Women Inclusion in Climate Change
Adaptation and Mitigation:
A Relational Approach
University of Amsterdam
Graduate School of Social Sciences
MSc. International Development Studies
Djinda Gueye | 11083174
djindalaure@gmail.com
Supervisor
Dr. Nicky Pouw
University of Amsterdam
Netherlands
Second Reader
Dr. Esther Miedema
University of Amsterdam
Abstract
Climate change is currently being experienced across all continents, but particularly in developing countries where rural populations depend on natural resources for their livelihoods. In the Ethiopian Central Rift Valley, marginalized groups, such as rural women, are especially impacted due to their lack in capacity and resources to adapt to a changing environment. Building on this empirical knowledge, the Horn of Africa Regional Environmental Center (HoAREC) in Ethiopia has identified women as a main target group of its intervention on climate change adaptation and mitigation. However, women are not solely victims of climate change, they are also key agents for transforming society and helping communities become more climate resilient. This thesis seeks to unravel women’s inclusion across the phases of this program and assesses if their needs and perspectives, as well as relationships with others and the environment have been taken into account in the identification of solutions regarding coping mechanisms in their communities. Based on accounts from program beneficiaries and staff members collected through focus group discussions, interviews and observations over a two and a half month fieldwork period, the research draws a link between gender-‐sensitivity and sustainability, exposing the implications of excluding women as participatory agents. The research takes on a relational approach that looks at interactions happening within the women’s social and environmental context. More precisely, it looks at two types of relationship: relationships between women and other stakeholders (e.g. women and male community members, women and program staff members) and those between women and objects (e.g. women and the climate change program, women and nature). Results show that not enabling women to be part of the programming phase of a program that impacts their lives and limiting their agency in this way not only furthers existing gender power imbalances, but also jeopardizes the implementation of the program. While some activities within the intervention had successful outcomes, a sustainability dimension was overlooked; when the program came to an end, many issues followed, which could have been avoided if women had been given more responsibilities throughout the development of the program. Based on these findings related to gender-‐sensitivity and other aspects of the program approach, the research primarily recommends more female participation, particularly in the programming phase.
Keywords: Inclusive development, gender-‐sensitivity, sustainability, inclusion, climate change and
adaptation, rural women
Acknowledgements
Before proceeding, I would like to present my deepest gratitude to those who have made this research possible and supported me throughout the development of this thesis. First and foremost, to my advisor, Nicky Pouw, thank you for providing me with constant guidance and directing me towards relevant sources of information, but especially, for your patience and encouragement throughout. Second, to HoAREC, and particularly to the Ziway branch office members, thank you for agreeing to accommodate this research, for being so welcoming and providing me with the necessary contacts and advice to pursue my research. All my gratitude also goes to the women who accepted to participate in my research, welcomed me in their homes, and fed me delicious Ethiopian specialties. Finally, a BIG thank you to my families: First, my ‘host family’ in Ziway who helped me find a home away from home by being so welcoming, despite language barriers, and to my parents, Tessa and Paul, for being there for me during the good and bad days, which made up this process.
Thank you to all of you.
