ARE WOMEN MORE VULNERABLE TO
CLIMATE CHANGE? HOW CAN
INSTITUTIONS HELP REDUCE GENDER
GAPS IN ADAPTATION PROGRAM?
STUDY FINDINGS FROM BANGLADESH
Nilufar Ahmad
World Bank
April 27, 2012
Washington DC
Why Understanding gender dimensions of
climate change are important for adaptation?
Climate Change has two major impacts
1. Increase in frequency and intensity of disasters
2. Incremental changes – sea level rise, salinity intrusion in soil
and water, drought, glacier melt, variability in rain,
• Impacts magnify the existing inequalities.
• Gender-responsive disaster management achieved improved
results: In 1991 cyclone, the number of death was over
140,000 and ratio of male: female death rate was 1:14. With
gender-responsive disaster management, the male: female
ratio has reduced to 1:5 and number of death to around 3000
(2007 Sidr)
Objective and research questions
Objective: to understand the gender dimensions of climate
change, reasons for gendered vulnerability, and what
actions can be taken that can reduce gender gaps and
improve resilience of all.
key research questions
1. are women more vulnerable than men to climate
change?
2. If yes, what are the factors that make women more
vulnerable?
3. what measures and adaptation support can be taken by
government and other organizations to improve
resilience of both women and men?
Four key propositions for gender analysis
• vulnerability to natural hazards is gendered due to
social norms, entrenched gender inequality and
domestic work
• adaptive capacity is gendered as it is shaped by
control over capitals, opportunities and agency
• migration as an adaptive strategy is gendered, as
women and men face different opportunities and
challenges
• access to institutions which can help build adaptive
capacity is gendered
Methodology
• Quantitative and qualitative survey in 18 climate
vulnerable sites in urban (3) and rural (6) areas, and
2 control sites.
• Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) tools were used
for qualitative survey
• The quantitative survey included two questionnaires
– a household module and a gender module
• administered to 30 households at each site giving a
total of 600 (420 rural, 180 urban) households.
• The gender module was administered in separate
interviews to both spouses.
River Flood
Prone
Flash Flood
Prone
Drought
Prone
Drainage
Congestion
Prone
Control
Salinity
Prone
Cyclone
Prone
Landslide
Prone
Sea Level
Rise Prone
Tidal Surge
Prone
IPCC Framework for determining
vulnerability to climate change
• Exposure to climate variability and risks
• Sensitivity to the risks
• Adaptive capacity – ability to overcome and
recover from external climate related stress,
including
▫ Endowments of human, financial, natural,
physical and social capital (sustainable
livelihood framework)
▫ Entitlements -rights, voice
WDR Gender Equality Framework
• Accumulation of endowments/capitals
• Use of endowments to take up economic
opportunities and generate incomes
• Applications of endowments and
opportunities to take actions or agency
(empowerment)
Poverty status of surveyed households
• Rural,
1. 49% poor, 49% functionally landless.
2. 56% HH depend on natural resource based livelihood.
3. Women lack economic opportunities (less than 10%
women earn an income, compared to over 80% men).
• Urban,
1. 27% poor.
2. 83% HH depend on non-natural resource based
livelihood.
