CONTEXT

Women play a pivotal role in a wide range of activities supporting food and nutrition security. They are the powerhouses of the Sahel and West African food economy. Two-thirds of all employed women work across the food system, accounting for half of the labour force. They dominate off-farm segments of food value chains including food processing and selling as well as food-away-from-home. They are also important actors in cross-border trade.

Nevertheless, access to affordable and nutritious foods is beyond the reach of many women and girls. Low income and education levels, discriminatory laws, social norms, and practices such as those revealed in the Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI), drive food insecurity among women by curbing their ownership over assets such as land, water and energy as well as their access to financial services, social capital, information and technology, agricultural inputs and services. The double burden facing women balancing the demands of agricultural production and unpaid care and domestic work compound these inequalities.

In the Sahel and West Africa, more than 40% of women of reproductive age suffer from anaemia across 14 countries, driving maternal and child morbidity and undermining women’s economic empowerment. Obesity, which was practically unheard of in the region in the past, affects more women than men. Stunting, a measure of chronic malnutrition, often has its origins in utero due to, for example, poor maternal nutrition. Similarly, women who are overweight or obese are at a greater risk of giving birth to heavier babies, putting them at a higher risk of being overweight and obese as adults.

The 1995 Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA) recognised gender-mainstreaming as an indispensable strategy for achieving gender equality, including in the area of food security. Yet, 25 years later, many responses still tend to operate in silos and focus narrowly on improving women’s agency or access to information for example, instead of addressing the social, structural, and institutional barriers that hamper food and nutrition security among women and girls. Policies also often fail to include men and boys, yet understanding the drivers behind their motivations and behaviours is key to addressing unspoken societal barriers to gender equality.The major challenge lies in developing inclusive policy responses that address these barriers. This could help pave the way towards a more sustainable and transformative change within the West African food system and fuel progress towards achieving not only the “zero hunger” goal (SDG 2) but also “gender equality” (SDG 5).

OBJECTIVE

The OECD Development Centre is collaborating with the Sahel and West Africa Club Secretariat to host an interactive discussion on the Wikigender platform on the topic “Towards a Gender-Responsive Approach to Food and Nutrition Security in the Sahel and West Africa”. The objective is to contribute to a process of mutual learning and dialogue that can inspire more gender-responsive and sustainable solutions to food and nutrition insecurity.

Drawing on your experience and expertise, we would like to identify some concrete and promising examples of gender-responsive food and nutrition security programming, and explore and discuss the key lessons learned. (See: Concept Note)

KEY QUESTIONS

1. What is at risk when food and nutrition security programming fails to take gender into account?
   1. What does “gender-mainstreaming” in food and nutrition security policies and programmes mean in practice?
   2. How can the availability of sex-disaggregated food and nutrition security data be improved?
   3. How can early-warning systems be more gender-responsive?
2. What are some of the key lessons learned from best practices around gender-responsive programming in the area of food and nutrition security? What are the success factors and how can they be scaled-up?
   1. Can cash transfers alleviate food insecurity and strengthen gender equality? What specific measures need to be taken to ensure that cash transfers achieve gender-equitable outcomes?
   2. Emerging research shows that the Covid-19 pandemic is likely to exacerbate the gendered nature of food and nutrition insecurity globally. What actions can be taken to prevent the most serious damage to the economic empowerment of women in general and particularly rural women?
3. What can be done to bring attention to gender-responsive food and nutrition security programming among the region’s decision-making bodies?
   1. Are there lessons to be learned from other regions?
   2. How can women be empowered to exercise their rights and take active participation in decision-making bodies?

DIG DEEPER

OECD/SWAC (2018), “Gender Inequality in West African Social Institutions”, West African Papers, No. 13, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/fe5ea0ca-en.

OECD/SWAC (2018), “Agriculture, food and jobs in West Africa”, West African Papers, No. 14, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://www.oecd.org/swac/topics/food-system-transformations/handout-agriculture-food-jobs-west-africa.pdf.

OECD/SWAC (2019), “Integrating gender analysis into food & nutrition security early warning systems in West Africa”, West African Papers, No. 24, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/abd5f499-en.

OECD/SWAC (2019), “Women suffering from anaemia – a major challenge”, Maps & Facts No. 78, Paris, http://www.west-africa-brief.org/content/en/women-suffering-anaemia-%E2%80%93-major-challenge.

OECD (2019), “SIGI 2019 Global Report: Transforming Challenges into Opportunities”, Social Institutions and Gender Index, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/bc56d212-en.

Article proposed and written by Euro – Mediterranean Women’s Foundation’s Secretary

Publication date: 28 October 2019

Introduction 

In its latest report ‘’The Global Climate in 2015–2019’’, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned that global warming is accelerating, so are the associated features such as the sea level rise, the shrinking sea ice, glacier retreat and last but least the extreme events such as heatwaves, droughts, landslides, floods and hurricanes [1]. Although these events affect all of humanity, their repercussions can radically affect the lives, lifestyles, consumption and economic and social dynamics of certain groups, especially those whose lives depend heavily on natural resources, or who experience a certain degree of loss resulting from resources depletion or scarcity [2].
It has been evidenced by many international actors that women are among the most vulnerable groups to climate change, especially in areas where gender roles and relations lead to gender inequalities. For instance, 80% of people displaced worldwide by climate change are women, according to UNDP [3] who also concluded that ‘’women don´t have easy and adequate access to funds to cover weather-related losses or adaptation technologies. Women also face discrimination in accessing land, financial services, social capital and technology. [4]’’

Despite the disproportionate impact of climate change on women and scientists alarm bells, these risks must be faced with hope and seen as an opportunity to empower women and increase their contributions to finding sustainable alternatives and solutions to environmental problems and their socio-economic consequences. This article attempts to explore the specific relationship between climate change and women in the oases of Tozeur (Tunisia), whose ecosystem has been disrupted and some of its crops resistant to climate change have disappeared due to some unfortunate agricultural policies.

The article is based on a field diagnosis conducted by the association La Ruche de la citoyenneté active de Tozeur (The Hive of Active Citizenship of Tozeur), with the support of the Euro-Mediterranean Women’s Foundation (FFEM) and the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed) within the framework of the project “Strengthening the capacities of equality actors” which consists in analysing women’s local realities and public policies through consultations and dialogues at a grass-roots level, through the set-up of local clusters of gender equality actors in 7 southern Mediterranean countries, including Tunisia (more information about these local clusters’ project is available on www.euromedwomen.foundation). The article is also based on perception surveys with 32 environmental and women empowering entities including associations, trade unions and agricultural development groups (GDAs), four focus group discussions with institutional and civic actors from Chebika, Tamagheza, Hezouwa and Nafta).