Table of contents
List of Figures ... 6
List of Tables ... 6
List of Abbreviations ... 7
Index of Amharic Words ... 7
Chapter 1: Introduction ... 8
Chapter 2: Theoretical Framework ... 10
2.1. Inclusive development: The evolution towards a gender-‐ and environment-‐inclusive approach 10 2.2. Using a relational approach to understand women’s inclusion in development processes ... 12
2.3. Gender-‐sensitive Participatory Methods ... 15
2.4. Initial Conceptual scheme ... 18
2.5. Conclusion ... 20
Chapter 3: Research Context ... 21
3.1. The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia ... 21
3.1.1. Agriculture and Economic Development ... 22
3.1.2. Social Development and Gender Equality ... 23
3.1.3. Climate change in Ethiopia ... 27
3.1.4. Political climate ... 28
3.2. The Central Rift Valley (CRV) ... 29
3.2.1. Emerging socio-‐ecological problems ... 29
3.2.2. The research location: The Adami Tulu Jido Kombolcha woreda ... 31
3.2.3. The Climate Change Program (CCP) ... 31
Chapter 4: Research Design ... 33
4.1. Research Methodology and Units of Analysis ... 33
4.2. Research Questions ... 34
4.2.1. Main research question ... 34
4.2.2. Sub-‐questions ... 34
4.3. Gaining initial access ... 35
4.4. Research Methods and Sampling ... 35
4.4.1. Focus group discussions (FGDs) ... 36
4.4.2. Semi-‐structured interviews ... 38
4.4.4. Secondary data ... 42
4.5. Ethical considerations ... 42
4.5.1. Protecting anonymity ... 42
4.6.1. Being an outsider ... 43
4.6.2. Feminist research in Development studies ... 43
4.6. Methods of analysis ... 44
4.7. Conclusion ... 45
Chapter 5: Assessment of gender-‐sensitivity across the program phases based on the
perspectives of staff members and beneficiaries ... 46
5.1. Gender-‐sensitivity in CCP's programming ... 46
5.1.1. Absence of a female perspectives in programming ... 47
5.1.2. Including women as victims instead of change agents ... 53
5.1.3. Conclusion ... 55
5.2. Implementation: Men as leaders and women as instruments ... 55
5.2.1. Climate change awareness in the kebeles ... 56
5.2.2. Women Self-‐Help Groups (SHG) in the kebeles ... 57
5.2.1. Compost preparation and utilization in the Cooperatives ... 64
5.2.2. Context of the program’s termination ... 67
5.2.1. Conclusion ... 67
Chapter 6: Conclusion and Recommendations ... 69
6.1. Answering Research questions ... 69
6.2. Recommendations ... 70
6.3. Reflections and limitations of the research ... 71
References ... 73
Annex ... 81
II. Operationalization table ... 82
III. Table of Respondents ... 85
IV. Pictures of the cooperatives ... 87
List of Figures
Figure 1: CARE’s Women’s Empowerment Framework (Adapted) Figure 2: Initial Conceptual Scheme
Figure 3: Location of Ethiopia
Figure 4: Ethiopia National Trend in HDI
Figure 5: Demarcation of the Central Rift Valley
Figure 6: First stage of sampling process in kebeles: Focus group discussions Figure 7: Second stage of sampling in kebeles: Individual interviews
Figure 8 Sampling process in the cooperatives Figure 9: Rural women’s responsibilities Figure 10: Rural women’s expenses
Figure 11: Mapping of cooperated farmland Figure 12: Updated conceptual framework
List of Tables
Table 1: Poverty Incidence and Inequality Table 2: SHG Total Savings
Table 3: Targeted Cooperatives Beneficiaries
List of Abbreviations
CCP Climate Change Program CRV Central Rift Valley FGD Focus Group Discussion FHH Female Head of Household FNH Female Non-‐Head
HoAREC Horn of Africa Regional Environmental Center LDCEG Least Developed Countries Expert Group MDG Millennium Development Goals
NHDR National Human Development Report PGP Preliminary Gender Profile
RVCWDO Rift Valley Children and Women Development Organization SHG Self Help Group
SNNPR Southern Nation Nationalities and Peoples Region SOV South Omo Valley
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
Index of Amharic Words
Kebele Smallest Ethiopian administrative unit; refers to a Peasant Association (PA) and is the equivalent of an urban neighborhood.
Khat Widely consumed plant acting as a mild narcotic; it is consumed by chewing and effects include: insomnia, euphoria, suppressed appetite, etc.
Woreda Local Administrative Unit, translates to district
Chapter 1: Introduction
Across development projects, women’s participation is increasingly being recognized as an effective strategy to achieve more economically, socially and environmentally sustainable pathways, particularly in the context of climate change adaptation (UN Women, 2014). As the backbones of households, rural women are active agents in the development of their communities and also play important roles in the protection of the natural environment on which they rely to provide for their families. Throughout the developing world, women have already been engaging in grassroots movements to combat the degradation of the environment. Some well-‐known examples include the Green Belt Movement and Chipko Movement, which have emerged respectively in Kenya and India. While having the potential to play this important role as environmental activists, women from developing countries are also among the most poverty-‐stricken and hardest hit by the effects of climate change. In the Ethiopian Central Rift Valley, women are especially impacted due to their lack in capacity and resources to adapt to a changing environment, which is enhanced by a multitude of socio-‐cultural constraints restricting their access to information and resources. Building on this empirical knowledge, the Horn of Africa Regional Environmental Center (HoAREC) based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia has identified women as the target group in its intervention for climate change adaptation and mitigation in the Central Rift Valley. Through the intermediary of a local implementing organization, it has designed a strategy to enable local communities to build alternative livelihoods and become resilient to climate change. Almost a year after the termination of this program, this thesis seeks to evaluate women’s inclusion across the planning and implementation phases of HoAREC’s Climate Change Program (CCP).
