t
d by
Less participation in
decision-making bodies
Community vermicomposting (CRIDA)
C
it
i
ti
Organic manure/tank silt from Panchayat to
women
Weather-related information (mobile
phones) t women
h
) to
More women climate scientists
Rain gauges with women
Traditional crop
varieties
More food security for both
Gives women fodder/
fuelwood (not HYV);
enables seed exchange;
Women can reclaim
traditional knowledge.
Farm-to-lab transfer of adaptive knowledge
and technology
Women and men farmer trainers
More women agriculture scientists
Appropriate seeds/animal species from
PRIs/block
Integrated
farming
Food security for both
Women gain by food
variety/nutrition
Women invest more labour,
,
time
Joint pattas
Seeds/manure for ʻnutritionʼ or kitchen
gardens
Rain water-harvesting
g
Simple technological help
18. More Recommendations
Adaptive
Interventio
ns
Gender-based impact
Scientific and policy interventions
Agriculture Benefit men and
tools – SHG women
runs village Empowers women
resource
centre
Panchayat to give tools to
womenʼs groups policy
(SGSY/MKSP)
Millets
Panchayat to give
seeds/inputs/training
Women as trainers
Benefits family food
security
Womenʼs traditional
knowledge valued
and utilised.
Seed
Resilience for both
banks/grain Empowers women
b k /
banks/
fodder
banks
Mandatory in every panchayat
through ATMA/MKSP/RKVY
th
h
ʼ
through women f
farmersʼ group
19. Gender Policy Framework
y
Create Assets for Women – land titles, livestock
ownership,
ownership lease on forest land biogas water tanks
land, biogas,
tanks,
knowledge workers, etc.
Ensure independent financial inclusion to promote
p
p
livelihoods and income generation for women.
Increase the proportion of women scientists and
invest in labour reduction/drudgery reduction
technologies.
Ensure womenʼs fair representation in mainstream
women s
decision-making institutions and governance platforms
to help them shape laws, policies & programmes that
affect their lives.
Dedicate fair proportion of financial resources for
women, mandating gender budgeting and ensuring
impact assessment.
i
t
t
