Public Agenda (Accra)
Roberta Dzifa Kodzitse
30 July 2010
Dr. Rose Mensah-Kutin, Director, Abantu for Development, has attributed incessant poverty in Africa, particularly sub-Saharan Africa to policy failure.
She noted that policies often times do not include issues relating to gender, citing current Climate Change policies as classic examples. She said this poses a threat to gender equality and empowerment. She bemoaned that although policies are made to improve the livelihood of the people, they turn out to be counterproductive causing grave harm due to the flaws.
"There is the need for men and women who have the heart to influence policies on Climate Change that will favour the poor men and women in society, who suffer most from Climate Change."
Dr. Mensah-Kutin was speaking at a sensitization programme on Climate Change in Accra. It was a collaborative endeavor between ABANTU for Development and Action Aid -Ghana as part of their policy advocacy towards empowering women and men to address gender inequalities and promote social justice. Her topic was "Influencing Policies from a Gender and Climate Change Perspective."
Climate Change sometimes referred to as global warming refers to any significant change in atmospheric conditions such as temperature and the amount of moist in the atmosphere for a longer period usually a decade or more.
Already, the impact and risks associated with Climate Change continually occur in sectors essential for livelihoods including water, food resources, security, coastal zones and health.
In terms of gender, women suffer most because they are largely responsible for food, water and household fuel collection. This means that their burden will increase if drought, floods, deforestation and erratic rainfall undermine the quality and availability of natural resources.
Mrs. Angelina Tutuah Mensah, National Gender and Climate Change Expert, explained that Climate Change affects both men and women yet they contribute differently and react differently to its impact. She thus contended that it was imperative to include both men and women in decision making and policies involving climate change.
According to Mrs. Mensah, a study conducted in 141 countries provides irrefutable evidence that gender differences in deaths from natural disasters are likely linked to women's economic and social rights.
Also she explained that, when it comes to issues such as rights of inheritance, titles and means of production, women are often refused access to new land; so it is with resettlement or claims for compensation in the wake of floods or natural disasters.
She indicated that since women form majority of the labour force in agriculture and other areas which are climatic sensitive sectors, the livelihood of these women are threatened. "Even though alternatives have been proposed to control the effects of Climate Change and its effects on women, some options have worsened livelihood while others have endangered their lives," she observed.
She encouraged policy makers to use the unique opportunity they have to make a difference in the lives of their constituents and the global family by helping shape Ghana's climate policy in a way that recognizes men and women's roles and priorities. This she said will lead to equality, justice and equity and behaviourial change.
Gender based institutions such as ABANTU for development and Gender Action on Climate Change (GACCES) believe that, an increased representation and engagement of women in decision making in the use of natural resources must be fostered. This should be backed by the needed institutional mechanisms that will enable women to advocate for gender equality agenda in Climate Change in a sustainable way.
An Environmental Scientist and a Policy Analyst, Mrs. Patience Damptey, revealed that Africa is the first, most worse continent to be affected by Climate Change and that productivity will fall by 80% due to temperature rise and floods.
She noted that Ghana's total net of carbon dioxide removal between 1990 -1996 was positive as a result of Ghana's abundant forest reserves, but now it is a different story as a result of continuous felling of trees and loss of forests. She believed that implementation, mitigation and adaptation with inclusion of gender prospects will go a long way to help control Climate Change impact.
Participants were of the opinion a measure that will reduce the removal of carbon dioxide is when the public specifically, children are educated on the adverse effects of disposing waste indiscriminately especially, plastic waste which could be recycled.
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