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Ensuring that women have better access to and control of natural resources such as land, water, forests and minerals can improve the chances of long-term peace and recovery in war-torn countries, according to a UN report.
Direct Link to Full 74-Page 2013 Report:
Women & Natural Resources: Unlocking the Peacebuilding Potential
Summary
A lack of
access to natural resources, including minerals, water and land, is often the
underlying cause of many conflicts around the world. When managed properly
however, as part of a peacebuilding strategy, these same resources can also be
utilized, and their benefits shared to generate sustainable livelihoods that
help guarantee peace and achieve sustainable human development.
Women have
the potential to play a critical role in this process, as they use and manage
land and other natural resources, while meeting water, food and energy needs in
households and communities.
However,
this use rarely translates into women being allowed to influence the
distribution of natural resources or being given a decision making role when
the management of resources is discussed and peace is negotiated.
This report
analyzes the reasons behind this discrepancy, its implications for long-term
peace and development and suggests some solutions.
Part one of
the report examines the relationship between women and natural resources in
peacebuilding contexts, reviewing key issues across three main categories of
resources, including land, renewable and extractive resources.
Part two of
the report discusses entry points for peacebuilding practitioners to address
risks and opportunities related to women and natural resource management,
focusing on political participation, protection and economic empowerment.
The report
was published jointly by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)[DK1] ,
the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Entity for
Gender Equity and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), and the United Nations
Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO). It is the product of a two-year
collaboration among the four partners.
Key Findings
*Women’s role as managers, users and beneficiaries of
natural resources is an often unexplored opportunity for increasing their
contribution to peacebuilding\
*Shifting gender norms in conflict-affected settings can
be utilized to increase women’s participation in decision-making, and to enable
them to engage in economic recovery more productively
*Ignoring the role of women in resource management can
perpetuate inequalities and grievances linked to natural resource rights,
access and control, which have proven to be powerful catalysts for violence
*Addressing issues of inequality related to resource
access and ownership, participation in decision-making and benefit-sharing
early on in the peacebuilding process is therefore a critical condition for
lasting peace and development
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
UN Report
Highlights Women’s Roles in Natural Resource Management During & After
Conflict
January 5, 2015 By
Priya Kamdar
It’s
been 14 years since the UN Security Council adopted Resolution
1325 acknowledging women as important agents of change in recovery
from conflict and peacebuilding generally. But between 1992 and 2011, only four
percent of signatories in 31 major peace processes around the world were women,
and only 12 out of 585 peace agreements referred to or made provisions for
women’s needs in the reconstruction process.
Excluding
women from reconstruction and peacebuilding can prolong conflict and perpetuate
systematic inequalities, no more so then when it comes to natural resource
management. Since 1990, at least 18 conflicts have been fuelled or financed by
natural resources, according to the UN
Environment Program (UNEP).
Since
1990, at least 18 conflicts have been fuelled or financed by natural resources
Among
rural households in the developing world, women are typically the primary providers of water, food,
and energy (e.g., firewood and biomass). As a result, women in
conflict-affected countries are often especially dependent on natural resources
for their livelihoods and especially vulnerable to changes in availability and
access.
Despite this, women are still persistently discriminated against and compensated less in agricultural pursuits, land rights, and other natural resource management activities, as well as excluded from peace processes. This is particularly problematic because the frequent result – food insecurity – threatens not only women, but dependent family members and young children. Additionally, food insecurity often contributes to the recurrence of violence in areas with weak institutions and vulnerable markets.
Failure to recognize the trials and realities women face in
areas affected by conflict violates their rights and dismisses their positive
potential. Women and Natural Resources: Unlocking the Peacebuilding
Potential, a report published jointly by UNEP, UN Women,
the UN Development Program, and the UN
Peacebuilding Support Office, analyzes and offers solutions to
strengthen peacebuilding outcomes by enhancing women’s engagement and
empowerment through natural resource management.
Gender
Dynamics in Conflict-Affected Areas
Women
represent 43 percent of the agricultural labor force in
developing countries and over half of agricultural laborers in sub-Saharan
Africa. Despite this, research indicates that women are rarely
consulted in peacebuilding programs related to agricultural planning,
technology, and access to credit.
Concessions
and interventions often sideline women’s interests, particularly in cases where
male village chiefs or heads of households are responsible for representing
community interests. In fact, some peace agreements have exacerbated land-related vulnerabilities for
women, according to the report.