Based on the accounts of men and women program beneficiaries and staff members, the research focuses on gender-‐sensitive aspects appearing in the two program phases studied and assesses if women’s needs and perspectives were taken into account in the identification of solutions. In order provide a comprehensive assessment, the analysis also takes on a relational approach through which it seeks to understand how the interactions happening within the women’s social and environmental context frame their inclusion in the program. More precisely it looks at two types of relationship: relationships with other stakeholders (e.g. women and male community members, women and program staff) and those with objects (e.g. women and climate change program, women and nature). Reasons for undertaking this research are guided by feminist theories as well as the lack of accounts on women’s lives through women intersubjective experiences with their social and environmental context. Moreover, while many programs claim to be gender-‐inclusive in planning and
implementation, I wanted to provide a framework of application considering constraints and opportunities, at least in the context of climate change mitigation.
The thesis is divided in six chapters: following this introduction, chapter 2 reviews existing literature concerning inclusive development, the relational approach, which is key to the analysis, and participatory methods frameworks that can be applied to include women; chapter 3 paints a picture of the research context starting from a national level presentation to a smaller-‐scale description of the research location, the Adami Tulu Jido Kombolcha district; chapter 4, outlines the design of the research and methodologies that led to the choice of certain methods and presents the data collection methods; chapter 5, the results chapter, present an evaluation of women inclusion and elaborate on success and failures of the project; Finally, chapter 6 concludes the thesis through a summary of the findings and proposal of recommendations, after which it reflects on the research.
Chapter 2: Theoretical Framework
This section elaborates on previous scholarly work and existing theories that construct the basis for this research. When evaluating women inclusion in the context of rural development programs, particularly ones relating to climate change adaptation, various concepts and perspectives must first be looked at in order to provide a comprehensive analysis. Thus, this second chapter begins by elaborating on evolutions within inclusive development thought, which have led to a stronger emphasis on women participation and ecological components in strategies for development. It, then, explains the relational approach, which is central to the analysis provided in this research, by bringing forth an adapted version of CARE’s Women’s Empowerment Framework and Southern feminist perspectives concerning the role of women in the process of climate change adaptation and mitigation. Adopting a relational approach is key to finding out about formal and informal factors influencing, or more specifically, creating barriers to the inclusion of women in the climate change program. Following this, the chapter introduces participatory methods that can ensure the inclusion of marginalized community members, such as women, across the phases of development programs (e.g. planning, implementation). Then, the main concepts the research initially looked at and their interconnections are summarized in the initial conceptual scheme of this research. Finally, the chapter features a brief conclusion highlighting the linkages between the theories and perspectives discussed
2.1. Inclusive development: The evolution towards a gender-‐ and
environment-‐inclusive approach
Since the 1940s, development thinking and practice has been gradually evolving towards a human-‐ centered approach interested in the wellbeing of individuals and calling for a shift away from the traditional focus on income and wealth (Gupta, Pouw & Ros-‐Tonen, 2015). This change in thinking is reflected in the ideas of Nobel-‐prize winner Amartya Sen (Reid-‐Henry, 2012) and renowned feminist philosopher, Martha Nussbaum, who both exposed the shortcomings of a development exclusively based on economic growth (Nussbaum, 2011; Sen, 1999) and brought forth the ‘capabilities approach’.
