Wednesday, January 6th, 2010 - 4 comments

Why are women in developing nations hit hardest by climate change?

Climate change has far reaching effects, but it particularly impacts women, especially those living in developing nations.

The serious changes in the global climatic conditions have significant consequences. Though climate change affects everyone, it is particularly devastating to women as it makes their domestic duties even more difficult.

In developing nations, women are responsible for the domestic chores of the home, including cooking, washing, childcare, etc. In order to do so, women use natural resources like water and cooking fuel (wood, kerosene, gas, and animal dung): the very resources that are affected by climatic change. The impact that climate change has had on these resources makes life even more challenging for women.

The impact of drought

In arid regions of the Middle East and northern Africa (Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia) where the amount of rainfall has drastically reduced, using water for consumption and sanitation has increasingly become a serious problem. Conditions are at near drought or, in some cases, full drought conditions. As a result, women often must trek several kilometers in search of water for their families.

Obtaining fuel

In poor nations, wood is the major cooking fuel that women use. Climatic changes in the arid and semi arid regions means that there is less vegetative growth and increased aridity, resulting in less wood available. Rural poor women responsible for feeding their families therefore find it increasingly difficult to obtain cooking fuel.

Flooding

In coastal areas, such as the Philippines and Haiti, increased rainfall due to climatic changes has resulted in flooding. As the home-keeper, the women are most affected when their homes are devastated by flood.

Food security threatened

Excessive rain intensity and shortage in rainfall are both consequences of climate change that adversely affect farming and agriculture. Flooding from excessive rainfall washes away crops, while shortage of rainfall hampers the growth of crops. Both examples threaten the food security of the home and make feeding the family a major concern for women.

Solving the problem

We can all agree that we need to work against climate change. The main problem is how to go about it. Studies show that reducing anthropogenic and industrial activities, which are the major causes of climatic changes, would help prevent the problem. However, this has been difficult to implement by many nations because their economies depend on these activities. But by not addressing climate change, we are placing a serious burden on women.

Let everyone arise and act today against climatic changes and save our women and homes.

Guest Editor

Fortune Ihunweze

Environmental Resources Management, Environ Synergy Services

About

I am 33 year old male from Nigerian. I have a BSc in Geology/Physics in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and MSc in Environmental Resources Management from the Federal University of technology, Yola, Nigeria. I am a practicing independent environmentalist and I do website design too. My passion is the environment and I believe we can better our environment with some effort.