WUNRN
Manila Declaration for Global Action
on Gender, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction
We, the
participants of the Third Global Congress of Women in Politics and Governance,
on Gender in Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction, have
gathered in Manila, Philippines, 19-22 October, 2008,
UNDERSCORING that women are vital agents of change,
holders of valuable knowledge and skills, and can be powerful leaders from
community to global level in climate change mitigation, adaptation and in
disaster risk reduction;
RECOGNIZING that effects of climate change are one of
the most urgent human security, ecological and development challenges of our time—exacerbating
poverty, forced migration and conflict;
HIGHLIGHTING
the close link between climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction
for which the Hyogo Framework of Action 2005-2015 provides a guide to better
protect our societies and economies from current and future hazards;
UNDERLINING
the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that
climate change impacts will vary among regions, generations, ages, classes,
income groups, occupations and gender, and that the most marginalized will be
disproportionately affected;
EMPHASIZING that women make up the vast majority of
the world’s most impoverished people and face unequal access to and control
over resources, technology, services, land rights, credit and insurance systems,
and decision-making power;
RECALLING the 2007 Human
Development Report, which states that climate change is likely to magnify
existing patterns of gender inequalities;
ACKNOWLEDGING that industrialized
countries have a historical responsibility for climate change;
NOTING the lack of awareness
in many countries on the issue of climate change and disaster risk reduction;
and
DENOUNCING the absence of a gender perspective in the global agreements on climate change, despite national, regional and international commitments, and legally binding instruments on gender equality,
HEREIN DECLARE THAT:
1) Climate change and its negative impacts must
be understood as a development issue with gender implications that cuts across
all sectors (social, cultural, economic, and political) from the community to
the global level; and concerted efforts are required by all stakeholders to
ensure that climate change and disaster risk reduction measures are gender
responsive, sensitive to indigenous knowledge systems and respect human rights;
2) Women and men must equally participate in climate change, disaster
risk reduction decision-making processes at community, national, regional and
international levels;
3) The Parties to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) should urge its Secretariat to adhere to
human rights frameworks and standards, and international and national
commitments to gender equality, such as the Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Agenda 21, the Beijing
Platform for Action, Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820, ECOSOC
Resolution 2005/31, the Millennium Development Goals, the Hyogo Framework for
Action and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples;
4)
Parties to the UNFCCC:
a) Shall request its Executive Secretary to develop and implement a strategy to
ensure gender considerations are fully integrated in the Secretariat’s work
plan, programs, assistance to the Parties, and cooperation with financing
mechanisms;
b) Shall ensure
participation of women and gender experts during the preparation and
presentation of national communications, as well as gender parity at national
and international meetings, in particular at the Conference of Parties, and recognize women
as a Constituency; and
c) Should
request the Secretariat to cooperate with international organizations and
donors, in the development of gender-sensitive policies and program guidelines
to aid Governments in ensuring gender equality while reducing climate-related
risks and adapting to climate change at national and community level;
5) Financial institutions and
funding mechanisms supporting climate change measures and disaster risk
reduction should:
a) Integrate gender-sensitive criteria into planning, design,
implementation, monitoring and evaluation of programs, projects and initiatives;
b) Allocate adequate resources to address the needs of women in climate
change mitigation, adaptation and disaster risk reduction, for example through
funding appropriate and environmentally sound technologies and supporting
women’s grassroots initiatives in sustainable use of natural resources; and
c) Refrain from funding extractive industries, such as mining, logging
and oil and natural gas extractions that exacerbate climate change, poverty and
gender inequality;
6)
Market-based mechanisms, such as the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), carbon
trading funds and credits, must be made accessible to both women and men and
must ensure equitable benefits. Thus,
CDM should fund projects that enhance energy efficiency
and make renewable energy technologies available and affordable to women for
household needs, enhancing economic activities and socio-economic mobility;
7) Building on the
Bali Plan of Action, UNFCCC (Article 6), and the Hyogo Framework for Action
(Priority 3) Governments should:
a) Promote, facilitate, develop and implement public
awareness campaigns, education and training programs on climate change and
disaster risk reduction, targeting women and men, and boys and girls alike;
b) Facilitate access to
information on climate change and disaster risk reduction policies and results
of actions, which are needed by women
and men to understand, address and respond to climate change and disaster risk,
taking into account local and national circumstances such as quality of
internet access, literacy and language issues; and
c) Systematically document and make accessible best practices on gender
responsive climate change and disaster risk reduction initiatives, facilitating
replication of such practices;
8) All
development partners shall ensure that
affirmative action is promoted, and climate change and disaster risk reduction
measures are rapidly adopted in high risk areas, such as Africa and small
island states;
9) Governments, their respective statistical offices or bureaus,
international organizations and financial institutions should collect
sex-disaggregated data in every sector and make these readily available;
10)
Governments and international organizations must pursue gender-responsive
budgeting to ensure adequate allocation of resources to enhance the capacity of
women, especially the poorest and most disadvantaged, to foster their
resilience to climate change and disasters;
11)
Governments, regional and international organizations should monitor, prepare
for, and respond to climate-induced human displacement, migration and conflict,
paying special attention to the needs of women and children;
12) South-South and South-North cooperation must be promoted and
coordinated to effectively respond to the global issues of gender in climate
change, disaster risk reduction and food security; and
13) Women organizations and
specialized agencies, civil society, parliamentarians, government ministries
and departments responsible for gender equality and women’s affairs must have a
stronger voice and role in the discussions and decisions that are being made on
climate change and disaster risk reduction.
WE DECLARE OUR FULL COMMITMENT
to contribute to these goals and to cooperate with each other and all relevant
stakeholders—including Governments,
parliamentarians, the private sector, civil society, indigenous peoples,
academia, religious institutions and individuals—with the intent to carry this
declaration forward to all meetings through which decisions on climate change
and disaster risk reduction are made, including the UNFCCC COP-14 (Poznan),
COP-15 (Copenhagen), the Second Session of the Global Platform for Disaster
Risk Reduction and beyond.
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