Tozeur: Demography, facts and fragile ecosystem 

As its geographical location suggests, the governorate of Tozeur and its 6 delegations (Tozeur, Hezoua, Tamagheza, Nefta, Deguèche and Hamma) are characterised by a dry continental climate with very high evaporation and extremely low rainfall, never exceeding 100 mm/year [5].

Tozeur is the least populated governorate in Tunisia, as the number of inhabitants represents less than 1% of the Tunisian population. More than half of its population are women, due to the recent increasing migration of young males in search of better living conditions in neighbouring cities and regions.

The economy of this governorate is dominated by agriculture, mainly palm date production which remains the most important sector in terms of area, production volume and revenues, following decades of agricultural business policies supporting date palm monoculture. These policies though led to the depletion of water resources and the gradual loss of local oasis expertise which adopted integrated agriculture to adapt to difficult climatic conditions.

This ancient agriculture is carried on, typically by superimposing three layers: at the top, date palms; in the middle, fruit trees (oranges, bananas, pomegranates, apples, etc.); and, in the shade, at the lowest level, plants (vegetables, fodder, cereals) [6]. The three-stage culture creates an oasis microclimate that reduces evaporation, allows the growing of several species using the water and the sun, and shelters and preserves a wide diversity of animals [7]. Therefore, the dependence on one type of agriculture, coupled with high temperatures and water scarcity, started to vulnerating the oasis ecosystem and posing a serious threat to its inhabitants and their livelihoods.

This fragile situation has, though, pushed Tozeur’s population to engage in tourism, a sector has a lot of potential.

Oasis Women: traditional knowledge and economic practice 

As most of the oasis women in North Africa, women in Tozeur play an important role in the management and the conservation of biodiversity. They have knowledge and expertise, acquired over centuries, of conservation, processing and recovery of date palm products, other fruits, palm grove by-products and surrounding species [8].

Their lifestyle, positions, roles, customs, behaviours and even economic activity are quite diverse and are governed by their area’s nature. For instance, in the mountainous area of Tamagheza, Chbika and Mides where lifestyle is semi-rural, women take part in fieldwork at the bottom level (irrigation, hoeing, weeding, etc.), contributing to maintaining soil quality. They are also responsible for caring for herds’ hygiene and stables.

Meanwhile, the women of Hezoua region are semi-nomads, they travel with their stock-farmer husbands in search of desert pasture. In urban areas such as Tozeur and Nafta, the division between agriculture and domestic life is very clear. Women in these areas don’t customarily work in the fields, where the tasks are considered tough for women, but they contribute to the processing of palm grove products: grading, filling and packaging dates, on one hand; and the preservation and processing of local products such as date syrup, paste and vinegar. They also contribute massively to crafts and artisan dairy products. Women also make use of other oasis products such as vegetable crops, aromatic and medicinal plants. Additionally, women weave clothing and carpets from camel skin and remnants of fabrics.

Underrepresentation of oasis women in the public sphere 

Despite women’s significant contribution to the local economy and the preservation of the oases biodiversity, and their remarkable participation in the first municipal elections after the revolution in 2018 (out of 36 electoral lists, 11 were headed by women in Tozeur), their presence in local governance and the political scene remain weak. Following 2018 municipal elections, women of Tozeur have only won seats as deputy mayors.

The same goes for civil society: 70% of members of organizations targeted by the survey on which this article is partially based are women, while this figure is inverted when it comes to decision-making posts as it turned out that only 30% of active women in associations have managerial roles.

In the survey, 3 out of four of the people interviewed stated that the level of gender integration in development projects in Tozeur is insufficient and that dedicated programmes in the region do not take into account the needs and expectations of oasis women. For example, only 3 out of the 40 development projects, programmed for the Chebika, Tamagheza and Mides regions as part of the Sustainable Management of Oasis Ecosystems project (SMOE), financed by the World Bank, are dedicated to women.

Likewise, women make up only 3% of the members of the GDAs who are been appointed by the State to manage local natural resources including water, forests and pastures.

Existing initiatives and promising efforts to empower oasis women

Tunisia’s Jasmine revolution paved the way for increased participation of women on all levels. In Tozeur, several initiatives have been carried out by or for women, and various programmes and projects were launched to improve women’s lives and boost their leadership.

In 2017, the Regional Commission for Agricultural Development (CRDA) set up a women’s GDA in Tozeur as one of the components pf a project it has been conducted since 2013 with support of the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), to promote women’s participation in rural sustainable development [9].

Civil society organizations are also playing huge role in empowering women and strengthening female entrepreneurship. One good example is Tozeur WES Centre [10] whose some beneficiaries’ achievements were recognized on local and national levels. Precisely, Fathia Arfaoui, a housewife from Bouhlel, who won several awards for the quality of her date-derived products, after attending one of WES Centre’s training programme.

Another good example is the social enterprise Shanti which came up with the project El Mensej as a solution to fight environmental pollution caused by cloth waste, as well as to perpetuate an endangered knowledge and tradition [11].

Investing in initiatives enabling women to recover agricultural heritage would contribute to oasis women’s economic empowerment © La Ruche de la citoyenneté active de Tozeur

In 2018, and following the field diagnosis on which this article is based, the association La Ruche de la citoyenneté active à Tozeur conducted several activities to strengthen the resilience of oasis women in the face of climate change and to improve the incomes of women artisans through the promotion of local know-how and products that result from it (gastronomy, crafts …). these activities included a training for local elected officials and members of the civil society of Tozeur on gender and climate change, the production and dissemination of videos and radio programs on traditional dishes in connection with the biodiversity of oases, and the distribution of a directory to facilitate the marketing of local products developed by women in the region of Tozeur [12].

Conclusion:

Women of Tozeur have a close relationship with the oasis, therefore, any imbalance affecting the oasis ecosystem will evidently have an impact on their lives, which means that they must be involved in every decision making related to local development.

Investing in initiatives enabling women to recuperate and revive ancestral knowledge and agricultural and cultural heritage would contribute to the economic empowerment of women in Tozeur and the preservation of the environment. A program to improve product quality, packaging, and marketing will increase sales revenue for these women and help them to meet their needs and those of their families.

