1. Involve women actively in environmental decision-making at all levels.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES:

You have the right to take part in the government of your country. UDHR 21; ICCPR 25; CEDAW 7; ICERD 5c

Women have a vital role to play in environmental management and development. Their full participation is therefore essential to achieve sustainable development. RD 20

Countries should adopt a community-driven approach to sustainable development which includes empowering women through full participation in decision-making. A21:3.7

Countries should increase the proportion of women decision-makers, planners, technical advisers, managers and extension workers in environment and development fields. A21:24.2b

Countries should recognise and support the identity, culture and interests of indigenous people and their communities, recognize their vital role in environmental management, and enable their effective participation in the achievement of sustainable development. RD 22

Countries must ensure the effective protection and use of the knowledge and practices of indigenous women, including practices relating to traditional medicines, biodiversity and indigenous technologies. CBD

ACTIONS:

• Ensure that women, including indigenous women, participate in environmental decision-making at all levels.
  
  
• Provide women with more and easier access to information and
  education, particularly in the areas of science and technology and economics.
  
  
• Include a gender perspective in the design and implementation of environmentally sound and sustainable resource management mechanisms.
  
  
• Integrate rural women's traditional knowledge and practices into environmental management programmes.
  
  
• Provide technical assistance to women, particularly in developing countries, in the areas of agriculture, fisheries, small enterprises, trade and industry.
  
  
• Support the development of women's equal access to housing infrastructure, safe water, and sustainable and affordable energy technologies.
  
  
• Reduce risks to women from identified environmental hazards at home, at work and in other environments.
  
  

2. Include gender concerns and perspectives in policies and programmes for sustainable development.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES:

An effective strategy for tackling the problems of poverty, development and environment simultaneously should include recognizing the rights of women. A21:3.2

Countries should revise educational curricula and materials to promote gender-relevant knowledge and the valuation of women's roles in environmental management and sustainable development. A21:24.2e

Countries should adopt measures to strengthen and empower women's bureaux, organisations and groups to enhance capacity-building for sustainable development. A21:24.3b

ACTIONS:

• Remove all obstacles to women's full and equal participation in sustainable development, with equal access to and control over resources.
  
  
• Support women's consumer initiatives by promoting recycling, organic food production and marketing and product labeling that is clear to the illiterate.
  
  
• Evaluate policies and programmes in terms of environmental impact.
  
  
• Educate girls and women in science, technology, economics and other disciplines related to the natural environment.
  
  
• Involve female professionals and scientists in environmental management.
  
  
• Develop and integrate gender-sensitive databases and participatory, action-oriented research into mainstream activities.
  
  

3. Strengthen or set up ways to assess the effects of development and environmental policies on women at the national, regional and international levels.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES:

Countries should establish mechanisms to assess the implementation and impact of development and environment policies and programmes on women, at the national, regional and international levels. A21:24.2d

Countries should develop gender-sensitive databases, information systems and participatory action-oriented research and policy analyses in order to advance the goal of sustainable development. A21:24.8

ACTIONS:

o Promote coordination within and among institutions to implement the
Platform for Action and chapter 24 of Agenda 21, seeking input from the Commission on the Status of Women when reviewing the implementation of Agenda 21.


ENVIRONMENT: ACHIEVEMENTS

• Some national environmental policies and programmes have integrated a gender perspective.
  
  
• Governments have recognized the link between gender equality, poverty eradication and sustainable development and environmental protection.
  
  
• Income-generating activities for women and training for natural resource management and environmental protection have been included in countries’ development strategies.
  
  
• Projects have been launched to preserve and use women’s, including indigenous women’s, traditional knowledge in the management of natural resources and the preservation of bio-diversity.
  
  
  ENVIRONMENT: OBSTACLES
  

• Lack of public awareness about environmental risks faced by women and the benefits of gender equality for promoting environmental protection.
  
  
• Women’s limited access to technical skills, resources and information, in particular in developing countries, have impeded their effective participation in decision-making in the area of environment.
  
  
• Research, action and targeted strategies are limited regarding the different impacts and implications of environmental problems on women and men.
  
  
• The root problems of environmental degradation, including foreign occupation, have not been addressed.
  
  
• Environmental policies and programmes lack a gender perspective and fail to take into account women’s roles and contributions to environmental sustainability.