The purpose of development, as Sen explains in his book Development as Freedom (1999), should be to improve the lives of individuals through the removal of sources of unfreedom, which create obstacles to human wellbeing. The capabilities approach he presents encourages a focus on the opportunities available to individuals and their agency to do and be what they have reason to value; it proposes that the improvement of quality of life, achieved through the expansion of individuals’ capabilities is in itself a means for development (Sen, 1999). While Sen does not set forth a specific list of human
capabilities, he uses examples such as access to health, education, or the enhancement of community participation to illustrate his ideas; nevertheless, in his opinion, development remains subjective to each individual’s perception of wellbeing (Nussbaum, 2011). In her book Women and Human
Development: The Capabilities Approach (2001), Nussbaum condemns the worse-‐off situation of
women in all aspects of human life, including: health, nourishment, education, participation in political life, etc. and interprets their role in society as strictly contributory; “they are treated as mere instruments of the ends of others – reproducers, caregivers, sexual outlets, agents of a family’s general prosperity” (Nussbaum, 2001, p.2). Through a vivid illustration of women’s unequal human capabilities, Nussbaum draws the link between capabilities and human rights, and proposes that while some determinants of health and emotional balance occur by chance, it is up to governments to provide a social basis for capabilities. Through this argument, she poses the problem of “women’s unequal failure to attain a higher level of capability, at which the choice of central human functions is really open to them” (Nussbaum, 2001, p. 298) as a problem of justice, which should be given priority in international development practice. The work of Sen and Nussbaum greatly impacted the objectives of development actors by extending the notion of development to consider human development rather than economic advances, and proposing an inclusive approach that aims to expand all people’s capabilities. Through this, contributing to the emergence of a gender dimension within development thought and practice, and also to the development of human development indexes such as the Human Development Index (HDI) and further measures to better cover gender equality issues (Fukuda-‐Parr, 2003). “Over the last decade, the human development approach has evolved in directions that pay more attention to the agency aspects of human development” (Fukuda-‐Parr, 2003, p.315), in this, shifting attention to deprived group, such as women, who experience discrimination at all levels of the societal sphere.
Three authors, Gupta, Pouw and Ros-‐tonen, from the University of Amsterdam more recently elaborated on the concept of inclusive development and defined it as: “[A] development that includes marginalized people, sectors and countries in social, political and economic processes for increased human well-‐being, social and environmental sustainability, and empowerment” (Gupta, Pouw & Ros-‐ Tonen, 2015, p.546). Through this definition the authors make the claim that the concept not only evolved to include women’s issues and marginalization, but that it also bears an ecological component. As development strategies evolved to focus on poverty-‐stricken sections of the populations, give them a voice to “negotiate control over the institutions that affect their lives” (Gupta, Pouw & Ros-‐Tonen, 2015, p.548) and find solutions to meet their needs for subsistence, the authors argue that ecological benefits surfaced. Marginalized and disempowered groups, such as rural populations, are most often
the ones who depend on natural resources such as land, water and fish for their livelihoods; thus, including them in development processes and improving their quality of life eventually relieves the strains they put on the environment (Gupta, Pouw & Ros-‐Tonen, 2015).
This overview on the evolutions within inclusive development have highlighted the thoughts which guided towards a special attention to marginalized group, and particularly women, as well as the environment, in development strategies. In the following section, Gupta, Pouw and Ros-‐Tonen’s argument is illustrated by research on the experiences of rural women, which further emphasizes their key role in the context of environmental sustainability.
2.2. Using a relational approach to understand women’s inclusion in
development processes
To provide a comprehensive explanation of women inclusion in the climate change program, the research analysis takes on a relational approach that looks at interactions happening within the women’s social and environmental context. More precisely, it looks at two specific types of relationship: relationships women beneficiaries have with actors, such as male community and program staff members, and those with objects like the climate change program and women’s natural environment. As a starting point to carrying out the analysis, this sections draws from various sources to illustrate how this approach can be used to better understand “the underlying forces (factors and actors) that create, perpetuate and contest multiple inequalities” (Gupta, Pouw & Ros-‐Tonen, p.548) experienced by women targeted by the program.
The role of the socio-‐cultural context
Social exclusion and other social injustices are relational experiences lived by individuals in devalued groups routinely, which are perpetuated through interpersonal interactions and institutionalized at societal level (Comstock et Al., 2008). Instead of considering the problem at hand in terms of its effects on a particular group, in this case the women beneficiaries, the relational analysis problematizes the workings of society (Hickey, 2013) by addressing the sources causing their marginalization. Across the socio-‐cultural context within which the climate change program studied here is established, traditional norms prescribing gender roles and limits on women’s capabilities are enforced, both consciously and unconsciously. Such norms are the product of frameworks historically sustaining male hegemony that are also responsible for the devaluation of women experienced at all levels of societal life in diverse forms socio-‐economic oppression (Sen & Grown, 2013). For this reason, when looking at female
inclusion, a critical aspect to consider is the position of men in efforts towards gender equality. Through their responsibilities as leaders in their families and communities, men contribute to the maintenance of unjust gender orders, whether it is through their decision-‐making power, participation in sexist practices or other ways of expressing patriarchal norms. “Men are unavoidably involved in gender issues. Most immediately, men (or more accurately, specific groups of men) control the resources required to implement women’s claims for justice” (Flood, 2007, p.9). Understanding men’s societal roles and attitudes towards women is, thus, crucial to finding out their leverage in placing women at disadvantaged position and arriving at solutions tackling the unequal gender relations in place (Flood, 2007).
