Making risky environments safer
April 2004
United Nations - Division for the Advancement of Women
Natural disasters—particularly erosion and other forms of soil degradation, pollution of freshwaters, shoreline erosion, flooding, loss of wetlands, drought and desertification—impact directly on women in their roles as providers of food, water and fuel.
Climate change can also impact on women’s productive roles since the physical impacts of global warming—rising sea levels, flooding in low-lying delta areas and increased saltwater intrusion—can jeopardize sustainable livelihood strategies. Food security and family well-being are threatened when the resource base on which women rely to carry out their critical roles and obtain supplementary incomes is under-mined. . . .Effective risk assessment and management require the active involvement of local communities and civil society groups to ensure decreased occurrence of disasters and reduced losses and costs when they do occur. The knowledge, contributions and potentials of both women and men need to be identified and utilized.
Keywords: women, environments
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