| PYQ Relevance: Mains: Q) ‘Climate change’ is a global problem. How India will be affected by climate change? How Himalayan and coastal states of India will be affected by climate change? (UPSC CSE 2017) Q) Describe the major outcomes of the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). What are the commitments made by India in this conference? (UPSC CSE 2021) |
Note4Students:
Prelims: NA;
Mains: Social Issues; Women Issues;
Mentor comments: Women are very effective at mobilizing communities during disasters. They are at the frontline in moving forward with recovery. Women further hold key knowledge of most of the Natural Resources and their management. Hence, they can be the key actors in Climate Adaptation and Mitigation.
However, women and girls have less access to climate information, early warnings, agricultural advisory services, mobile phone technology, and financial credit. For example, more women than men died in the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004 because they were less likely to know how to swim, and long clothing hampered their movement. Now, we have no time to lose as we are standing at the intersection of inequality and climate change, and our strategies must reflect the urgency of the times.
Let’s learn.
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Why in the News?
According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), women and children are 14 times more likely than men to die in a disaster.
- Tropical countries in the past decade are likely to face unprecedented heatwaves.
- The SC has just recently ruled that people have a right to be free from the adverse effects of climate change, and the right to a clean environment is already recognized as a Fundamental Right within the ambit of the ‘Right to Life’.
Why Women are more vulnerable due to Climate Change Impacts?
- High Sector-Specific Dependency: Agriculture is the most important livelihood source for women in India, particularly in rural India. Climate-driven crop yield reductions increase poverty.
- Men Vs. Women Scenario: Within small and marginal landholding households, while men face social stigma due to unpaid loans (leading to migration, emotional distress, and sometimes even suicide), women experience higher domestic work burdens, worse health, and greater intimate partner violence.
- The Scenario in Drought-prone Areas: National Family Health Survey 4 and 5 data showed that women living in drought-prone districts were more underweight, experienced more intimate partner violence, and had a higher prevalence of girl marriages.
- Poverty and Insecurity: The increasing food and nutritional insecurity, work burdens and income uncertainties lead not only to poor physical health but also impact their mental health and emotional well-being.
How do the Extreme Climatic Events result in gender-based violence?
- Reduced Self-Care: Subsequent changes in water cycle patterns severely impact access to safe drinking water, which increases the drudgery and reduces the time for productive work and self-health care of women and girls.
- Maternal Issues: Prolonged heat is particularly dangerous for pregnant women (Chances of Preterm Birth/ Eclampsia), young children, and the elderly.
- Cardiovascular disease: Air Pollution affects women’s health, causing respiratory and cardiovascular disease, and also the unborn child, impairing its physical and cognitive growth. One of the most worrying aspects is its impact on the growing brain.
- Emerging data from cohort studies in India show that the risk of lung cancer increases by 9% due to PM2.5
| Why does Climate Action need Women? Improve Agri-Productivity: Women increased their agricultural yields by 20% to 30% when provided with the same access to resources as men. Enhanced Conservation: Tribal and rural women have been at the forefront of environmental conservation. Empowerment: Giving women and women collectives (Self-help Groups and Farmer Producer Organisations) the knowledge, tools, and access to resources would encourage local solutions to emerge. |
Reducing CO2 emissions is crucial:
- Creating Cooler Environments: Immediate action is needed to protect vulnerable groups from heatwaves, such as providing cooling spaces and adjusting work schedules.
- Planting trees and vegetation can create a cooler and more sustainable environment.
- Upgrading Infrastructure: Urban planning can help mitigate heatwave and drought impacts, such as increasing green spaces and using heat-resistant materials.
- Improving early warning systems for heatwaves, creating more cooling shelters and green spaces, and promoting awareness campaigns about heatwave risks and safety measures are crucial for preparedness and mitigation.
- Water Conservation: Traditional rainwater harvesting and storage systems in India can be revived using geographic information systems and local planning.
- Improving water use efficiencies, and reusing treated wastewater can help reduce the strain on freshwater resources.
- Technological Interventions: The M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation in a few districts of Tamil Nadu showed that by using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Panchayats could improve the groundwater crisis.
- It identified vulnerabilities and climate hazards and developed a local plan to improve water access by directing government schemes and resources.
https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/the-climate-crisis-is-not-gender-neutral/article68047470.ece
https://wmo.int/media/news/climate-crisis-not-gender-neutral