3. Over 40% women earn an income.
Community Perception on level of
Exposure to Hazard Risks and related
Vulnerability (qualitative fieldwork)
HOTSPOT
HAZARD
Exposure Risk
Vulnerability
NETROKONA
Flood
Medium
High
Drought
Medium
Low
Drought
High
Moderate
Flood
Low
Low
Flood
Very high
Very high for women
Land Erosion
Very high
Very high
Tidal Surge
Medium
High for women
Cyclone
Low
Low
Cyclone
High
High
Storm Surge
Medium
Moderate
RANGAMATI
Land slide
High
Low
DHAKA
Drainage Congestion
Very high
Low
CHITTAGONG
Sea Level Rise
Low exposure
Moderate
KHULNA
Salinity/water logging/
High
Moderate
COMILLA (CONTROL)
Flood
Low
Low
Drought
Low
Low
RAJSHAHI
GAIBANDHA
COX’S BAZAAR
BARGUNA
Frequency and intensity of natural hazards
is increasing in recent times
100
Yes
No
% of Respondent
80
60
40
20
0
Seasonal flood
Flash flood
Tidal flood
Drought
Cyclone
Storm surge
Water logging
River/ coastal
erosion
Land slide
Changing Climate Variability and
Vulnerability of Households
• Households are vulnerable to climate change induced
multiple hazards annually
• The dynamic and changing nature of climate variability
is posing new threats to populations
• Local hazards due to climate change are on the increase
and have a major impact on affected population, but do
not attract national attention
• Households affected by local hazards are taking extreme
coping actions that can lead to long term and intergenerational vulnerability
• Social capital and collective actions weakening in
climate vulnerable areas. Communities come together
after major disasters, but local hazards e.g. scarcity of
water, salinity is increasing conflicts.
The Gender Dimensions of Climate Change
Proposition 1: Vulnerability to Hazards is Gendered
• Social norms shape women’s vulnerability to climate change
• Social norms and family responsibility reduce women’s
survival chances in rapid-onset climate events.
• Inheritance law affects women’s adaptive capacity
• Coping actions, conditioned by social factors, perpetuate
vulnerability
• Extreme coping actions are gendered and have different
impacts, more women reduce food consumption, while more
boys are withdrawn from school.
• Women face specific difficulties during and after disasters –
bathing and sanitation, collection of water and fuel
Women face specific difficulties, more in urban
areas
sample -420 men and 420 women in rural . 180 men and 180 women in
urban
Urban
Rural
Male
Faced difficulty in
bathing and
sanitation
Reduced food
consumption
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Faced difficulty in
firewood collection
Female
Children withdrawn
from school
Suffered from
diseases
Faced difficulty in
water collection
Faced difficulty in
bathing and
sanitation
Reduced food
consumption
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Faced difficulty in
firewood collection
Children withdrawn
from school
Suffered from
diseases
Faced difficulty in
water collection
Increase in reported violence against women,
especially in urban Areas, and among women
from non-poor HH (sample 420 rural and 180 urban women)
35
35
Extreme Poor
Moderate Poor
30
30
Moderate Non-poor
25
25
Non-poor
20
20
15
15
10
10
5
5
0
0
External physical
External
physical
Domestic
physical
External verbal Domestic verbal
Domestic
physical
External verbal Domestic verbal
Proposition 2: adaptive capacity is gendered and
is shaped by control over endowments,
opportunities and agency
• Households with higher levels of assets and endowments have
more adaptive capacity
• Adaptive and coping strategies are gendered, men have more
options than women.
• Rural women, from all income groups, have less control over all
types of capital (human, social, natural, physical and financial) than
men
• Women’s limited ability to transform capital reduces their adaptive
capacity
• Lack of economic opportunities for women in rural areas
• Restricted access to markets and institutions reduces women’s
adaptive capacity
• Egalitarian norms in indigenous communities strengthen the
adaptive capacity of women (Rangamati)
Women have less control over all types of
capital, that reduces their adaptive
capacity
sample – 420 women and 420 men.
Financial Capital
90
80
70
60
50
40
Natural Capital
30
Social Capital
20
Male
10
0
Female
Physical Capital
Human Capital
Egalitarian norms strengthen the adaptive
capacity of women: supported by
Rangamati data (sample 420 women and 420 men)
Barguna
1.0
0.8
Comilla
Coxs’ Bazar
0.6
0.4
Adaptive capacity of
male
0.2
0.0
Rangamati
Gaibandha
Rajshahi
Netrokona
Adaptive capacity of
female
Proposition 3: Migration as an Adaptive
Strategy is Gendered
• More men (77 percent) migrated from rural
households
• Urban area offers diverse economic opportunities
and services to both women and men
• Women’s mobility opens opportunities
• Women in the urban areas have more adaptive
capacity and are less vulnerable
Mobility/Migration pattern of women – the poor
and rich women migrate to large cities, women
from mid-income have limited options.
