MARIE ROSE H.

GAN PHILIPPINE WOMENS UNIVERSITY

BEED II PROF. SATWINDER REHAL

Women and the Environment

Women and the environment is one of the 12 critical areas of concern identified in the
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, adopted by global leaders at the Fourth World
Conference on Women in 1995. The Platform pinpointed three strategic objectives for government
action on the environment. These include involving women actively in environmental decision-
making at all levels, integrating their concerns and perspectives in policies and programmes, and
establishing ways to assess the impact of development and environmental policies on women.

Nearly 20 years later, women are making inroads and governments are increasingly seeking
out their expertise and leadership when making key environmental decisions. Still, much remains
to be done to support womens roles in decision-making and secure a better future for all. To this
end, the UN is working to place women at the forefront of sustainable development and efforts to
confront the effects of climate change.

What is the CEDAW?

Known as the International Bill of Rights of Women, the Convention on the Elimination
of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women is the only human rights treaty which affirms the
reproductive rights of women and targets culture and tradition as influential forces shaping gender

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roles and family relations. It affirms women's rights to acquire, change or retain their nationality
and the nationality of their children.

CEDAW was adopted by the United Nations in 1979 and took effect on September 3, 1981.
As of February 2015, it has 188 State Parties that agreed to implement the provisions of the treaty
most importantly taking appropriate measures against all forms of discrimination and exploitation
of women. Consisting of a preamble and 30 articles, it defines what constitutes discrimination
against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination.

The Convention defines discrimination against women as "any distinction, exclusion or

restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the
recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of
equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic,
social, cultural, civil, or any other field.

CEDAW also establishes a framework that draws on three over-arching principles: equality
in opportunity, equality in access and equality in results. The Convention advocates the
substantive kind of equality both in law (de jure) and in practice (de facto).

Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA)

The Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA) was the resulting document of the Fourth World
Conference on Women in Beijing, China in 1995 adopted in consensus by the United Nations
(UN). It is during this Conference the governments and the UN agreed to promote gender
mainstreaming as a strategy to ensure that a gender perspective is reflected in all policies and
programmes at the national, regional and international levels. The BPfA represents the
international communitys commitment towards the promotion of womens welfare and aims at
accelerating the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-Looking Strategies for the Advancement
of Women.

Following the Fourth World Conference on Women, the United Nations General Assembly
mandated the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women to integrate into its program
a follow-up process to the Conference, regularly reviewing the critical areas of concern in the
BPFA and to develop its role in mainstreaming a gender perspective in UN activities.

In 1996, the Commission adopted a multi-year program of work based on the 12 critical
areas of concern identified in the BPfA for the period of 1997-2000. Subsequent work programs
were adopted in 2001 and most recently in 2006 based on the BPFA and the Beijing+5 Outcome
Document. In March 2010, the UN General Assembly convened a commemorative meeting during
the 54th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women in order to mark the 15th anniversary
of the adoption of the BPfA.

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ASEAN Committee on Women
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has maintained its efforts and
support in the promotion of the status of women and has participated actively in the regional and
international arena pertaining to the advancement of women. Specifically carrying out these thrusts
is the ASEAN Committee on Women (ACW) which serves as the primary coordinating and
monitoring body of the ASEAN on key regional priorities and cooperation in womens issues and
concerns.

The ACW has organized numerous regional workshops, seminars, training sessions and
consultative meetings that provided venues for government officials, civil society organizations,
professionals and other stakeholders to exchange views, share experiences and build commitments
and a common understanding on various gender issues. One of the most notable of these assemblies
is the ASEAN-High Level Meeting on Gender Mainstreaming within the Context of CEDAW,
BPFA and the MDGs held in November 2006. It was during this meeting that the Joint Statement
and Commitment to Implement Gender Mainstreaming was adopted by ASEAN member
countries.

The ACW was also among those that drafted the Terms of Reference for the ASEAN
Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC)
which was inaugurated during the 16th ASEAN Summit in 2010.

What is the ASEAN and the ACW?

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a geopolitical and economic
organization of 10 countries in Southeast Asia. Its aims and purposes include the acceleration of
economic growth, social progress and cultural development among its members, the protection of
peace and stability in the region, promotion of active collaboration and mutual assistance,
promotion of Southeast Asian studies and maintenance of close beneficial cooperation with other
regional and international organizations.

