Renewable Resources

 

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Renewable Resources

Renewable resources—including forest products, water, agriculture, and fisheries, among others—are essential to livelihoods, food security, and basic services. Women and men often play different roles in the use and management of renewable resources. Women make considerable contributions to food security through subsistence farming and collecting wild products, and are often the primary managers of the water, sanitation, and fuel that households depend on. Furthermore, women are often custodians of traditional knowledge that is vital for seed and plant conservation, further contributing to both food security and biodiversity conservation.

In conflict-affected settings, coping mechanisms can rapidly degrade these resources, reducing the overall availability and quality of natural resources due to intensified land use, deforestation, and damaged water infrastructure, among other causes. Women are often responsible for collecting, farming or transforming these renewable resources for household consumption, however they face significant barriers to participate in decision-making processes related to natural resource management. The social structures that govern resource management in rural communities can similarly be affected by conflict, further impacting women’s access to resources on which their households and livelihoods depend.

Experience has shown that understanding women’s specific roles, involving women in the design and implementation of interventions, and ensuring their representation in resource management mechanisms, can benefit not only women, but communities and societies as a whole. However, peacebuilding and economic recovery programs often invest in renewable resource sectors (such as agriculture and tourism) without considering either traditional or new gender roles. As a result, such programming often benefits men over women, with important trickle-down impacts on communities and economies. Leveraging women’s unique knowledge of natural resource management – and their leadership potential – is key at every step of sustaining peace.

Key Resources


Food Security, Sustaining Peace and Gender Equality: Conceptual Framework and Future Directions

The main objective of this study is to generate knowledge and make meaningful, evidence-based and actionable recommendations to governments and other stakeholders, particularly international organizations…

Men and Women as Conservation Partners in Conflict Settings

From the forests of Central and Western Africa to the river systems of the Amazon Basin, many of the world’s most critical ecosystems are located…

 

Resources


Water, War, and Women in Gaza

Blog
In late 2020, a report titled Saving Gaza Begins With Its Waterstated:

The water crisis in Gaza is a problem of daunting proportions, with grave implications for the more…


Jamaica's Female Farmers Rebuild after Hurricane Beryl through Women-Led Cash Voucher Program

International
Alance Wisdom got inside her home just in time to watch the ceiling of her front room collapse. As the rain rushed in, a violent…


Colombia: Women Ex-Combatants Lead Amazon Environmental Restoration

International
Women ex-combatants are redefining peace through environmental conservation efforts rooted deep in the Amazon Rainforest of Colombia. Emerging from years of armed conflict, these women…


Afghanistan: Hydroponic Gardening for Women in Kabul, Nurturing Hope Three Years after the Taliban Comeback

International
"Green rooms" is one of the latest initiatives by the "She works for peace" association, founded by social entrepreneur Selene Biffi. One of the projects…


Women's Access and Control over Woodland and Water Resources in Rural Zimbabwe

Briefs & Development
The management of woodland and water resources in rural Zimbabwe is currently facing enormous challenges related to unequal access and control for women. Woodland and…


Why Women Are Key to Managing Afghanistan’s Water Crisis

Blog
Afghan women’s livelihoods are the most impacted by water scarcity. Involving them in water policy and resource management could provide sustainable livelihoods and climate resilience…


South Sudan: South Sudan Revenge Attack Sparked by Cattle Raid Kills 17

International
A revenge attack triggered by a cattle raid earlier this month has killed at least 17 people in northern South Sudan and forced oil workers…


Kiwa Initiative Promotes Gender Equality in Nature-Based Solutions for Land Restoration

International
As we celebrate World Environment Day, this event is very important for communities around the world who are closely connected to the health of our…


Ukraine: Water Shortage Caused by Dam Breach Hits Southern Ukraine [Video]

International
The destruction of the Kakhovka dam drained the 240-kilometer-long reservoir, affecting the water supply of the surrounding regions of Kherson, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Crimea and Zaporizhzhia,…


Afghanistan: MoEW Predicts Flash Floods, Rise in Rivers’ Water Level

International
The Ministry of Energy and Water (MoEW) has predicted relatively heavy rains, flash floods and rising water level in rivers over the next two days.


