Women Remain Severely Underrepresented In Environmental Decision-Making - UN Report

By Linda Khoo Hui Li BANGKOK, March 9 (Bernama) -- Women remain severely underrepresented in environmental decision-making, United Nations (UN) Women reported as it underscored that their participation was crucial in impacting natural resource management policies and practices. The report - “Women and the Environment: An Asia-Pacific Snapshot”, launched Wednesday stated an estimated 18 per cent of countries in Asia and the Pacific have a woman minister for the environment, while only six per cent have a woman minister for fisheries. This had limited women’s influence over environmental decision-making, including conservation strategies, the report said. “Promoting women’s participation in environmental decision-making within countries can impact natural resource management policies and practices,” it said. It also noted that women’s participation in global discussions is key but their representation remains staggeringly low. “With the exception of some Pacific Island Countries, women were underrepresented in almost every party and observer State at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland (COP26),” it said. In a statement, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) said women possess unique knowledge and experience, particularly at the local level, in areas such as agriculture, conservation and the management of natural resources. It said women are more likely to consider their families and communities in decision-making processes, allowing for more holistic and effective climate action. “Their inclusion in decision-making processes, as well as including the gender lens into climate and environmental policies is critical to effective climate action,” it said. Meanwhile, United Nations Under-Secretary General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana said potential of women and girls remains untapped and under-utilised in the region as women were also underrepresented in parliaments and as environment-related ministers and policymakers. Officer-in-Charge of UN Women Asia and the Pacific, Sarah Knibbs said women’s voice and agency in environmental decision-making was the key to ensure that their experiences, needs and concerns were brought to the forefront of environmental resource management and conservation. “Their meaningful participation in decision-making should be promoted in environment-related government bodies, the private sector, as well as natural resource management groups, including at the grassroots level,” she said. -- BERNAMA