Themes
Climate change is increasingly recognized as a global threat to peace. Effective responses to conflict prevention and peacebuilding in affected countries and regions require strengthening social inclusion and leveraging the agency of women – especially local women – who are on the frontlines of climate change.
Since the adoption of Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security in 2000, there is a growing body of evidence showing that women’s participation contributes not only to the conclusion of peace talks, but also to the implementation and sustainability of peace agreements. In fact, research has demonstrated that women’s participation increases the probability of a peace agreement lasting at least two years by 20 percent, and by 35 percent the probability of a peace agreement lasting 15 years.
In transitioning from conflict, a principal challenge is ensuring that extractive industries, such as industrial mining and small-scale and artisanal mining, contribute to peacebuilding dividends that create inclusive employment, sustain livelihoods, and support economic recovery and reconciliation at all levels of society, while avoiding new forms of social or environmental grievances.
The equal participation of women in decision-making bodies, processes, and civil society leadership is vital for both community and environmental well-being—and for long-term peace. Due to gendered roles in many fragile and conflict-affected settings, women’s knowledge and experiences of natural resource management constitute a particular entry point to include them more meaningfully in political and decision-making processes at all levels.
Access and rights to land are vital to agricultural livelihoods and food security. Moreover, land rights underpin access to other natural resources that are critical economic assets. When women have secure rights and the ability to participate in decisions related to land, research has shown that land resources are more likely to be used to improve household wellbeing, including improved food consumption and nutrition.
Women’s livelihoods are often strongly dependent on natural resources, particularly in rural areas. Accordingly, a key way to support economic growth is to help women derive greater economic value from the natural resources they manage and process, and valorizing their gendered roles in natural resource management. During and after conflict, women often take on some of the income-generating roles of men in their communities, making it essential that programs consider how women’s roles in income-generation shift during and following times of conflict. These considerations will improve peacebuilding outcomes.
The legal protection of women’s land and resource rights and physical protection from gender-based violence in natural resource use contexts are key to ensuring equitable recovery, economic growth, and human rights in conflict-affected settings. Women’s ability to secure and contest their land rights are particularly critical to protecting their productive assets.
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.