The role of the socio-‐cultural context and influence men have on women’s inclusion is summarized in an adapted version of CARE’s Women’s Empowerment Framework put together by authors Farnworth and Colverson (2015). The framework considers both “formal and informal processes that can support or prevent women’s participation in development processes” (Farnworth & Colverson, 2015, p.29) and sketches three dimensions of women’s empowerment (see Figure 1 below). At the top of the figure, the first dimension ‘agency’ refers to the extent to which women have a decision-‐making power and are independent in terms of their mobility, livelihood planning and spending decisions, among others; this is component reflects women’s empowerment at the individual level. The second dimension ‘relations’ on the right side of the scheme concerns the interactions women engage in as way to participate in development processes; this can be with development partners, but also other actors involved in the process that can influence their ability to participate, such as men in their communities. Finally, the third dimension making up this process of women empowerment is ‘structure’, “the locally-‐ specific environments that surround and condition women’s choices” (Farnworth & Colverson, 2015, p.29). This third dimension consists of two aspects, which can be understood as formal and informal or “visible and invisible” (Farnworth & Colverson, 2015, p.30) factors specific to the social context, which prescribe the available opportunities for women as well as their behavior. According to the two authors, these three levels of women empowerment must be addressed simultaneously in order to arrive at a successful situation in which women’s participation in development processes is strengthened.
Figure 1: CARE’s Women’s Empowerment Framework (Adapted)
(Source: Farnworth & Colverson, 2015)
On women’s relations with nature
The second component of this relation approach is the relations existing between women and their natural environment; this requires delving into the work of Southern feminists Vandana Shiva and Bina Agarwal. Both, drawing from examples of women working at the forefront of ecological conservation movements in India, the authors bring forth arguments concerning women’s role as protectors of nature, which influenced many scholars after them. According to Shiva, ‘Third World women’ are the most aware on the dangers of economic development for the environment and are also, the most active in defending nature’s survival; this is because, as producers of life, they share a symbolic connection with nature. In contrast, men are seen as separate beings dominating over and destroying nature and its products (Shiva, 1988). While Shiva largely bases her argument on women’s instinctive need for protecting and sustaining nature, as well as their special understanding of it, as an entity that is also the basis for life, Bina Agarwal proposes that there is an interdependent relation existing between both beings. She, moreover, suggests that women and men’s relationships with nature are rooted “in their specific forms of interaction with the environment” (Agarwal, 1992, p.127), which structure the way environmental degradation and/or change affect members of a community. Agarwal claims that rural women are more adversely affected by the depletion of natural resources because their main responsibilities include tasks, which are highly dependent on them, such as collecting water and fuel wood, preparing food. As natural resources become scarcer, their working day is also
lengthened from having to go increasingly further to collect supplies like water and wood (Agarwal, 1992; Momsen, 2010). Thus, as a result of gender roles and environmental change, rural women live different experiences in relation to nature than men who tend to perform productive work on the farmland and carry out more physically heavy tasks. Therefore, through primary experiences and generational transfers of knowledge obtained throughout their roles as household caretakers, rural women accumulate special knowledge about their natural environment, which makes them very fundamental agents of change in the preservation of their environment (Agarwal, 1992). Agarwal argues that instead of being thought of solely as victims of climate change and environmental degradation, women should be recognized by development programs for their competences in sustaining their natural environment and maintaining their communities’ livelihoods. The responsibility they have for the family’s survival and the importance of nature’s conservation and good quality to achieve, this is precisely the reason behind their concern for environmental protection and regeneration (Agarwal, 1992) and it also legitimizes why they should be included as key actors in their communities’ development. Furthermore, their central position in the household enables them to disseminate knowledge effectively to help their communities cope and respond to environmental degradation.
