Environment & Disaster Reduction in a Changing Climate entry points for gender

Transcription

1 Environment & Disaster Reduction in a Changing Climate entry points for gender

2 Objective 1. To describe UNEP s approach to disaster risk reduction 2. To identify concrete entry points for integrating gender perspectives into UNEP s work on disaster risk reduction.

3 Disaster Risk and the Environment The Millennium Declaration, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and the Hyogo Framework for Action recognise the interlinkage between environmental degradation and human security and well-being.

4 Disaster Management vs. Disaster Risk Management Disaster Management Primary focus on emergency response and response preparedness, relief and recovery. Disaster Risk Management Primary focus strategies and coping capacities to lessen the impacts of hazards.

5 Three components of Disaster Risk: Hazard Vulnerability Capacity

6 Dimensions of a Hazard Events of different sizes and with different return periods create different risks Magnitude and Intensity (what size?) Frequency (how often?) Probability (how likely?)

7 Cyclone Frequency

8 Vulnerability Who or what is sensitive to the impacts of a hazard What social, physical, and environmental factors make them sensitive?

9 Settlement in hazard prone areas increases vulnerability...but are all exposed settlements equally vulnerable?

10 Similar Exposure but Different Impacts

11 What else creates vulnerability? Unsustainable development processes Unplanned urbanization, environmental degradation, loss of natural buffers, industrial accidents Structures exposed to disaster risk public infrastructure, housing, critical facilities, hospitals Institutional and financial framework and social setting building codes, insurance, finance for disaster mitigation Mechanisms to deal with risk preparedness planning, early warning systems, integrated planning, risk information

12 The goal of disaster risk reduction is to reduce disaster losses, enhance development, and build resilience to hazards

13 How do environmental conditions affect disaster risk?

14 FIVE Connections Natural hazards can be affected by social processes Degraded ecosystems reduce community resilience Healthy ecosystems can protect communities Disasters can create new environmental problems and new risks Environmental degradation is a hazard in itself

15 1 Natural hazards can be affected by social processes Climate Change greenhouse gas emissions are dramatically altering climate patterns Forest Fires even if sparked by lightning forestry management practices determine fuel loads Floods erosion and sedimentation, deforestation, river diversion, drainage

16 Climate Change and Hazards IPCC reports that climate change will alter risk patterns in several ways: Increase the frequency and intensity of extreme climatic events, such as temperature extremes, storms, floods and droughts; Hazard impact in areas that do not have experience with such hazards; Increase in vulnerability as underlying risk factors are compounded by climate-change-specific hazards, such as sea-level rise and glacier melt.

17 2 Degraded ecosystems reduce community resilience Poor are most vulnerable and least resilient to disasters Environmental degradation is a driver of poverty

18 3 Healthy ecosystems can protect communities

19 Cultivated Dryland Forest Urban Wetlands Coastal Polar Ecosystem Role in Flood Regulation Cultivated crop cover provides flood protection, conditioned in good management Dry land protection through vegetation cover; recharge of aquifers Forest protection from floods providing flood attenuation and soil loss prevention part of the natural system; Urban move people away from flood prone areas, conditioned on good urban planning Inland Waters provide mechanisms for flood attenuation potential (wetlands, lakes, etc.) Coastal benefits from sediment transport to the coastal zone; flood protection provided by coastal ecosystems (barrier beaches, mangroves, etc.) Polar discharge regulation to oceans in the Arctic system (freshwater provision to Arctic oceans) From Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005

20 4 Disasters can create new environmental problems and new risks Natural Hazards can trigger release of toxic substances into the environment oil pipe breaks, damage to hazardous material production and storage facilities damage to sewage treatment systems

21 4 Disasters can create new environmental problems and new risks Post Disaster Recovery can have both immediate and long lasting affects on the environment Natural resource depletion Cumulative effect of reconstruction Bypassing EIA legislations and planning mechanisms Ill planned environmental infrastructure waste and water

22 5 Environmental degradation is a hazard in itself In addition to natural hazards, most communities face severe impacts from human induced hazards Water Scarcity Land Conversion/Desertification Biodiversity Loss Resource depletion Loss of Ecosystem Services Pollution/contamination Disease and Health Conflict Technological or industrial accidents

23 Gender, Environment and Disaster Risk Different social roles and status of women and men, girls and boys mean: impacted differently by hazards experience environmental degradation in different ways perceive risks differently

24 Women and men during and in the aftermath of disasters women and children are 14 times more likely to die than men during disasters (IUCN/WEDO 2007) largest numbers of fatalities during the Asian Tsunami were women and children under the age of 15 (Synthesis Report of the Tsunami Evaluation Coalition) the death rate of women was almost five times as high for women than for men during the floods following the cyclone of 1991 in Bangladesh (Röhr, 2005) during Hurricane Mitch men were put at specific risks while encouraged to heroic actions (IUCN) increased school drop-out rate for girls (Davis et al, 2005) report of increased levels of sexual harassment and abuse (Bartlett, forthcoming)

25 Policy and Advocacy The professional communities working in DRR, environmental and sustainable development fields at the global level are made fully aware of the need and process for cross integration and assisted in that process. Gender included in guidance and advisory material Include gender-based recommendations in guidance and advocacy material

26 Improved access to data and information International and national communities are provided with the information they need to understand and start to incorporate ecosystem management and the livelihoods approach into disaster risk reduction policies, plans and practices. Collect and manage gender disaggregated data

27 Developing Science-based Knowledge and Guidance Cutting edge technical reports, good practices and tailored guidance and assessment methodologies made available in published and electronic formats. Introduce gender dimensions in technical reports and encourage their incorporation in related field based research. Include gender dimensions in risk assessment methodologies

28 Capacity building at regional and country level Governments and implementing organizations at the national level have the institutional capacity to develop and implement integrated DRR, ecosystem management and livelihood policies, plans and projects. Integrate gender perspectives into training material, particularly related to project design Ask key gender related questions in the design of DRR programs Promote targeted projects

29 Partner programme development Better division of labor and greater impact through working in partnership of environmental organizations; Practical projects Seek out and engage with partners who are capable and skilled in gender based analysis, program design and implementation

30 Thank you