Scientific research in the area of adaptation and resilience to climate change in oasis regions needs to be developed and further explored. It is also necessary to build the capacities of local civil and institutional actors in planning and executing gender-sensitive projects and programs.

An urgent action to protect and to re-introduce local varieties resistant to climate change is also needed.

References

https://www.euromedwomen.foundation/pg/en/news/view/8281/climate-change-and-womens-economic-empowerment-in-tozeur

Concept note

In the context of the adoption of the new United Nations Sustainable Development goals and the historic Paris Climate Agreement at COP21, both followed by the perspective of COP22 in Marrakech, the Kingdom of Morocco is convening a worldwide summit on Women Leaders and Global Transformation needed to bring humanity on a low carbon economy trajectory. Through an impressive gathering of active women leaders in different sectors from all horizons (business CEOs City Mayors, NGO activists, Politicians, Scientists…) this unique Summit will be an opportunity to reiterate the new paradigm shift that is happening globally in the area of sustainable development, climate mitigation and adaptation due to solutions provided by women.

Women in different fields and across different realms deliver solutions to climate change and sustainable development and can be role models for other men and women. They are also a source of inspiration for women lacking access to information or the means for influencing development. Millions of women today are marginalized yet can be real solution providers for sustainable development and climate change. We know women are more vulnerable to climate change yet by working with them can be empowered to be part of the transformation towards low carbon solutions and a more equitable sustainable development.

Together women can pave the way towards change and be an example to the world by empowering and inspiring each other.

Objectives

The main objective of the summit is to show how women can be strong solution providers and how collaboration with other women and proactive men can enhance further sustainable development and decarbonization. The Kingdom of Morocco would like to show that women can be proactive leaders taking their own and their children’s future into their hand and bring concrete solutions to the table.

Two key axes will be developed

1. Showcase women leaders across all spheres of influence who have succeeded in adapting and innovating in their businesses, governments, universities, communities and are providing low carbon and sustainable solutions towards economic development

2. Illustrate solidarity between women globally mainly in three key areas; Energy • Innovation • Adaptation 

Outcome

It would be ideal to come out of the meeting with an enhanced understanding of leadership paradigms and solutions provided by women as well as coalesce around adaptation & mitigation .projects in order to improve the daily life of women and create avenues for empowerment.

When

November, 16th 2016

Where

Marrakech

More information on how to attend are available on the website.

To read the original concept note, click here.

The “Innovative Pilot Scheme Would Match Seeds to the Needs of Women Farmers” (also called “Ethiopian Seeds for Needs”) is one of the winning projects of 2009 Global Development Marketplace: Adaptation for Climate Change. The Development Marketplacehttp://wbi.worldbank.org/developmentmarketplace/competition/2009-global-dm-adaptation-climate-change is a competitive grant program organized by the World Bank, aiming to identify about 20 innovative projects dealing with climate change. The “Ethiopian Seeds for Needs” is one of the winning projects of the 2009 competition (it won an award of $200,000). It was put in place in Ethiopia by Bioversity International, the “world’s leading organization dedicated to agricultural biodiversity research”Bioversity International website: About us.

The Project

“Ethiopian Seeds for Needs” started on the observation that climate change endangers food security in many developing regions of the world, in particular in Africa. Therefore, the goal of the project was to give women farmers “an assured supply of climate-tolerant seeds for food production as climatic conditions change in the future”“Innovative tools to match seeds to the needs of women farmers in Ethiopia” by Ehsan Dulloo on the Development marketplace blog.

Identifying Resistant Seeds

The project was launched in April 2009 and it first consisted in identyfring resistant seeds. Bioversity International worked closely with Ethiopia’s Institute of Biodiversity Conservation (IBC), which safeguards Africa’s oldest gene bank, to identify seeds that would resist drought and elevated temperatures. Durum wheat and barley were selected among 30,000 samples, being considered as having the highest potential for local adaptation. 100 varieties of each crop were then selected to be tested out by farmers using a geographic information system (GIS)What is GIS?.

The Role of Women in this Project

The project was managed in Ethiopia by a women, Alganesh Tesema, the Institute of Biodiversity Conservation team leader. With her coworkers, they planted the 100 varieties of durum wheat and barley seeds at three project sites. Then, they organized meetings with the elder women of each site to follow the evolution of plantations. Thus, this project was a way of empowering these farmer women who lost their local power because of climate change and degradation of the environment. In Ethiopia, women are the primary seed custodians and thus the first concerned with climate change and its threat to food security. Moreover, this project involved all the generation, young female students being in charge of raising local awareness of the project.

Follow-up

Currently, the varieties collected from the field are being analyzed and measured.

The project was featured during the Conference of the Parties (COP16) of the UNFCCC in Cancun, Mexico, that took place from November 29 to December 10, 2010. “Ethiopian Seeds for Needs” was highlighted during Agriculture DayIbid..

See also

References

External links

Project summary

“Innovative Pilot Scheme Would Match Seeds to the Needs of Women Farmers” presentation on the World Bank website

Bioversity International website

Gender Equality Language in the Cancun Agreements]

“Incorporating a gender perspective in all climate change policies and initiatives is critical to solving the climate crisis” Global Gender and Climate Alliance

The Global Gender and Climate Alliance was created in 2007 at the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali. In 2005, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Women's Environment and Development Organization (WEDO) decided that a coordinated global strategy on the issue of gender and climate change was needed. Along with the United NationsDP and the UNEP, these organisations officially launched the GGCA at the United NationsFCCCCOP-13 in Bali.

The GGCA works to ensure that climate change policies, decision-making, and initiatives at the global, regional, and national levels are gender responsive.

The Alliance

The GGCA is a UN-NGO alliance working on the issue of gender and climate change. The alliance brings together many national and international institutions and organisations working alongside each other to underline the importance of gender in climate change decision-making, policies and initiatives. The alliance today includes more than 25 different institutions, UN agencies and civil society organisations. 