In the search for evidence to understand the motivations women have in challenging environmental degradation, authors Zelezny and Bailey provided responses rooted in socialization theory; their argument is that learned gender roles lead women to be more interdependent, nurturing and “have a strong ‘ethic of care’ for others, including the environment”. Like Agarwal, they also believe women’s positions as household makers give them a private interest in protecting the environment because of their dependency on it to provide for their family’s subsistence needs (Zelezny & Bailey, 2006, p.106). However, there have been no conclusive empirical studies proving that women are in reality more concerned about the environment than men. In fact, many contemporary authors argue that because gender roles are constantly changing, they cannot provide a stable base to claim gender differences in levels of environmental concern, despite the strong theoretical arguments (Momsen, 2010).
2.3. Gender-‐sensitive Participatory Methods
This section looks at the participatory and gender-‐sensitive methods that can be used across program planning and implementation, and provides the outline for the findings chapter. Participatory approaches have emerged as a response to the limitations of top-‐down development to achieve social benefits (Guijt & Shah, 1998). They serve increase the capacity of individuals in disadvantaged or marginalized groups to improve their own lives and facilitate social change to their advantage (Cleaver,
1999, p.598). Overall, this section demonstrates how gender-‐sensitive elements can be adequately incorporated in each program phase to implement an inclusive form of development that also adresses gender orders in place.
Including women’s voice in program planning
During the planning stage of a development program, the needs of a target population are identified and a strategy is designed to solve the issues they encounter. Adopting a participatory planning approach enables to involve the populations concerned throughout the development of a program by including their viewpoints and experiences (Nichols, 2002). Participatory methods are an effective approach for including rural women who tend to be excluded from decision-‐making processes and have low bargaining power within their communities (Agarwal, 2001). According to researcher Andrea Cornwall, the exclusion of women’s voice from development processes is due to embedded assumptions about gender and power within society, which limit their involvement in programs and further inequalities (Cornwall, 2003). Linking to the ideas of Agarwal concerning gender roles in rural communities, authors, Leduc and Ahmad, propose the following definition of gender-‐sensitive planning:
“A gender sensitive programme recognises that women’s role is as important as men’s in addressing environmental and development issues. It acknowledges that, because they have different roles, women and men may have different needs, which must be addressed in order to achieve sustainable […] development.” (Leduc & Ahmad, 2009, p.1)
Thus, the starting point to a gender-‐sensitive approach is to learn about existing gender roles and relations within the population of interest; this is usually done through a situational analysis of the area of interest. Including a gender component when undertaking this contextual research forces program planners to be aware of local circumstances and move away from the assumptions that interventions, especially ones addressing environmental issues, affect women and men in the same manner, as it is rarely the case (Dankelman, 2002). Imbalanced gender power relations not only lead to differences in accessing a variety of resources, but also cause women and men to have different lived experiences in relation to nature, as explained previously. As a result, environmental vulnerability affects men and women differently, also due to their different capacities in responding; this is why their different knowledge and perspectives concerning the environment should be equally considered in the programming (Denton, 2002; Leduc & Ahmad, 2009). Thus, gender-‐sensitive planning calls for the inclusion of gender perspectives when defining problems encountered in relation to climate
change as well as in the identification of solutions. This means understanding, if and how, environmental change affects men and women differently and, using this knowledge to propose a set of objectives that addresses the ‘real’ needs of individuals (Leduc & Ahmad, 2009).
Including women in programming is important in an ethical sense, because it gives them agency in a process deciding over their fate (Dankelman, 2002); and practically as well, because it helps foresee socio-‐cultural barriers limiting women’s participation. Overall, including women in the planning process is the only way to find out about their real experiences and design effective methodological to reach the program’s objectives (Leduc & Ahmad, 2009). On the other hand, not including them reinforces existing gender inequalities and furthers their marginalization and dependency on me (Dankelman, 2002; Nichols, 2002).
Ensuring a gender-‐sensitive implementation
From knowledge gathered during the planning phase, a gender-‐sensitive program can be designed and implemented to achieve program’s objectives. Ensuring a gender-‐sensitive implementation means realizing activities that promote the participation of women by being adapted to their needs and capabilities; most importantly, a sensitive implementation addresses identified structural constraints, which tend to exclude women from such activities.