The ASEAN was established in 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the
ASEAN Declaration by the Founding Fathers of ASEAN, namely Indonesia, Malaysia,
Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Brunei Darussalam then joined in 1984, Viet Nam in 1995,
Lao PDR and Myanmar in 1997, and Cambodia in1999, making the current 10 Member States of
ASEAN.

The ASEAN Committee on Women (ACW) carries out the coordination and monitoring
of theASEANs key regional priorities and cooperation in womens issues and concerns. ACWs
roots can be traced way back 1975 when efforts towards establishing an ASEAN involvement in
womens issues began during the ASEAN Women Leaders Conference. In 1976, the ASEAN
Sub-Committee on Women (ASW) was established and was renamed the ASEAN Womens

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Programme (AWP) in 1981. However, it was in 2002 that the on-going ASEAN cooperation on
womens issues was restructured and called the ACW.

The ACW which holds its regular meetings annually is guided by two operational
documents:

1. Work Plan for Womens Advancement and Gender Equality (2005-2010), which is
rooted from the 1988 Declaration on the Advancement of Women in ASEAN.

3.3 The Environment and Sustainable Development

Women in many developing countries have extensive knowledge about local
natural resources, food security and strategies for preventing and reducing vulnerability
to drought, flooding, landslides, etc. Women are often 30 particularly hard hit by
environmental degradation, because they have the main responsibility for the familys
food production through subsistence farming, and for providing water and fuel for
cooking, heating and hygiene. Good sanitary conditions are decisive for womens
health and for reducing infant mortality. It is particularly important for women and girls
to have satisfactory sanitary arrangements at schools, workplaces and the home because
they are vulnerable to violence and abuse. This is also important in order to prevent
girls leaving school when they reach puberty.
In its environmental cooperation, Norway will:
seek to ensure that both women and men are secured active participation in the
management of local natural resources, particularly water resources and forest
resources that are used for fuel, food and medicines;
seek to ensure that womens local knowledge is fully acknowledged and put
into practice in cooperation on reducing vulnerability and developing strategies
in relation to natural disasters and climate change;
seek to ensure that women are secured property and user rights to agricultural
land along the same lines as men in connection with agricultural production and
harvesting food resources;
promote the right to food and water for both women and men, which is closely
linked to equitable and sustainable development of the agricultural sector and
other sectors that are dependent on natural resources;
be at the forefront of efforts to meet the sanitation targets set at the World
Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002, with emphasis
on meeting the needs of women as a vital factor in achieving the UN
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on health, education, gender equality
and the environment.

3.4 Oil and energy Oil production has great potential for stimulating employment and
knowledge generation, and for financing welfare development. Energy is important for
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 womens health, work and education and for reducing the time women spend on
household tasks. Indoor air pollution due to the use of open fires for cooking and
polluting sources of light cause considerable health damage to women and children.
In its oil and energy cooperation, Norway will:
seek to ensure the participation and safeguard interests of both women and men
in connection with the implementation of the Oil for Development programme;
be at the forefront of efforts to ensure that both women and men participate at
all levels in the management of natural resources in partner countries;
take a proactive role in promoting the responsible and equitable distribution of
revenues from oil and energy production so that these resources benefit all
population groups, and both womens and mens needs and priorities are taken
into consideration in the management of these revenues;
contribute to the creation of jobs and livelihoods for both women and men in
connection with the oil industry and in the production and distribution of clean
energy;
support sustainable, safe energy solutions that ease womens burden of work
and improve their access to health services and education;
support the development and use of clean energy solutions, such as solar
energy, that reduce indoor air pollution;
promote the active participation of women in decision-making and
implementation processes relating to the supply of water and energy to
workplaces and households.

2. Work Plan to Operationalize the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against

Women (2006-2010), which builds on existing national efforts, moves forward the
priorities of the other Work Plan and integrates all relevant priorities and measures into
a consolidated action plan on violence against women.

In the area of Ensuring Environmental Sustainability, attention will be given to

promoting a gender perspective as an input to the development of an ASEAN common
understanding and positions on relevant MEAS especially in light of the upcoming Rio
Plus 20 Review Meeting in 2012 (D.1.31.iii). Encouraging an ASEAN common
understanding on climate change issues including natural disasters will also be focused
on.
In the area of Building an ASEAN Identity, a focus on including art work and
studies on womens contribution to ASEAN arts and culture will be carried out
(E.1.43.xxvii).

