EMPOWERING WOMEN TO PROTECT THE LAND 2000
Women on the front lines. In many developing countries it’s mainly women who work the land. Often these women are among the poorest people, who most need support. Yet in the past, women have frequently been excluded from land conservation and development projects that directly affect their livelihoods. As a result of "top-down" approaches to development that ignore the views of local people, many attempts to protect the Earth’s life-giving soil have failed.
Yet there have been numerous examples of how, given support and resources, women can transform the situation. The 70,000 women who make up the Green Belt Movement in Africa, for example, have planted more than 20 million trees to help reverse the degradation of their land.
An opportunity for change. With the recent addition of the United States and New Zealand, 169 countries have now ratified a treaty called the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The treaty commits all governments, rich and poor, to devote more technical and financial resources to combat desertification. In addition, the governments of developing countries affected by desertification must work in close partnership with communities, particularly women and youth, to develop and implement National Action Programmes on desertification. If all governments carry out their promises under this treaty, we have a real chance of turning this major environmental crisis around and advancing sustainable development in the poorest regions of the world.
Planning for women’s involvement. Governments don’t have to start from scratch in deciding how to involve women in combating desertification. In 1997, an expert group issued an action plan called "Strengthening the Role of Women in the Implementation of the UNCCD". It contains clear guidelines to ensure that the concerns and experiences of local communities—including both women and men—are part of planning and implementing National Action Programmes. If these recommendations are followed, then all of us, and the Earth itself, will benefit.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
If you live in a developing country, please write to your cabinet minister for agriculture. If you live in a developed country, contact your cabinet minister for development cooperation. In either case, urge him or her to honour your government’s commitments under the Desertification Convention to:
Mobilize additional financial resources to support the full involvement of local communities—including women—in the design and implementation of programmes to combat desertification.
Suggest that they build upon the guidelines in the 1997 report, "Strengthening the Role of Women in the Implementation of the UNCCD". For a copy of the report visit www.undp.org/seed/unso/women/msrw.htm, or call +1 212 906-5815.
EarthAction wishes to thank the UN Environment Programme, the Secretariat of the Convention to Combat Desertification, and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation for their support for our work on this issue.
BACKGROUND
Gaining Ground
What is desertification? Desertification means the degradation of land in the dry areas of the world. It is not the spread of existing deserts, but rather the loss and destruction of healthy fertile soils. Loss of topsoil and soil fertility results in declining production of crops and livestock. When soil is lost or degraded, people are not able to produce as much as before, and often, not enough for their needs.
Overall, the problem is caused by people putting too much pressure on delicate soils and ecosystems. In places where there is little rain, the soil is already fragile and overuse by humans can easily destroy it. The UN calls these areas, "arid, semi-arid, or sub-humid"—in other words, "dry." The main causes of land degradation include:
Overgrazing—Too many livestock, such as goats or cows, strip the soil of its vegetation and expose it to erosion by wind and water;
Deforestation—Trees hold the soil together and help water the land by channeling rainwater into the soil. When they are chopped down, the soil is eroded by the elements and is unable to hold water;
Overfarming—Overworking the land eventually drains the soil of its nutrients, leaving it unable to produce crops;
Poor irrigation practices—Bad irrigation can lead to waterlogging and salinisation of the soil.
How big a problem is it? Over one-quarter of the Earth’s land surface has already suffered erosion and soil degradation. The U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP) calls desertification "one of the most serious global environmental problems." It threatens the health and livelihoods of over one billion people—mostly poor rural families in developing countries. Desertification is directly linked to poverty and can lead to famine, malnutrition, starvation, epidemics, economic and social instability and mass migrations. More than 70% of agriculturally used drylands in Africa, Asia and Latin America are already affected.
Who does it affect? Drylands are home to over 2 billion people worldwide living in some 100 countries in rural areas and urban centres, i.e., nearly 40% of the world's total population. As fertile soil is degraded, those who rely on the land are less able to grow or get food, and their hopes for a better life are diminished. For those that live in cities, or in wetter climates, problems of desertification in drylands may seem far away. But it’s effects touch everyone:
* When poor farmers or herders can’t produce enough food, their lives are in danger. Millions of dollars are diverted into emergency aid. Waves of environmental refugees are driven to the cities, which are often unable to accommodate and help them. The results are overcrowding and unemployment. Social and political unrest frequently follows.
* Wild species native to the world’s drylands are being lost forever. Many of the world’s staple grain crops were originally wild dryland species. When the natural dryland flora disappears, we lose the chance to discover new crops that can help to feed humanity.