The “steering committee” is led by the IUCN, WEDO, the UNDP and the UNEP. Other institutions which make up the alliance include:

• The Food and Agriculture Ogranisation FAO
• The International Organisation for Migration (IOM)
• The Convention on Biological Diversity Secretariat
• The International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (International Strategy for Disaster Reduction)
• The UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation ( United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization )
• The UN Development Fund for Women (United NationsIFEM)
• The World Health Organisation (WHO)
• Energia International Network
• The Gender and Water Alliance (Gender and Water Alliance)
• The International Alliance of Women ( The International Alliance for Women )

Aims

The primary goal of the GGCA is to ensure that climate change policies, decision making, and initiatives at the global, regional and national levels are gender-responsive.

The GGCA has four complementary objectives:

• To integrate a gender perspective into policy and decision making in order to ensure international mandates and other legal instruments on gender equality are fully implemented.
• To ensure that financing mechanisms on mitigation and adaptation address the needs of poor women and men equitably.
• To build capacity at all levels to design and implement gender-responsive climate change policies, strategies and programmes.
• To develop, compile, and share practical tools, information, and methodologies to facilitate the integration of gender into policy and programming.

Work

The GGCA has been recognised as a unique and effective partnership in its work on gender and climate change decision-making and initiatives. 

Some of their key areas of work include gender mainstreaming in adaptation to climate change efforts and in financing mechanisms, the establishment of gender-sensitive strategies on technological development and on mitigation actions and the creation and adaptation of international law instruments as a framework for mainstreaming gender in climate change.

The GGCA has, for example, created a training manual aimed at increasing the capacity of policy-makers so that efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change are gender-sensitive.

References

See also

GenderCC – Women for Climate Justice is a global network of organisations, experts and activists working for gender equality, women’s rights and climate justice.

Background

GenderCC has evolved in the context of the international climate change negotiations (UNFCCC). Its activities, connections and learning include women and gender experts at all levels, as well as in policy, research and practical implementation.

GenderCC is working to achieve gender and climate justice by:

• Raising awareness and building capacity on gender and climate to improve climate policies;
• Increasing the knowledge base on gender and climate to identify effective mitigation and adaptation options;
• Empowering women and men to actively contribute to mitigation and adaptation;
• Enhancing cooperation on gender and climate issues at all levels; and
• Advocating for gender and climate justice as overarching, guiding principles.

GenderCC’s mission

GenderCC believes that in order to achieve women’s rights, gender justice and climate justice, fundamental changes are necessary to overcome the existing systems of power, politics, and economics. The challenges of climate change and gender injustice resemble each other – they both require whole system changes and not just gender mainstreaming but transforming gender relations and societal structures. Not just technical amendments to reduce emissions but real mitigation through awareness and change of unsustainable life-styles and the current ideology and practice of unlimited economic growth. Not the perpetuation of the current division of resources and labour but a responsible cooperative approach to achieving sustainable and equitable societies. Linking women’s rights, gender justice and climate justice is key to achieving these fundamental changes. This is a question of justice and equity as much as a matter of quality and effectiveness of decisions.

GenderCC Governance

GenderCC is led by a Steering Committee of women from Africa, Asia, Latin America, Pacific Island States, North America and Europe. The Steering Committee develops and approves policies and strategic plans of GenderCC; it monitors implementation; initiates evaluation activities, and represents GenderCC. GenderCC is working through regional Focal Points that anchor in the realities of women and communities, channel experiences and interests from local and regional to international level and conduct substantial work for GenderCC such as capacity building, outreach and research. The Steering Committee and the Focal Points are assisted by the International Secretariat, currently located in Berlin, Germany, where GenderCC is formally registered as a non-profit organisation.

UNFCCC Women & Gender Constituency

Since November 2009, Women & Gender is accepted as an official constituency in its own right by the UNFCCC secretariat. The goal of the Women’s and Gender Constituency is to formalise the voice of the women’s and gender civil society organizations present and regularly active in UNFCCC processes, and to debate, streamline and strengthen the positions which these organisations put forth.

GenderCC is currently the focal point of the constituency. To learn more about it, please contact info@gendercc.net

Members and Services

GenderCC welcomes individuals and organisations active in the fields of gender and climate and related issues to join the network. Everybody who is committed to gender justice in climate change policy can join the list-serve to follow debates and exchange information. Anyone can become a full member of GenderCC – as an individual or an organisation.

Please contact info@gendercc.net for more information.

The GenderCC platform for information, knowledge, and networking at www.gendercc.net offers information on:

• Information and news about gender in climate policy and women’s / gender activities in the international an national climate policy arena
• Research and case studies that clarify and illustrate the gender aspects
• Tools for integrating gender dimensions in climate change policies and measures.

Contact

• Address: GenderCC – Women for Climate Justice Anklamer Str. 38 10115 Berlin, Germany
• Website: http://www.gendercc.net
• Email: info@gendercc.net

About Barefoot College

Barefoot College was established in 1972. Located in Rajastan, India it is a non-governmental organisation which engages in sustainable and self-sufficient services and solutions for rural communities. Their ‘Barefoot solutions’ are classified into solar energy, water, education, health care, rural handicrafts, people’s action, communication, women’s empowerment and wasteland development.http://www.barefootcollege.org/. Viewed on December 13, 2010.

Selection Process

In order for a village to be considered by Barefoot College for solar electrification, it needs to fulfil three categories: be inaccessible, remote and non-electrified. At an initial meeting with members of such a community, Barefoot College representatives explain the benefits of solar energy. If the community is interested, a Village Environment Energy Committee (VEEC) is established. The VEEC, consisting of men and women, inquire within the village to find out which households are interested. A monthly contribution is necessary from every household in order to create a feeling of ownership, which will ensure respect for the solar equipment.
The entire village community then selects a BSE through transparent means. This is a requirement so that all members of the community know who has been selected. Barefoot College encourages villagers to select someone who does not qualify for low government positions, which often neglect middle-aged women, widows and single mothers. Since there is an incentive to migrate to larger cities once training has been obtained, choosing these women will increase the chances of return to the village. Finally, there needs to be a general consensus within the community to allow the newly selected BSE to travel to India for 6 months and fulfil the training.

Barefoot Solar Engineers (BSEs) 

The role of a Barefoot Solar Engineer (BSE) is to establish solar electricity for her village through solar lighting units and then maintain and repair the equipment for a minimum of five years. A BSE must also establish a Rural Electronic workshop within her community to enable other villagers to acquire knowledge regarding the new material. The BSE’s role is essential in the maintaining of light which is environmentally friendly, economically advantageous and healthy (since solar panels provide an alternative to toxins released by paraffin lamps).  

