ABOUT 30 kilometers west of Monze town in the Southern Province of Zambia is a place called Bweengwa. Here women gathered one morning in July, 2006. Their main concern was none availability of water for home use.

More than 45 women were led by 79 year old Samaria Haanungu. They were determined to solve the water problem once and for all. They were to walk the 30km stretch in a hope that the council would hear their cries and provide them an answer to their daily problems.

For quite a number of years since the Southern Province was hit by droughts and unpredictable weather situations, the water ground levels in their wells had gone further down so much that most wells were covered and abandoned.

The only place where these women were accessing water was a dam where they shared the vital commodity with animals. Those who lived far away from the dam woke up as early as 02:00 hours in the morning to go and fetch water. As for the girls, going to school at that time was not only difficult but impossible at times. As per tradition, girls learn to help their mothers; they learn how to do household tasks, among them fetching water. This meant that the younger girls in this area had to wake up around 02:00 hours to help their mothers fetch water from the dam situated about four kilometers.

For the school going girls this meant that they either delayed going to school or never went there at all. If they decided to go to school, they were tired and hence their performance was below average.

The decision by these women to visit the town clerk was fruitful in that the council linked them to an international organisation called Water Aid who sank boreholes in their area and also helped them build VIP latrines.

In Chief Mwanachingwala's area in Mazabuka, Mrs Joyce Mweetwa walks more than 45 minutes in search of firewood. Her grandmother, Bina Cheelo 82, tells her how abundant firewood was during her time, in the early 1940s.

The old grandmother knows something has gone wrong with nature.

But what her grand daughter, Mrs Mweetwa lamented most was the long distance to the area where firewood could be accessed. It took her a total of 90 minutes to get there. Some of her time is spent on looking for places where to get water for home use.

"At least during the rainy season we rely on rain water from the grass thatched roofs or some nearby water collection points. This water though is not clean and we end up having stomach problems thereby spending time taking children to clinics," Mrs Mweetwa said as she looked in a far off direction hoping to find an answer immediately.

Climate change in this area of Southern Province like many other parts of Zambia has taken its toil.

Inconsistent rains punctuated with droughts and floods at times, have made the once spirited Tonga farmers turn to cutting trees and burning charcoal for sell in order to raise money to buy food. As a result, most big trees have been wiped out forcing women to take long journeys to ferry firewood.

In this scenario, it is the women who stomach the burden of environment degradation caused by either man or nature.

This year, women world- over, on the March 8 will celebrate the International Women's Day aimed at among others to recognise the fact that securing peace and social progress and the full enjoyment of human development of women is vital and to also acknowledge the contribution of women to the strengthening of international peace and security.

For women, it is an occasion to review how far they have come in their struggle for equality, peace and development. It is further a time to unite, network and mobilise meaningful change.

This year's theme is "Equal rights, equal opportunities: Progress for all".

The United Nations lined up programmes from up until February 1-27 to discuss several issues related to women affairs.

The Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality-IANWGE invited interested people to participate in an online discussion which included topics such as 'Human Rights of women', 'Women and the Media', 'Education and Training', 'Women and Poverty', and 'Power and Decision making.'

Other topics were, 'Consultation on girls and gender equality, 'and 'Women and the Environment.'

The online discussion on 'Women and the Environment' was moderated by the United Nations Environment Porgrammes, the United Nations Human Settlements programme and the UN-HABITAT.

The UN believes that the direct and critical relationship between women and natural resources draws its strength not from biology, that is not because women are born female but from gender and the socially created roles and responsibilities that continue to fall to women in households, communities and ecosystems throughout the world.

The United Nations Population Fund-UNFPA's Chapter 4: Women and the Environment of

"The State of World Population of 2001 notes in developing areas of the world, women are considered the primary users of land, forest and water because they are the ones, who are responsible for gathering food, fuel and fodder.

"Women's perspectives and values for the environment are somewhat different than men's. Women give greater priority to protection of and improving the capacity of nature, maintaining farming lands and caring for nature and environment's failure.

The women are the main managers of essential household resources such as clean water, fuel for heating and cooking and fodder for domestic animals," UNFPA says.