Burning Burdens: Unveiling the Gendered Toll of Rising Temperatures on Women in India

International
The number of unusually hot days and nights on Earth is rising and becoming more common. Heat waves develop over a region as high-pressure systems…


Colombia: Armed Groups Use Deforestation as a Bargaining Chip in Colombia

International
Guerillas once protected the forests that provided them with cover, but recently some factions see the trees, critical to the nation’s climate commitments, as leverage…


Gender Equality, Youth Aspirations Keys to Sustainable Peace, Security Council Hears

International
Addressing ambassadors at the Council’s open debate on the role of women and youth, UN Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo highlighted the significant challenges and impacts faced…


Afghanistan: The Extensive Economic Ramifications of Floods: Taliban Unable to Confirm Natural Disaster Losses

International
Over a month has passed since devastating floods swept through Afghanistan. The Taliban have yet to provide precise figures on casualties, injuries, displaced persons, or…


Afghanistan: Afghanistan Floods Affect over 30,000 Since Year-Start: UN

International
More than 30,000 people have been affected by floods across Afghanistan since this year, the United Nations (UN) has said. The World Health Organization also…


CCC Commissioner Underscores Empowering Women

International
The Climate Change Commission (CCC) emphasized the critical role of women in addressing climate change and advocating for gender equality in ecological governance at the…


Water: The Connection between Water, Data and Peace

International
WaPOR, which stands for Water Productivity through Open-access of Remotely-sensed derived data, is a tool created by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United…


The Gendered Impact of Heatwaves and Water Crisis in India

International
The effects of climate change, specifically heatwaves and water scarcity, exert disproportionate effects on women in India. Currently, water reservoir levels in the country have plummeted to…


DENR, UN Women Partner for Environmental Protection, Climate Resilience

International
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga on Monday said she and United Nations Women Philippines Country Programme Coordinator Ma.…


Liberia: FDA Approves Export of Illegal Timber Valued Nearly US$1M

International
The Forestry Development Authority (FDA) approved the export of 797 logs, valued at an estimated US$923,441, despite being aware that over half of the timber…


Persistent Gender Inequalities Hinder Climate Resilience, Say Women

International
Gender equality advocates are furious that decisions on climate change do not involve women despite their vulnerability. 

This as impacts of climate change continue to ravage…


The Climate Crisis is Not Gender Neutral

International
While climate action requires 100% involvement of the population, at the same time, empowering women would mean better climate solutions.


Gabon/Republic of Congo: New Study Confirms FSC-Certified Forests Help Wildlife Thrive in the Congo Basin

International
A new study reveals compelling evidence that forests certified by the Forest Stewardship Council®(FSC®) in Gabon and the Republic of Congo harbour a higher abundance of larger…


There Cannot Be Climate Justice Without Gender Justice

International
Climate change and its impacts are gendered. Cyclone Gorky, which hit Bangladesh in 1991, caused around 140,000 deaths, of which 90% were women. Cyclone Nargis in…


Water Wars: Spending Billions Preparing for Hot Wars When Water Wars Are Looming

International
Since the pandemic, governments have been spending billions on arming themselves for imagined hot wars when billions of dollars are needed to mitigate a global…


Liberia: Kpokolo: Illegal Logging Returns Despite ‘Ban’

International
People in Gbarpolu are secretly harvesting Kpokolo, a boxlike timber the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) said it banned last year.


Honduras: Violence, Land Conflicts, Corruption and Impunity Defy Human Rights

International
Persistent violence, including gender-based violence, land conflicts and impunity are among the most serious human rights challenges in Honduras, the UN High Commissioner for Human…


South Sudan: UN Says Conflict Fuels Food Insecurity in South Sudan

International
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Wednesday blamed the food insecurity situation in South Sudan on the lack of peace and conflict…


Israel/Palestine: The UN Is Investigating the Environmental Impact of the War in Gaza. Here’s What It Says So Far

International
The United Nations is investigating the environmental impact of the war in Gaza, which has caused a catastrophic spike in land, soil and water pollution.


Syria/Turkey: Oil Slicks Blamed on Turkish Strikes Blight Northeast Syria River

International
Oil pollution has been a growing concern in Syria since the 2011 onset of civil war, which has taken a toll on infrastructure and seen…