Skills acquired

A BSE is trained to be able to “understand and identify basic electrical terms, components and equipment. They learn to assemble and fabricate circuits and solar lanterns, solar lamps, charge controllers, choke coils and transformers, and learn to correctly connect modules, batteries, lamps and charge controllers. Barefoot College strives to make every trainee capable enough to confidently and independently install, test, repair and maintain fixed solar lighting units, solar lanterns, as well as a REW (Rural Electronic workshop).”http://www.barefootcollege.org/sol_approach.asp. Viewed on December 12, 2010.

Impact on Women

By becoming an BSE, women who previously were unable to acquire a job at even the lowest levels of their government, are able to secure an income whilst becoming an invaluable source to their community. Furthermore, their role in establishing a Rural Electronic workshop establishes them as teachers, promoting environmental values and their own values within their community.

References

See also

External links

Kenyan Women Light Up Villages with Solar Power

Progress powered by local knowledge

Proposal for A Solar Energy Project For Akwasiho Village

UN Interactive Expert Panel, Barefoot Solar Engineers A Community Solution

Table of Contents

1. Why does gender matter?
   1. Gender vs. sex
   2. Gender formed by culture
   3. Gender, the environment, and gender mainstreaming
   4. Cultural gender norms and water
2. Effect of climate change on women and water
   1. Precipitation pattern changes
   2. Sea level rise
   3. Desertification
   4. Glacier melt
3. See also

Why does gender matter?

Gender vs. sex

Gender and sex connote two different characteristics that can be used to describe individuals. “Sex” refers to biological, physiological structures that differentiate males and females; this terms describes chromosomes, organs, and hormones. “Gender,” on the other hand, refers to the culturally conceived differences between people based on their sex. When discussing femininity and masculinity, womanly or manly characteristics, one refers to gender, not sex. Sex has very little variation; gender, between cultures, can vary widely in what it means (Kimmel 2013). Jennifer Fluri defined gender in relation to how it manifests on one’s body based on one’s biological sex definition: “Gender is an expression of the social roles, norms, and expectations that are mapped onto one’s biological body…[but] differences between women and men are not firmly dichotomous” (Oberhauser et al. 2017, 26). Kimmel also argues that there is a power-relations dynamic inherent in current conceptualizations of gender, and these power relations place men as in power above women, and often above other men (Kimmel 2013).

Gender formed by culture

Gender, by definition, is constructed based on cultural understandings and expectations of how men and women should behave. These behaviors become entrenched in individuals due to the influence of culture on daily lives, and the acceptance of gendered norms of behavior are reinforced through performance, or acting in accordance with mainstreamed expectations of one’s gender. Under the concept of performativity, gender becomes the act doing behaviors associated with a particular sex based on cultural norms, and repetition of this performativity results in gender roles becoming normalized social behaviors. Because gender reflects culture, gender norms can shift over time as society and cultures change (Oberhauser et al. 2017).

Acts of performativity of gender both result from and reinforce dominant social and political concepts of gendered behaviors. Those who do not perform gender according to dominant gender concepts engage in code-switching. These concepts include how different people experience access to natural resources, space, and place. Feminist geographers recognize that gender roles and norms can include differences in how different genders have different experiences and associations with certain spaces and places: “places…are perceived and experienced differently by different groups of people” based on gender, race, class, and other forms of labels and categories. Patriarchal and heterosexual norms can mean that public places and private spaces can hold entrenched expectations of behavior based on gender and identity which can disadvantage people who enter those spaces while also not conforming to these expectations and norms. Gender can further inform how different groups of people move through such spaces, in a concept called mobility, both in terms of large-scale movements of large groups but also including movement in the patterns of everyday life and responsibilities (Oberhauser et al. 2017).

Gender, the environment, and gender mainstreaming

Feminist political ecology (FPE) seeks to question and inform understanding regarding how gender, and other social labels and classifiers, influence how people relate to and interact with the natural environment. In particular, FPE examines how gender roles and power relations influence divisions of labor along gender lines in sectors closely tied to the environment, such as agriculture and subsistence farming, population studies, and family health. FPE research and literature views human-environmental relations as heavily influenced by gender, power relations, and divisions of labor (Oberhauser et al. 2017). Recognizing this branch of scholarship and connections between gender roles and natural resource use, development-focused organizations often attempt integrate gender equality goals into development and sustainability projects by paying increased attention to women’s roles in community engagement with the environment (Ivens 2008). Gender becomes integrated into these environmentally-focused and development-oriented policies, projects, and programs through gender mainstreaming, which further encourages the convergence of women’s issues and gender equality with natural resource protection and development projects (Dankelman 2010).

Cultural gender roles and water

Beginning in the 19th century, water management, access, and technology was considered a masculine domain. In contrast to this culturalized dimension of masculine technological control, water gathering and supply to family units remains primarily a woman’s task in most regions of the world where water gathering is a main chore. This water work is also largely unpaid household work based on patriarchal gender norms dictating that women are the main actors responsible for most tasks involving water, such as laundry, cooking, and child care (Bennet, Davila-Poblete, Rico 2008). Gender norms can negatively affect how men and women access water through such behavior expectations along gender lines–for example, when water collection is a woman’s chore, men who collect water may face discrimination for code-switching and performing perceived women’s work (CAP-NET and GWA 2006). On the other hand, the same norms often result in women being pressured to collect and use water in an efficient and timely manner, without the advantages of modern technology (Krishnaraj 2011).

Effect of climate change on gender and water

The warming of the earth’s climate has had many adverse effects on societies all over the world. In many areas, people suffer from drought, flooding due to sea level rise, and other threats to their food and water stability and accessibility. It has been noted that gendered vulnerabilities that may already be present in some societies have been amplified due to the threats posed by climate change. Disparities between gendered roles in the household and who holds a family’s assets become even more drastic when a family unit is faced with competition for essential resources like water (Eastin 2018). Additionally, gendered accessibility to disaster relief and resources allows for marginalized groups to be disproportionately affected by climate change related disasters (Knight et al 2012). These are all factors that need to be addressed through a combination of empathy, policy, ethics, and action as a greater number of marginalized groups are being affected and displaced by the effects of climate change.