* We all live off the land, even if we buy our food from shops and markets in the cities. It is a problem for all of us that the world’s population is growing, while our fertile agricultural lands are declining.
Why are women especially important in finding solutions? In many of the dry, agricultural areas of the world—including much of Africa—it is traditionally women who devote time and effort to the land. They grow, process, manage and market most of the food and other natural resources that come from the earth. The men in these rural areas often have moved away to pursue migrant labour and other work opportunities. For a long time, women in rural areas have had direct experience with environmental degradation through their daily work. Seeing the problems close at hand has given them valuable knowledge for finding solutions.
Often women are the poorest of the poor and lack the power and the opportunities to bring about real change. Poor women in the drylands have frequently been conditioned to accept their disadvantaged positions. To solve this global problem of dryland degradation, it is of vital importance not only to provide women with technical and financial resources, but also to bring about changes in attitudes among women, and society as a whole. Governments need to create "enabling environments" that will empower women and engage them as "full partners" in this effort to preserve the land.
In many countries women are beginning to gain access to land ownership and to take part in decision-making. This is raising their status and giving them a new perspective on changing their lives, society and their environment. The success of women in combating dryland degradation requires their full participation in researching, planning and decision-making at all levels of implementing the UN Convention to Combat Desertification. As women play a more important role in preserving their lands, the land will be more likely to meet their needs, and the needs of their families and communities, for food, fuel and shelter.
Desertification Resources and Contacts
UNEP, the United Nations Environment Programme
Sheila Edwards, Programme Officer
PO Box 30552
Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: 254 262 1234
Fax: 254 262 4270
Email: SheilaEdwards (at) unep.org
Website: www.unep.org
UNSO, the UN Development Programme Office
to Combat Desertification and Drought
Lene Poulsen, Technical Advisor
One United Nations Plaza
304 East 45th Street, FF 9
New York, New York 10017
Tel: +1 212 906-6497
Fax: +1 212 906-6345/6916
Email: unso (at) undp.org
Website: www.undp.org/seed/unso
The Secretariat of the Convention
to Combat Desertification
Mr. Hama Arba Diallo, Executive Secretary
Haus Carstanjen,
Martin Luther King St. 8,
D-53175 Bonn, Germany
Tel: 49 228 815-2800
Fax: 49 228 815-2899
Email: secretariat (at) unccd.int
Website: www.unccd.int
The text of the Desertification Convention can be obtained through the Secretariat and is posted on their website. You can also obtain from them a list of UNCCD "Focal Points", or key national government contacts, for every country that has signed the Convention. People in affected developing countries may contact their UNCCD Focal Point to get information about their country’s National Action Programme.
RIOD NGO Network
RIOD, "Réseau International des ONG sur la Désertification/International NGO Network on Desertification", is a global network of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) that works to promote implementation of the Desertification Convention worldwide. RIOD has a Global Coordinating Committee (GCC), and regional, sub-regional and national NGO Focal Points. If you wish to join the RIOD Network, contact one of the GCC members in your region that are listed below. They can direct you to your national RIOD Focal Point. For addresses and phone numbers of RIOD contacts, write or call the EarthAction Santiago office listed below.
RIOD Global Coordinating Committee (GCC) Members
AFRICA
Masse Lo, ENDA-Tiera Monde, Senegal, energy2 (at) enda.sn
Ruth Mubiru, UWTPM, Uganda, uwtpm (at) infocom.co.ug
Fannie Mutepfa, ZERO, Zimbabwe, zero (at) internet.co.zw
Jacqueline Nkoyoc, CONGAC, Cameroon, congac (at) camnet.cm
Enoch Okpara, NEST, Nigeria, nestnig (at) nest.org.ng
ASIA
Venkat Ramnaya, YFA, India yfa (at) hd1.vsnl.net.in
Catherine Razavi, CENESTA, Iran, cathyrazavi (at) iname.com
Oleg Tsaruk, OTS, Uzbekistan, ots (at) physic.uzsci.net
AUSTRALIA
Stephen Baker, FOE, sbaker (at) tyndale.apana.org.au
EUROPE
Edit Tuboly, Both Ends, the Netherlands, et (at) bothends.org
LATIN AMERICA
Carlos Andaluz, Proterra, Peru, andaluz (at) terra.com.pe
Juan Luis Mérega, Fundación del Sur, Argentina, jlmerega (at) fsur.wamani.apc.org
Miguel Torrico, CODEFF, Chile, biodiversidad (at) codeff.cl
NORTH AMERICA
Jocelyn Neron, SCS, Canada, jocelyneneron (at) hotmail.com