Some constraints to consider in the inclusion of women in development programs were identified by the UNDP’s Least Developed Countries Expert Group (LDCEG); three groups are outlined here. First, informational constraints, this refers to women’s lack of access to information, and generally lower access to education. As a result of existing gender biases and exclusion of women from certain spheres of society (LDCEG, 2015), women have less access to knowledge on concerning a variety of topics and tend to have lower literacy levels. These informational exclusions must be taken into account when deciding about the methodology used to share information; for example, if women have low literacy levels, trainings based on written material will be ineffective and can easily make women feel less confident and affect their learning process (Guijt & Shah, 1998). Instead, trainings and activities should be adapted and provide picture-‐based texts to ensure an adequate explanation (LDCEG, 2015). Second, constraints can also be attitudinal (LDCEG, 2015); this has to do with the socio-‐cultural, traditional and religious barriers imposed on women that limit their ability to participate. For example, some meeting locations may not be culturally appropriate: Women’s tasks are generally centered around the household while men’s are often in distant locations (e.g. market, farmland); location is a very important element in determining participation, especially in Muslim areas where women’s mobility is
restricted (Momsen, 2010). The necessary arrangements should be made by the implementer to ensure attendance and active participation of all members. Third, physical constraints, (LDCEG, 2015), concerning practical aspects such as mobility and time availability exist. These constraints are very important to consider as they can hinder women from attending activities, arriving late, or being focused. For example, activities need to be mindful of women’s routines and working schedules and take place at times when they are available and not burden them in accomplishing their various daily tasks. These three points summarizing common barriers to women inclusion in development programs provide a guideline for gender-‐sensitive participatory methods, which provide opportunities for women to take part in development processes. The implementation of participatory methods not only enables the opinions of marginalized groups to be voiced, thus addressing their real wants and needs, but it also enables to avoid gender-‐blindness, by accommodating the activities to women’s abilities, in terms of mobility, knowledge and resources (Cornwall, 2003).
Conclusion
To conclude, a gender-‐sensitive program development suggests a bottom-‐up approach rather than top-‐down and considers the needs of local people, which is more likely to give rise to more socially appropriate solutions and has higher chances for long-‐term sustainability (UN Women, 2014; Guijt & Shah, 1998). Gender-‐sensitive participatory approaches are a way to ensure that women’s voice are heard and shape the development of a program, as well make sure that activities implemented are adapted to their disempowered situations. Based on the participatory methodology outlined above, this research provides an evaluation of the gender-‐sensitive aspects that appeared in the planning and implementation phase of the climate change program.
2.4.
Initial Conceptual scheme
Prior to undertaking the research a conceptual scheme was designed providing a representation of the main concepts studied and the expected relations linking them. After the fieldwork period, it was subject to a few modifications, particularly as a result of changes in the focus of the research. Main changes included, first, including all women directly targeted by the program rather than only considering the experiences of Women Heads of Household (WHH); second, looking at the planning phase instead of only the trainings implemented. The updated conceptual scheme is presented in the concluding chapter of this thesis.
Figure 2: Initial conceptual Scheme
Figure 2 schematizes the inclusion of WHH in HoAREC’s Climate Change Program’s trainings. The principal relationship of the research appears as a large red arrow at the center of the figure; it represents the sustainable and gender-‐sensitive inclusion of WHH in the climate change adaptation and mitigation program’s trainings. This is the main process analyzed in the study and it translates into an evaluation of the strategies used by HoAREC to adapt its trainings to the gender-‐specific needs of the women. As illustrated in the figure, this inclusion of WHH in the climate change program influences environmental quality both in direct and indirect ways. Firstly, it directly provides women with knowledge and methods to undertake their daily activities in environmentally aware manner through this, relieving pressures on the environment and contributing to the improvement of its quality. Secondly, it indirectly improves environmental quality by enhancing women’s capacity to participate in local environmental governance processes and advocate for better governmental responses to environmental degradation. The conceptual scheme also depicts an element negatively influencing the inclusion of WHH in the program’s trainings, namely the socio-‐cultural context. Composed of men and women in male-‐headed households, the socio-‐cultural context reflects the societal beliefs and actions restricting the empowerment of WHH; for example, cultural restrictions of women’s mobility or expected gender roles. The relational aspect, which is key to the analysis of this research appears in this scheme as two-‐way arrows linking WHH both with nature, represented here as environmental quality, as well as with men and women non-‐heads. The relationship of women with their environment is an important element of the research; women play important roles in the conservation of their natural environment and are also highly dependent on it as a source of subsistence for their families.
2.5.
