Regional : Strengthening Women's Resilience to Climate Change and Disaster Risk in Asia and the Pacific

Agriculture, natural resources and rural development / Agricultural policy, institutional and capacity development

Education / Technical and vocational education and training

Energy / Energy efficiency and conservation

Public sector management / Public administration

Women, and particularly poor women, suffer disproportionately from the impact of climate change and disasters triggered by natural hazards. Their recovery from post-disaster shocks is typically less rapid than that of men as a result of their lack of resource ownership and human capital endowments, disadvantaged socioeconomic position, lack of voice in decision-making processes, and disproportionate care responsibilities. The same factors hamper women's adaptive capacity and access to climate smart technology and production inputs in agriculture, as well as their capacity to capture economic opportunities provided by growing green economy value chains. When poor households suffer from multiple climate-related hazards, they may adopt extreme coping actions that can lead to long-term and intergenerational vulnerability, such as early marriage for girls, selling land and other assets for less than their value, withdrawing children from school, and reducing their food consumption.

Women play a critical role in managing climate and disaster risks through their coping knowledge and experience in effectively mobilizing resources. However, their roles remain undervalued in climate policies and finance. Empowering women and recognizing them as agents of change, rather than simply victims, and supporting their participation in CCDRM policy and program development are fundamental requirements of sustainable development.

The growing recognition of the centrality of gender equality and women's empowerment in CCDRM has resulted in a number of global initiatives, including (i) the Paris Agreement; (ii) the Lima Programme on Gender, adopted by the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change; (iii) gender policies and action plans adopted by global climate financing mechanisms such as the Global Environment Facility, the Climate Investment Funds, and the Green Climate Fund; (iv) Sustainable Development Goal 13.b; and (v) gender actions under the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030). Nonetheless, there are significant gaps in the capacity and commitment of countries to integrate gender equality in CCDRM work. Even those countries that have explicitly acknowledged the vulnerability of women to climate change and the impact of disasters have yet to define specific actions, work programs, and financing and implementation arrangements. Most countries find it challenging to design gender-responsive CCDRM projects. Key stakeholders such as women's groups and national machinery responsible for gender equality are largely excluded from important policy and program decision making.

Although national environmental laws will play an important role in effectively implementing national commitments to gender equality in CCDRM, little work has been done to critically assess the need for and means to implement legal reforms.

There is an unprecedented opportunity for women to benefit from growing green economies, but prospects for advancement from low-skill, entry-level positions to high-skill, higher-paying green jobs are hindered by existing gender inequalities. These include limited access to skills training and technical and vocational education and training (TVET), lack of finance, care responsibilities, limited access to assets such as land, and gender stereotypes in the existing labor market that reproduce the same gender gaps in the green economy. Reforms and demonstration of effective initiatives that are likely to accelerate green jobs and entrepreneurship for women are urgently needed to make the green economy value chain gender-inclusive.

Developing member countries (DMC) demand for investments in gender-responsive climate change and disaster risk management (CCDRM) programs to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 5 and 13 increased.

Capacity of selected DMCs in developing and implementing gender-responsive CCDRM policies and programs increased

Green job potential for women demonstrated

Policy advice for gender mainstreaming in CCDRM policies, strategies, and financing strengthened

Legal frameworks for gender-inclusive CCDRM strengthened

The TA has engaged and mobilized all three national gender consultants from selected DMCs, the national TA coordinator based in ADB Headquarters, and the international firm tasked to deliver Outputs 1 and 2 of the TA. For Output 3, the international consultants (environmental law specialist and gender law specialist) are on-board since November 2018.

For Outputs 1 and 2, an Inception Meeting was conducted in late April 2018 in Bangkok, Thailand involving all consultants, implementing agency (IA) representatives, and ADB. The inception report was approved by ADB on June 2018.

Steering committees for each country are established with focal persons already identified from the IA and line ministries. Initial Steering Committee meetings have been conducted in Fiji, Lao, and Mongolia.

Output 3 is expected to be completed this August 2019. The completion will culminate with the conduct of a Regional Workshop at ADB Headquarters. The preparation for the Regional Synthesis Report of three Country Studies and Good Global Practices is ongoing.

Outputs 1 and 2 are expected to be completed by November 2020. The preparation of country reports for Outputs 1 and 2 is ongoing. These country reports will be presented in National Workshops scheduled in June 2019.

The demonstration subproject in Fiji, which provided certification training in carpentry to 20 women was completed on December 2018. As an output of the training, 20 climate-resilient houses were built and home beneficiaries have also been selected. The Final Report of the subproject is expected to be submitted this May 2019.

Demonstration project in Mongolia is expected to start in June 2019