Women have own income and more control over
expenditures and decision making that improved their
adaptive capacity in urban areas
Rural (420 women and 420 men)
Urban (180 women and 180 men)
Male
Female
Education*
Control over
food
1.0
Male
1.0
0.8
0.8
0.6
Female
Education*
Control over
productive assets
Control over loan
0.4
Earner**
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.2
0.0
0.0
Social capital***
Social
capital***
Control over
expenditure
Earner**
Control over loan
Control over
productive
assets
Control over expenditure
LEGEND:
*Education = Average years of schooling
Control over food
**Earner = Number of earning members divided by the household size
***Social capital = support and contacts with formal and informal institutions
New migrants also face difficulties
• Violence-Many poor women migrants without social networks are
vulnerable to violence.
• Low paying jobs - women migrants, especially poor and low skilled, are
limited to work in the informal sector, with low wages and exploitative
conditions .
• Polygamy is common in urban areas. Men marry for dowry and the
income of the women they marry. Women marry for security; as marriage
can help them to live more socially secure lives, they often agree to
become co-wives.
• The poor may remain “trapped” in climate vulnerable areas. Poor
migrants live in low lying areas and continue to face regular hazards. They
lack utilities and services, and live in unhygienic conditions. Many buy land
and other assets in their villages trapping them in a life vulnerable to
climate variability, with limited options.
Almost the same gender differences in adaptive capacity
across income clusters, women from non-poor
households are also vulnerable similar to women from
other income groups. sample : 420 women and 420 men
Extreme Poor
Rich
1.0
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.0
Moderate Non-poor
Adaptive capacity of male
Adaptive capacity of female
Moderate Poor
Proposition 4: Access to Institutions that
can Help Build Resilience is Gendered
• Women have low institutional contact, especially
those supporting adaptation by women reduces
their potential adaptive capacity.
• The importance of institutional access, especially
information and training, for women to emerge as
change agents – gender responsive disaster
management helped reduce deaths in cyclones.
Women have low contact (less than 10%)with
organizations that provide adaptation support.
Their main contact is NGOs.
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Rural
Male
Female
Both
Urban
Women as change agents and developing
innovative activities
•
•
•
•
•
•
Planting seeds on floating beds made out of hyacinth during floods
Planting seeds in pots and hanging these in trees
Moving from chicken to duck rearing in coastal areas
Moving from sweet to salt water fishery
More saline resistant crops planted in coastal areas
Large number of women, especially girls are trained as volunteers
in disaster management committees (DMC) at different levels, and
they (a) announce disaster forecasts over radio, PA system etc. (b)
take women and children to shelters, © work in shelters to provide
security and support to women and children, (d) support short and
long term recovery efforts – distribution of relief, water and other
essentials, rehabilitation of local economy.
Constraints and Gaps in Public Institutions
Limit the Resilience of Women and Men
• Potential duplication and lack of clarification of roles
and responsibilities between disaster management and
climate change systems limit adaptation support
• Climate change structure (BCCSAP) is limited to national
level, and not able to respond to community adaptation.
• Top down centralized decision making limits adaptation
support to communities
• Poor capacity, limited authority and funds of local
government, though these are mandated to support
disaster management
• Low levels of preparedness for gender-responsive
climate change program
• MWCA lacks capacity and staff, and is often unable to
make its presence felt
Bangladesh Climate Change Resilience Fund
Bangladesh Climate Change Resilience Fund
(BCCRF)
Partnership between the Government of Bangladesh, Development Partners and the
World Bank, aims to support implementation of BCCSAP., funded by Denmark, EU.