Mr Benedict Tembo, an Environment Journalist at the Zambia Daily Mail notes that it is necessary to involve women in environmental issues because women interact with the environment on a daily basis saying women are custodians of literally every thing in a home.

Mr Tembo who is also treasurer for the Association for National Environmental Journalists-ANEJ Zambia chapter, adds that women's knowledge of environmental issues is very critical for them to take good care of the environment they operate in, from their homes to their work places, places of worship, trading places and where ever they interact with their colleagues.

"As mothers they have a vital role in ensuring that the environments from which their children are born, sleep, eat from and play are safe and sound. Lately, rural women who are responsible for fuel wood for cooking have become aware about the impact of the trees cut for such purposes as being responsible for deforestation. New technologies being developed to cushion usage of fuel wood is targeted at women, an environmentally aware woman is an asset to the world," emphasised Mr Tembo.

He noted that female journalists are partners with ANEJ Zambia saying the association has no intention of sidelining them in this noble cause.

"That is why as ANEJ Zambia, we have deliberately set aside some positions in the executive committee to female journalists with passion for environmental issues. Even in our recruitment drive, we are encouraging as many female journalists to come on board and help strengthen environmental reporting in Zambia ," he explained.

Due to women's constant contact with environment, they are the most keenly affected by any degradation just like we have learnt from the women in Monze and Mazabuka.

For example, deforestation or contamination increases the time women spend in search of firewood or safe drinking water while also meeting other household needs and ensuring family health.

It sadly increases women's risks of water-borne diseases.

Tradition has it that women have little power over the conditions of their lives.

Yet women need to be actively involved in environmental governance starting at grassroots level and higher management levels.

The online discussion on 'Women and the Environment' brought out the fact that more involvement by women in key decision making areas in the environment sector will result in better environment sustainability.

A challenge was noted however in the education of the girl child especially in Africa .

The participants demanded that more girls need to be educated and empowered so as to be key decision makers.

"What we need is long term strategies and programmes and respective financial support to implement gender equality in the field of environment policy in a way that becomes work routine," one of the participants noted.

Dr Abdul Razak Mohamed of Architecture and Planning at Anna University in India noted that to improve environmental governance, women and children play an important role in the house and neighbourhoods level.

The State of World Population 2009 of the UNFPA released in June titled 'Facing a changing world: Women, population and climate is how poor women in poor countries would be the hardest hit by climate change.

The report demanded for policies, programmes and treaties that take into account the needs, rights and potential of women.

"Investment that empower women and girls particularly education and health bolster economic development and reduce poverty and have a beneficial impact on climate," says the report.

With the environmental degradation going on, recent movements led by women have shown that women would protect the Earth better than men if in power. This is so in that some hypothesis notes that women are more sensitive to earth and its problems.

For example, Ecofeminists believe on the interconnection between the domination of women and nature. One of the renowned women environmentalists is Maria Cherkasova, a Journalist, ecologists who is co-founder of the Socio-Ecological Union in the Soviet Union .

Yet Africa boasts of Ecological Movements initiated by women such as the 'Green Belt Movement' one of the biggest in women and environment history founded by Professor Wangari Maathai an environmentalist, a civil society and women's rights activist, and a parliamentarian.

From 2003- 2007 Professor Maathai served as Assistant Minister for Environment and Natural Resources in Kenya's ninth parliament.

This year Zambia's Minister of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources, Catherine Namugala scoped the Africa Investor Tourism Minister of the year award which was contested by six other African Tourism ministers from Ghana, Sierra Leon, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Tanzania and Uganda

As it is, Ms Namugala is in charge of the Environment and Natural Resources without which there could be no tourism.

Her deputy minister too in this vital ministry is a woman.

The outlined just indicates that though women today struggle against alarming global trends they are working together to effect change.

Though men have greater decision making opportunities, women have more responsibility with regard to most environmental aspects.

Sustainable development is not possible without the empowerment of women and gender equality. Involvement of women actively in environmental decision making at all levels will address many of the environmental problems relating to local and global issues.