Precipitation pattern changes

In the past ten years, the Brazilian Amazon has already faced some of the most disastrous droughts and floods due to changes in precipitation attributed to climate change. Other climate changes in this area have been noted such as an increase in the dry season length, increased river discharge, overall reduced precipitation and temperature increase projections (Menezes et al 2018). Areas of Northern Brazil were studied to determine the vulnerability of the people that live here and determine the factors that influence their vulnerability (Menezes et al 2018). This study focused on the systems in place to address future hydrometeorological climate change disasters as well as socioeconomic conditions already present.

People that live in highly impoverished were found to be more vulnerable to the effects of climate change (Menezes et al 2018). As found in another study, it is common that societies with less access to resources due to poverty tend to reinforce gendered societal structures because of low socioeconomic mobility of women (Eastin 2018). Those already in power in societies unequally impacted by climate change receive the majority of available resources while those already in poverty continue to be discriminated against and given very little to survive.

Sea level rise

Sea level rise may be one of the most impactful side effects of climate change and will influence the lives of countless people. As habitable area like coastal and low lying areas become inundated with ocean water, the percentage of the population that is affected by this sea level increase will also rise (McAdam et al 2016). There has been widespread disruption to global water resources as a result of increased ocean transgression and loss of freshwater sources. Over half a billion people live in low elevation areas that will be affected by sea level rise and the influences it may have on agriculture, freshwater availability, and habitable spaces (McAdam et al 2016).

The right to water is not explicitly stated in the United Nations’ International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) report, which although implicitly stated, may become problematic as people affected by sea level rise may need to leave their homes and seek refuge elsewhere (McAdams et al 2016). Disaster relief has been and continues to be gendered, and leaves room for discrimination and allows marginalized groups to be disproportionately affected by natural hazards (Knight et al 2012). As has also been seen before, when resource availability decreases, marginalization increases, and already structured societal discrimination is reinforced (Eastin 2018). The gendering of resources available to those affected by sea level rise and other natural disasters caused by climate change is a jarring reality of current social systems around the world.

Desertification

In Africa, women are responsible for nearly 80 percent of agriculture and water collection, and yet they remain in poverty (Zoloth 2017). As farms become infertile and water tables run dry from desertification, families are forced to move their homes and find refuge elsewhere. Particularly in areas that rely heavily on agriculture, desertification results in a widespread loss of fertile land and ultimately adds to gendered vulnerability by reinforcing previously established gendered roles (Eastin 2018). When food is unavailable in a community due to desertification, women have reduced bargaining power, and are less likely to obtain independent socioeconomic status and are more reliant on the systems that discriminate against them (Eastin 2018). A lack of water means women in these areas of the world means it is more difficult for women to safely carry a pregnancy to term, give birth, nurse their children while maintaining self hygiene by washing and caring for themselves and their infants (Zoloth 2017). The large disparity between overconsumption of rich countries and the lack of access to basic resources in the poorest areas of the world needs to be addressed through a combination of ethics, policy, and action. Doing so will increase resource accessibility which will then indirectly lessen the reliance on gendered societal structures and allow women to have more mobility and bargaining power within political and societal systems.

Glacier melt

The majority of the world’s glaciers are being adversely affected by climate changes and have been retreating due to the global increase in temperature. The mountain glaciers found in the high altitudes of the Andes are not exempt from this general trend. The large scale retreat of the Andean glaciers, although temporarily providing extra water supply to groups of people downstream of the meltwater during the dry season, there is a long term threat to dry season river discharge (Vuille et al 2018). The fresh meltwater from the glacier is used for agriculture and drinking water in Peru and many other highly populated areas downstream of the retreating Andean glaciers.

Additionally, in Peruvian culture, there are strong connections between masculinity and power over water, and ultimately, a decrease in water availability will lead to further discrimination and a gendered power imbalance for water (Delgado and Zwarteveen 2007). Much like the incidents in previous case studies, in the face of a lack of resources, societies rely upon the patriarchal structures in which creates a greater gendered imbalance. Those who began in power continue to receive the majority for the resources while those in poverty and with little independence or social freedom continue to suffer must rely upon the system (Eastin 2018).

See also

Bennet, Vivienne, Davila-Poblete, Sonia, and Maria N. Rico. 2008. Water and gender: the unexpected connection that really matters. Journal of International Affairs 61(2): 107-126.

CAP-NET and GWA. 2006. Why Gender Matters: a tutorial for water managers. Multimedia CD and booklet. CAP-NET International network for Capacity Building in Integrated Water Resources Management, Delft.

Dankelman, Irene. 2010. Gender and Climate Change: An Introduction. New York: Taylor and Francis.

Delgado, Juana Vera, and Margreet Zwarteveen. 2007. “The Public and Private Domain of the Everyday Politics of Water: The Constructions of Gender and Water Power in the Andes of Perú.” International Feminist Journal Of Politics 9(4): 503.

Eastin, Joshua. 2018. Climate change and gender equality in developing states. World Development 107: 289-305.

Ivens, Saskia. 2008. Does increased water access empower women? Development 51: 63-67.

Kimmel, Michael. 2013. The Gendered Society. 5th Ed., New York: Oxford University Press

Knight, Kyle. Gaillard,JC, Sanz, Kristinne. 2012. Gendering the MDGS Beyond 2015: Understanding Needs and Capacities of LGBTI Persons in Disasters and Emergencies. Global Thematic Consultation.

Krishnaraj, Maithreyi. 2011. Women and water: Issues of gender, caste, class and institutions. Economic and Political Weekly 46(18): 37-39.

McAdams, Jane, Burson, Bruce, Walter, Kalun, & Weerasinghe, Sanjula. 2016. International Law and Sea-Level Rise: Forced Migration and Human Rights. FNI Reports, (1), 1.

Menezes, J., Confalonieri, U., Madureira, A., Duval, I., Santos, R., Margonari, C. 2018. Mapping human vulnerability to climate change in the Brazilian Amazon: The construction of a municipal vulnerability index. Plos ONE  13(2):1-30.

Oberhauser, Ann M., Fluri, Jennifer L., Whitson, Risa, and Mollett, Sharlene. 2017. Feminist Spaces: Gender and Geography in a Global Context. Florence: Taylor and Francis.

Vuille, Mathias, Carey, Mark, Huggel, Christian, Buytaert, Wouter, Rabatel, Antoine, Jacobsen, Dean, Soruco, Alvaro, Villacis, Marcos, Yarleque, Christian, Elison Timm, Oliver, Condom, Thomas, Salzmann, Nadine, & Sicart, Jean-Emmanual, 2018. ‘Invited review: Rapid decline of snow and ice in the tropical Andes – Impacts, uncertainties and challenges ahead’, Earth-Science Reviews, vol. 176, pp. 195-213.