Sweden, UK and Switzerland. Australia joined, USA may join.
Projects:
•US$25m for building 56 new and rehabilitating of 40 cyclones shelters
•PKSF to manage the NGO window (10% of BCCRF) – CCCP
•Agricultural adaptation in climate risk prone areas (US$ 22.8million)
•Climate resilient participatory afforestation/reforestation (US$25 million)
•Coastal embankment rehabilitation
Research
I.
Dissemination of The Cost of Adapting To Extreme Weather Events in a Changing
Climate , March 2012
II.
analyze the possible impacts of climate change on the spread of vector-borne
diseases (such as malaria, dengue fever);
III.
explore the potential impact of adaptation options relating to water logging in
urban areas in a changing climate;
IV.
assessment of the threat of climate-induced out-migration from vulnerable areas.
WB supported gender-responsive adaptation programs
in Bangladesh: capacity building of local governments
and institutions, decentralized funds and decision
making support adaptation of both women and men.
• Emergency 2007 Cyclone Recovery Project (ECRP) - gender-friendly multipurpose cyclone shelters.
• Social Investment Program Project (SIPP-I & II), supported women and men to
implement community infrastructure that helped reduce sensitivity to climate
variability.
• Local Governance Support project (LGSP-I& II), grants to 4505 UPs, women UP
members manage 30% of sub-projects and women are in decision making,
implemented need based adaptation schemes.
• Northern Areas Reduction of Poverty Initiative (NARI)- facilitate the adaptive
capacity of poor women from climate vulnerable areas by improving their access
to skill development and employment opportunities in the formal garment sector.
• Proposed Community Climate Change Project (CCCP) - aims to enhance the
adaptive capacity of selected communities to increase their resilience
• SIPP-I & II and LGSP I&II provide discretionary funds to communities and UPs,
decisions are taken by women and men and they are able to implement needbased programs on management of localized hazards.
How to reduce vulnerability of women
• Targeted programs for increasing women’s
endowments (education and skill development),
economic opportunities (access to natural resources,
employment and credit), and empowerment
(decision making in the adaptation program).
• 30% LGI leaders are women, and budgets can be
earmarked for their capacity building and
management of adaptation programs. In LGSP-I&II,
women UP members manage 30% sub-projects, that
promoted their capacity to design and implement
local projects – that improved women’s
empowerment .
Suggestions for Gender-Responsive
Adaptation Program
Policy and Institutional Areas: Short term:
1. Align institutional frameworks on DRM, CC and Gender
Equality for enhancing coordination and synergy
2. Local adaptation funds and decision making can be
transferred to local levels. National agencies will continue
to support adaptation.
3. A gender action plan for BCCSAP will help strengthen the
level of preparedness for gender-responsive CC program
4. Enhance MWCA capacity on gender and climate change.
5. Urban planning should incorporate migration issues into
building long-term resilience.
Suggestions for Gender-Responsive
Adaptation Program(con’d)
Sensitivity Reducing Strategies
Short term
1. Construction and/or rehabilitation of Genderfriendly shelters with full participation and decision
making of local women and men, especially in O&M
2. Rehabilitation of embankment with adequate
drainage and full participation and decision making
of local women and men, especially in O&M
3. Afforestation program/green-belt in the coastal
areas, as well as in hilly areas.
.
Suggestions for Gender-Responsive Adaptation
Program(con’d)
Enhancing Adaptive Capacity: Short Term
1. Adequate infrastructure and utility services in climate vulnerable areas
2. Human development services (education, skill development and
health), and access to employment and credit in climate vulnerable
areas.
3. Productive safety net services such as micro-entrepreurship adaptation
and resilience services for the poor, especially women
Medium Term
1. Climate resilient economic opportunities, especially for women in rural
areas, small towns will reduce their vulnerability.
2. Women’s access to resources and environmental governance will
promote climate-resilient development