Women should be included in biodiversity solution
The post-2020 global biodiversity framework needs to close the gender gap by having a specific target related to women, so as to include women’s interest and participation, said Epsy Campbell Barr, vice-president of Costa Rica, during a webinar on advancing gender considerations.
“It is vital that we implement policies and invest on enabling conditions for women (that will allow) their participation in the decisionmaking processes and governance,” said Barr at the event organized by global network Women 4 Biodiversity, or W4B, in collaboration with the Costa Rican government.
The framework is a focus at the second phase of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, which will guide biodiversity policies and programs of all participants for the next 30 years.
The draft post-2020 global biodiversity framework has 21 key actionoriented targets so that everyone will be “living in harmony with nature” by 2050. One key target is to ensure the conservation of at least 30 percent of land and sea areas around the world.
Mrinalini Rai, director of W4B and coordinator of the Women’s Caucus in the Convention on Biological Diversity, said the CBD Women’s Caucus has proposed an additional stand-alone target for the framework with the support of Costa Rica.
She said the goal of Target 22 is “to ensure equitable access and benefits from conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity for women and girls, as well as their informed and effective participation in policy and decision-making related to biodiversity”.
The current draft of the framework is ambitious, but lacks targets and indicators for women. Rai said only one of the 21 biodiversity action-oriented targets mentions women and still falls short of fully being gender responsive.
Rai said the access, use, management and conservation of biodiversity have “gender dimensions” and the framework will be more significant for women if gender considerations are included in the entire framework.
“What does it really mean to be gender responsive? Capacity building is important (because) you need to make sure that there are enabling environments (for women to participate in policymaking),” she said.
Rai said agriculture, which is part of biodiversity conservation, is one area where women remain at a disadvantage. Citing data from the Food and Agriculture Organization, she said women account for over 40 percent of farmers in developing countries, yet their yield is less than their male counterparts. Providing women with the same access to productive resources would increase their yields by 20 to 30 percent, and would help reduce hunger.
Commitment required
Uruguayan Vice-President Beatriz Argimon said commitment to biodiversity will require the “leadership of women in our communities”, and as such must be part of any decision-making in local, national and global levels.
Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, executive secretary of the CBD, said in her opening speech that the first draft of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework “acknowledges and recognizes” gender equality and women’s empowerment. She said Target 21 aims to “ensure equitable and effective participation” of indigenous peoples, women, youth and local communities in the decisionmaking process over land, territories and resources.
“Nonetheless, we must recognize that action on gender cannot be regulated only by one target,” said Mrema, noting that gender is a “crosscutting issue requiring crosscutting approach to support the effective implementation of all agreed goals and targets”.
Basile van Havre, co-chair of the Open-Ended Working Group for the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, said the world is facing important crises including biodiversity loss, climate change and the pandemic. He acknowledged the need to include women to address these challenges, saying “we can’t afford to leave half of humanity outside of the effort”.
Barr said a “gender lens” is needed in designing programs and policies as this will highlight the specific problems that women are facing, leading to a more appropriate solution. She said financial support from both the private and public sectors is also needed “to make this transformative change” that will ensure the access and participation of women.
“We (women) are part of the solution,” Barr said. Unless this is recognized, she said it will be impossible to achieve the targets of the framework.
It is vital that we implement policies and invest on enabling conditions for women (that will allow) their participation in the decision-making processes and governance.” Epsy Campbell Barr, vice-president of Costa Rica