Conclusion
In order to conclude this chapter, it is important to clarify the linkages that bring together the different theories relevant to the research. While the link between inclusive development and participatory methods is one that is easy to comprehend, as the latter serve to apply the ideas of the first, it is necessary to also connect the relational approach. Inclusive development thought has led strategies to increasingly include women and the environment as subjects; both entities, which are represented by ecofeminism as being dominated over. However, women’s specific understandings of nature create an opportunity for their empowerment and give them a comparative advantage in the adaptation processes (Denton, 2002, p.18). Thus, by stressing the importance of women’s inclusion across the program through the use of gender-‐sensitive and participatory methods, the research provides a framework for them to overcome socio-‐economic marginalization and contribute to the betterment of the natural environment on which their livelihoods rely.
Chapter 3: Research Context
This chapter provides an in-‐depth description of the research area as a way to contextualize the findings and recommendations presented in later chapters. It begins with a national level overview of the country’s socio-‐economic background after which, it discusses Ethiopia’s gender equality level and reviews the impacts of climate change experienced nationally, thus far. The chapter, moreover, provides information concerning relevant government policies in place within each of these three subjects. The second part of the chapter delves into a more detailed presentation of the research the Ethiopian location, the Central Rift Valley, in which it describes the livelihoods of the populations targeted by the program and introduces the organizations in charge of coordinating and implementing the intervention, respectively, the Horn of Africa Regional and Environmental Center (HoAREC) and the Rift Valley Children and Women Development Organization (RVCWDO).
3.1. The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa, which shares borders with six countries, namely: Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, Sudan, and South Sudan. It is the second-‐most populous country in Sub-‐Saharan Africa with a highly diverse and predominantly rural population (80%), which is composed of more than a 100 ethnicities and estimated at almost 97 million (UN women, 2014; World Bank, 2014b). Despite being one the world’s oldest civilization and carrying a rich cultural heritage, Ethiopia still remains one of the poorest countries worldwide.
Figure 3: Location of Ethiopia
(Source, Raventós Vilalta, 2010)
3.1.1. Agriculture and Economic Development
During the past decade, Ethiopia has achieved strong economic growth and become Africa’s best performing economy with an annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate averaged at 10.8% between the years 2003/2004 -‐ 2013/2014 (World Bank, 2016). Even with this progress, the country still remains one of the poorest worldwide (11th) with a per capita income of $550 in 2014 (World
Bank, 2014b), leaving approximately 25 million Ethiopians trapped in poverty and vulnerability (UNDP, 2015b). As stated in a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) National Human Development Report (NHDR), this growth is a product of the Ethiopian government’s efforts to “[make] Ethiopia a middle-‐income country by the year 2025” (UNDP, 2015b, p.10) by prioritizing its strongest economic sectors, among which the agricultural sector.
Historically, Ethiopia’s agricultural sector has always been the most important sector of its economy; however, in the last decades, the sector’s growth has been in decline, reducing its contribution to overall growth of the economy. Today, it still provides close to 80% of employment in the country (UN Women, 2014) and accounts for 43% of the GDP, coming in second place after the services sector, which outweighs it with a 45% share (UNDP, 2015b). In the past decades, the country’s aim for agricultural development has been faced with many challenges, such as climatic shocks and volatile global markets (IFAD, 2014), which have affected its “capacity to address poverty, food insecurity and various other socio-‐economic problems [, which are] dependent on the performance of agriculture” (UNDP, 2015b, p.11). Like in many other African and developing countries, Ethiopia’s agricultural sector is still dominated by subsistence, low-‐input/low-‐output, rain-‐fed farming in which only a limited amount of farmers make use of agricultural technologies. This renders farmers extremely vulnerable, as they are unable to cope with deteriorating land resources and droughts, which have occurred increasingly over the years (IFAD, 2014).
In Ethiopia, smallholder farmers make up the largest group of poor people in the country, recurrently struggling to produce enough food to feed their households and frequently facing prolonged hunger seasons (IFAD, 2014). This is happening as a result of ecological degradation and added pressures caused by a rapidly increasing population (Diao, Taffesse, Yu & Pratt, 2010) and Ethiopian women are most affected. This acknowledgment of agriculture as the cornerstone of Ethiopian economy and as a source of income for a large share of the population led the Ethiopian government to encourage growth in this sector through an Agricultural Development-‐Led Industrialization (ADLI) Strategy. Since the 1990s, it has emphasized this inclusive agricultural growth strategy, which contributed to the reduction of poverty and improvement of food security (UNDP, 2015b).