“Women
form the majority of resource users and managers…but this responsibility seldom
translates to the political or economic levels”
Following
the cessation of conflict in 2005 Aceh, Indonesia, for example, funding for
economic recovery focused primarily on cash crops, such as rice, rubber, palm
oil, and coffee. Women, who primarily grew subsistence crops, were largely
excluded from benefits.
Similarly,
women in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, were sidelined in peacekeeping efforts
and land agreements in the late 1990s and early 2000s, despite the matrilineal
nature of their communities. While women were able to informally participate in
the peace process by utilizing their unique family positions to facilitate
discussion between conflicting groups, they were not adequately represented in
the formal negotiation process.
Women
in conflict-affected areas often also face elevated security risks because of
their natural resource management responsibilities. Population pressures around
refugee and displaced persons camps can lead to water shortages and
deforestation, forcing women to go further and further away to collect drinking
water and firewood, where they may be more vulnerable to assault.
“At
a practical level, women form the majority of resource users and managers in
peacebuilding settings, but this responsibility seldom translates to the
political or economic levels. This has to change,” said Achim Steiner, UN under-secretary-general
and UNEP executive director, in a press release. “Peace and development can only
be achieved when both men and women access and benefit from natural resources
in an equitable and sustainable way.”
Including
Women Leads to Stronger Peace
On
the flip side, peacebuilding can afford an opportunity to change these
dynamics, according to the report. Peace processes typically take place in a
dynamic political environment – governments have been shaken or overthrown, new
powers may be rising, while others fall. This can be an opportunity to empower
women and shift predominant genders roles.
Women
are more likely than men to use natural resources to increase overall family
welfare
Conflicts
related to natural resources are more likely to reignite within the first five
years after the peacekeeping process. But when included in peace negotiations,
women tend to prioritize issues like land rights, natural resources, and
environmental degradation. Research by UN Women shows that women are more likely than
men to use natural resources to increase overall family welfare, reduce child
malnutrition, and improve family food consumption. As a result, including women
in the peace process can reduce post-conflict natural resource inequalities
that trigger re-ignition of conflict.
After the genocide in Rwanda, for example,
women’s membership in land commissions, local and national governing bodies,
and the courts was mandated, leading to the highest percentage of female
parliamentarians anywhere in the world and new laws protecting women’s rights
to own and inherit land.
In
the Darfur Peace Agreement of 2006, women placed a spotlight on the impact of war on
agriculture, and thus the livelihoods of women and children. As a result, the
agreement created mechanisms to address those problems, such as the creation of
investment opportunities, enhancement of productive capabilities, and provision
of credit, production inputs, and capacity-building for women farmers.
Opportunities
for Peacebuilding
In
essence, the report argues, women are an untapped wealth of natural resource
knowledge and peacebuilding potential. In order to capitalize on opportunities
for peacebuilding, the authors suggest three entry points.
- Among
peacebuilding organizations and governments, promote female participation
in negotiation processes, especially those related to natural resource
management. This includes having women
participants, consulting with women’s groups and networks, referring to
gender experts when developing policy, and ensuring the representation of
women in important decision-making institutions.
“Sustainable
natural resource use is the cornerstone of development”
- Adopt
proactive measures protecting women from resource-related violence during
conflict and post-conflict periods.
Women are particularly vulnerable to physical insecurity during times of
conflict, including sexual violence. Ensuring that women have safe access
to essential resources and increasing women’s participation in security
institutions can help alleviate this vulnerability, while improving food
security generally. Innovative technology can also play a role. Clean
cookstoves, used in Afghanistan and elsewhere, require less fuel and
protect women from the health impacts of indoor smoke inhalation.
- Create
conditions that support long-term women’s economic productivity and
sustainable use of natural resources.
In post-conflict societies, access to credit, technical support, and
benefits from natural resource exploitation are essential to empowering
women. Legal support for enforcement of land rights and negotiation
processes that include women should be prioritized, as well as providing
women with the resources to enforce their rights. Additionally, access to
skills and finance training for women in conflict settings, when their
roles may have expanded to tasks traditionally carried out by men, can be
important.
Within
the UN, the report suggests better inter-agency cooperation could result in
more effective peacebuilding. The four authoring agencies suggest at least 15
percent of all funding towards UN-supported natural resource management and
peacebuilding initiatives should be allocated to women’s empowerment and gender
equity.
“Sustainable
natural resource use is the cornerstone of development,” said Under-Secretary-General
and UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka in a press release. “Women’s full participation and
access to natural resources are urgent priorities for rebuilding peaceful
societies.”