爆料公社

Rural female farmer with her baby on her back while walking in a rice terrace
Women engaged in wage employment in agriculture earn 82 cents for every dollar that men earn, according to a recent FAO report.
Photo:Sasint/Adobe Stock

Rural Women Sustaining Nature for Our Collective Future

Achieving gender equality and empowering women is not only the right thing to do but is a critical ingredient in the fight against extreme poverty, hunger and climate change.

Women are responsible for  while working as environmental and biodiversity stewards. As , women have learned how to cope with and adapt to climate change, for example, by practicing sustainable agriculture in harmony with nature, switching to drought-resistant seeds, employing low-impact or organic soil management techniques, or leading community-based reforestation and restoration efforts

 have been at the forefront of environmental conservation by bringing invaluable ancestral knowledge and practices, and rural women have been  that have spotlighted the need for action for the sake of this and future generations..

Given their position on the frontlines of the climate crisis, women are uniquely situated to be agents of change — to help find ways to mitigate the causes of global warming and adapt to its impacts on the ground.

However, reports prove that climate change has a more pronounced impact on women, primarily indigenous and peasant women, whose agricultural dependence, living conditions, and marginalization expose them to a greater degree of changes due to climate, loss of diversity, and pollution.

This International Day of Rural Women's theme is “: Building climate resilience, conserving biodiversity, and caring for land towards gender equality and empowerment of women and girls.”&苍产蝉辫;

Let’s promote their work as food providers and protectors of the environment. Let’s demand their participation in decision-making within their communities. Let’s promote rural areas where women can have the same opportunities as men.

Rural women are key to Zero Hunger

Get to know the numbers: rural women and girls

Discover through this the challenges and consequences faced by rural women and girls compared to men or urban locations.

Did you know?

  • Rural women have less access to a range of resources, from land rights and credit to education and technology.  as men, farm yields could increase by 20–30 per cent, feeding an additional 100 to 150 million people.
  • Every year, female-headed households experience income losses of 8 percent due to heat stress, and 3 percent due to floods, relative to male-headed households.
  • A 1° C increase in long-term average temperatures is associated with a 34 percent reduction in the total incomes of female-headed households, relative to those of male-headed households.

Stories

The “shell women” of the Pacific coast of Nari?o have promoted sustainable harvesting and use of a native mollusk called piangua for many generations. They are also at the forefront of mitigating climate change and leading mangrove conservation.

Rural communities around the world are grappling with increasing challenges brought on by the climate crisis. However, it is rural women who suffer the brunt of these impacts, including significant financial losses. If you want to know real numbers, consult the FAO report .

Portrait of an African rural woman

Women are driving climate solutions at all levels – as farmers, workers, consumers, household managers, activists, leaders, and entrepreneurs. Get to know three reasons why women are essential in the climate crisis' fight.

an abstract illustration of people engaged in an event

International days and weeks are occasions to educate the public on issues of concern, to mobilize political will and resources to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity. The existence of international days predates the establishment of the United Nations, but the UN has embraced them as a powerful advocacy tool. We also mark other UN observances.