Zoloth, Laurie. 2017. At the Last Well on Earth: Climate Change is a Feminist Issue. ProjectMUSE 2:139.

What is Climate Change?

Climate change is defined as a change in climate, which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods UNFCCC, 1992: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/conveng.pdf accessed 1st August 2012. Climate change is caused by protracted emissions of Green House Gases (GHGs) from anthropogenic activities. Climate change is a reality and a serious problem, experienced in many parts of the world in various forms such as droughts, heat waves, retreating of glaciers in Polar Regions and melting of ice caps on tropical mountains. Signs of climate change are written on many walls in both developed and developing countries. Recent worldwide events have clearly shown high costs involved in adaptation and mitigating impacts of adverse effects of climate change. Many countries, such as Uganda has suffered from the impacts of droughts and landslides resulting into heavy property and human losses http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/26/uganda-landslides-dead-villages-destroyed

Major effects of climate change

• Reduced agricultural productivity

In Uganda, agriculture is subsistent, rain-fed and therefore vulnerable to climate change and climate variability. Agricultural performance fluctuates with climate variability and climate change and is also affected by rudimentary means of production, poor markets and storage facilities. Prolonged droughts have serious impacts on agricultural production, therefore leading to famine, pasture insufficiency, low production and productivity of crops and animals. Given the fact that 56.3 percent of women in Uganda are employed in the agricultural sector, they continue to be the most vulnerable segment of population to these changes as they bear the major responsibility for food provision and health for their families. Uganda Bureau of Statistics,December 2007,” Report on the Labour Force Market Conditions in Uganda” Overall food scarcity results in nutritional insufficiency with serious health consequences that affect women more than men since they are the major food managers and producers at the household level.

• Increased flooding from sea level rise and heavy storms/rainfall

Climate change exacerbates extreme weather conditions such as tropical storms, heat waves, and heavy precipitation leading to flooding IPCC (2007) Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Summary for policy makers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Women are more likely to die as a result of such disasters and if they survive, they suffer the most from the consequences. Reasons for this disparity have been attributed to women’s lack of capacity to cope during such situations. For example one factor in the higher female mortality rates following the 2004 tsunami (although not caused by climatic factors) was women being unable to climb trees women environment network, Gender and the Climate Change agenda: ” the impacts of climate change on women and policy”. Like many other parts of the World, during the “El Niño” floods, East African countries had diverse loss of lives, destruction of homesteads and other infrastructure. FAO/GIEWS – Special Report : Eastern Africa ” Heavy reains attributed to El niῆo, 5th Februarry 1998, http://www.fao.org/docrep/004/w7832e/w7832e00.htm#E12E4

This normally results into injuries, increased risk of various infectious diseases like cholera, dysentery, asthma and other cardio-vasicullar illnesses due to migration, overcrowding and contamination of water. Because of their traditional roles in the home and as carers, women often experience an increased workload as they attempt to rebuild their households and care for other affected family members Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, The State of Uganda Population Report 2009

• Declining water resources

Prolonged and severe droughts have led to lower water levels in rivers, underground aquifers and reservoirs affecting the hydrology, biodiversity and water supply http://www.unep.org/geo/geo4/report/04_water.pdf.. This affects water availability which is essential to people’s livelihoods since it is used for both domestic and productive purposes. This phenomenon reduces the time women would have spent performing other income generating activities and attaining an education since they have to walk long distances in search of water http://unfccc.int/files/adaptation/nairobi_workprogramme/partners_and_action_pledges/application/pdf/wedo_furtherinfo_water_190411.pdf. In some communities, young women have been subjected to sexual violence on their way to and from fetching water by unscrupulous men; also, the time spent at school has reduced, since children in water-stressed areas spend most of their time lining up and fetching water in far-off places Project Have Hope Website ,http://www.projecthavehope.org/about-us/womens-issues.html.

• Spread of vector-borne diseases to new areas

Many vector, food and water-borne diseases are sensitive to climatic conditions. It is projected that climate change will be accompanied by an increase in heat waves, often exacerbated by increased humidity and urban air pollution, which would be caused by heat-related deaths and illnesses IPCC TAR, 2001a. Climate Change 2001: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. IPCC Third Assessment Report, Cambridge University Press. Heavy rains are associated with flooding and landslides which destroy health infrastructure like latrines, bridges and water sources. This provides grounds for outbreaks of communicable diseases by harboring disease-causing pathogens. Besides, droughts can result in frequent dust storms causing respiratory as well as eye infections in the lowlands. This increases women’s burden of caring for the sick and the elderly.

Recommendations

To be successful, adaptation policies and measures within both developed and developing countries need to be gender-sensitive. In Uganda, this is catered for in the gender policy (2007), which provides for a framework for gender-responsive development. There is also a strong need to include women at the highest possible decision-making level since they are often under represented at international, regional and national levels.

There is a strong need for increased awareness given the fact that the level of awareness of planners and decision-makers is relatively low and therefore climate change continues to remain a low priority area. National Planning Authority, April 2010, “The National Development Plan 2010/11 – 2014/15”, http://www.npa.ug/docs/NDP2.pdf It is not until Climate change and its effects are understood that gender issues will be taken into consideration. In principle, gender could be relatively easily integrated, for example into stakeholder analyses, livelihoods analyses and multi-criteria decisions tools if the users are aware of such a need and choose to do this.

To achieve climate stabilisation there is need for radical changes in lifestyle and behaviour. The vast gap in resources between the rich and the poor, evident in the gap between the most developing and developed countries is one of the biggest injustices of our times. This failure of resource-fairness makes it impossible for billions of humans to lead decent lives, the sort of life-opportunities that a commitment to true equality should make an absolute essential.

Conclusion

Climate change is a major threat towards the attainment of sustainable development, especially the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – particularly in Africa given the level of vulnerability of the continent and its limited capacity to cope with extreme events. Much as the rich countries have greatly triggered climate change, the most vulnerable are the poor countries and particularly its poor citizens who entirely depend on natural resources. Unfortunately, such people in those poor countries are not even aware of climate change and still have the least or poor capacity to adapt to climate change.

It is therefore the responsibility of Governments, development partners and other climate-knowlegable stakeholders to inform people of this disaster and forge a way forward. Raising awareness without demonstration has practically yielded dividend, therefore addressing this by pooling resources, sharing of skills and implementing climate change adaptation projects will help in minimising the effects of climate change. Responses to climate change should be geared towards critically understanding what impact climate change is predicted to have, and what this will mean to everyone’s livelihoods, health, rights and development.

References

See also

• Gender and climate change
• Women and Climate Change Online Discussion
• Women and the Environment
• Women and Agriculture
• Climate Change (Wikiprogress page)
• Sustainable Development (Wikiprogress page)
• United Nations Women Watch

External links

• unfccc.int
• www.afdb.org

Ripple Effect Images

Ripple Effect Images is a project started by Annie Griffiths, a prominent National Geographic photographer, to record the lives and stories of women around the world facing the effects of climate change. The project works to engage and inspire support from a global community.

Started in 2008, Griffiths brought together a team of world renowned, award-winning photographers and journalists “dedicated to documenting the plight of poor women and girls around the world.” The groups focuses mainly on “the devastating effects of climate change” and the ways in which it is effecting the lives of women in developing countries. The group works closely with scientists and NGOs to identify the challenges facing women and girls and and the innovative programs that are dedicated to helping them. The photographers then make trips to these regions and take stunning photos and video that they make available at no cost to their partners on their website. Organizations and policymakers are able to access and use the photos to help promote and raise funding for the empowerment of poor women and girls around the world.

The photographs are not only professional, but they are inspiring and taken with the sole purpose of increasing awareness of the plight of women in emerging countries and aim to effect change through visuals.

Mission

According to their website, “Ripple Effect’s mission is to raise awareness and funding to help empower women and girls in emerging nations around the world. The organization is currently working with NGOs, ambassadors, corporate leaders, and the State Department.”Ripple Effect “What We Do.” Retrieved 21 September 2013.

The work they do is directed at highlighting the effects of climate change and the fact that women in developing countries suffer more than men.Ripple Effects Website, “Why We do It” Retrieved 21 September 2013 As a result of this inequality, programs working to mitigate climate change by working with women have a much larger effect.

“Most people in the Western world are unaware that women in developing countries suffer far more than men as a result of environmental changes. In drought, they must walk for hours to find water for their families. In nearly all situations, women are the ones who feed the children and the elderly, carry the young when they are forced to migrate, and nurse them when they are sick from waterborne diseases or malnutrition. Unfortunately, as critical decisions are made about designating climate change dollars, the specific needs of women are often excluded. It is a fact that the highest impact programs that mitigate climate change are those that invest in women and girls. Statistics show that when women are offered even a small opportunity, they pay it forward to their families and communities at three times the rate that men do. Climate change dollars designated for women’s programs have a significant impact on both human lives and the environment.”

Projects

Projects by Ripple Effect Images have taken place in Kenya, Jordan, Bangladesh, Peru, Nicaragua, Cambodia, and Rwanda.Ripple Effect Archive Gallery List Retrieved 21 September 2013. The organization has focused on five main issues facing women as a result of climate change: Water Availability, Food Security and Nutrition, Health Security, and Energy Security. Ripple Effect Images highlights solutions to ameliorate the challenges faced by developing countries in face of environmental threats and the programs that are doing work towards improving the lives of women.

Effects of Climate Change on Women

Ripple Effects has identified several main problems faced by women facing climate change. Natural disasters, drought, limited access to sustainable fuels, deforestation, air pollution, and flooding all impact the daily lives and quality of women living all around the world. Women bear the weight of the change. Ripple Effect Images has remarked upon this correlation and sees the opportunity to make a difference as a result of the inequality. If women are most effected by climate change, women can also make the biggest difference if they are empowered with the tools and the resources to do so.

Photographers

Almost an entirely female team, the photographers of Ripple Effect Images are the heart of the project. Using their vast experience in the field, the images they take convey a determination and optimism that the world can and will be a better place once women are empowered to make a difference.

Annie Griffiths was one of the first women photographers to work for National Geographic.Ripple Effect Images Website, “Who We Are: The Team.” Retrieved 21 Sept. 2013 Particularly focused on capturing images related to women’s issues, she has worked on six continents and has received awards from the National Press Photographers Association, the Associated Press, the National Organization of Women, and the White House News Photographers Association. Annie Griffiths’ Website. “About” Retrieved 21 September 2013

Lynsey Addario has photographed for National Geographic, Time Magazine, the Associated Press, the Boston Globe, and the Houston Chronicle. She currently covers India and South Asia for the New York Times. She has received a MacArthur Genius Award, a Pulitzer Prize, and a Young Photographer of the Year award from the International Center of Photography.

Lynn Johnson has been a photojournalist for over thirty years and in that time taken photographs for LIFE magazine, National Geographic, Sports Illustrated and various foundations. She has won many awards including seven Golden Quills for Photojournalism, four World Press Photography awards, and a prestigious POY — Picture of the Year award.

Ami Vitale has traveled to over 75 countries documenting the stories of individuals. She has received recognition and awards from World Press Photos, the Photographer of the Year International award, the Lowell Thomas Award for Travel Journalism, Lucie awards, the Daniel Pearl Award for Outstanding Reporting, and the Magazine Photographer of the Year award.

Michael Davie works as the documentary filmmaker alongside the photographers of Ripple Effects Images. The only male on the team, he has won numerous awards for his films including two Emmys, the Overseas Press Club’s 66th Edward R. Murrow Award, a New York Film Festival Gold Medal and AFI Best Director Award. His work includes films on child soldiers in Africa, war refugees in the Balkans, the plight of Afghan refugees in Pakistan, the empowering impact of music in South African prisons, and the effects of the Congo’s civil war on people and the environment.

Other contributors include author Barbara Kingsolver and Genevieve Roth.

Photo Archive

The Photo Archive is the main component of the Ripple Effect project. Partner organizations and non-profits are granted access to use the archive free of charge to use in order to promote their work. The Archive contains over 10,000 images and 17 films created in the past 5 years. Ripple Effect Website, “Our Impact” Retrieved 21 September 2013. The archive is divided into categories based on where the photos were taken.

Browse the archive and view the images here.

–[User:Sschor|Sschor]

See also

Wikigender study: Farmers in a Changing Climate: Does Gender Matter?

References

External links

Ripple Effects Images Website

Ripple Effects Photo Archive

Annie Griffiths Photography