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 The ACW also works in close partnership with the ASEAN Confederation on Womens
Organizations (ACWO) and several international organizations like Canadian International
Development Agency (CIDA), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United
Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) in working for gender equality and
advancement, and eliminating violence and discrimination against women.

Climate Change

Climate change is one of todays most ominous crises. Most of the recent natural disasters
are attributed to the changes undergone by the planet as caused by global warming. Addressing
this anthropogenic phenomenon concerns all fields of expertise as its harsh consequences could
lead to problems on food security, human health, water supply, settlements, and economic
development.

In 2008, the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) considered climate change as an
emerging issue. It focused on the fact that climate change is not a gender-neutral phenomenon,
stressing that it has a direct impact on womens lives due to their domestic work and makes their
everyday sustenance even more difficult. The Commission recognizing this called for efforts on
financing for gender equality and the empowerment of women, specifically referring to the impact
of climate change on women and girls.
The CSW also called for governments to:
integrate a gender perspective into the design, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and
reporting of national environmental policies;
strengthen mechanisms; and
provide adequate resources to ensure womens full and equal participation in decision-
making at all levels on environmental issues, particularly on strategies related to the
impact of climate change on the lives of women and girls.

As women are engaged in more climate related change activities than what is deemed by
the society being the managers of the household, they could contribute a lot in the mitigation and
adaptation to changes in climatic conditions. Womens role in the home i.e. utilization of gas or
wood for cooking, recycling and waste management etc. make them important agents for the
reduction of greenhouse gases (GHGs) emission and resources depletion that contribute to
environmental degradation.

In 2009, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources partnered with the
Gesellschaft fr Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), a German private international enterprise
specializing in sustainable development,through its Adaptation to Climate Change and
Conservation of Biodiversity in the Philippines (ACCBio) Program, to form the Inter-Agency

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Committee on Climate Change Adaptation (IACCC) which had the primary task of formulating
the Philippine Strategy for Climate Change Adaptation (PSCCA).

The climate change adaptation strategies enumerated in the PSCCA are broadly stated as
follows:
1. Creating an enabling environment for mainstreaming climate change adaptation based
on a decentralized framework of good governance.
2. Reducing climate change risks and vulnerability of human and natural ecosystems
through ecosystem-based management approaches and appropriate technologies.
3. Establishing knowledge management systems on climate change based on science and
experiences of communities.
4. Ensuring that processes such as policy formulation, development planning,
implementation, monitoring and evaluation are gender responsive and non-
discriminatory. For equitable programs and actions, purposive researches on the
differentiated impacts of climate change on women and men as well as their levels of
participation in governance and socio-economic activities shall be conducted.

The PSCCA further states that Mainstreaming gender in all levels of climate change
adaptation policy formulation, development planning, and implementation are made integral
part of the strategies. Hence, gender concerns and actions should also be implemented in the
first three strategies mentioned.

The Philippines, showing its exuberance in addressing climate change has initiated a
groundbreaking resolution during the 55th session of the Commission on the Status of Women
(CSW)in March 2011. The Philippine-initiated resolution entitled Mainstreaming Gender
Equality and Promoting Empowerment of Women in Climate Policies and Strategies highlighted
the need to ensure womens full enjoyment of all human rights and their effective participation in
environmental decision-making at all levels and was adopted in consensus by the Commissions
Member States.

Women and Natural Resources Management

In the Philippines, women comprise almost 38 million (49.6%) of the total population
(2000 Census of Population and Housing, NSO). The Philippine Plan for Gender-Responsive
Development (PPGD) data from 2004 states women comprise 25.8 percent of agricultural, animal
husbandry and forestry workers, fishers and hunters; 58 percent of these women are unpaid family
workers. Whereas in 1989, the PPGD indicated that women comprise a low percentage of
employed persons in forestry, 11.4%; hunters and related workers, 5.6 percent; miners, quarry

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workers, well drillers and related workers, 13.7 percent; metal processors, 3.5 percent; wood
preparation workers and paper makers, 9.1 percent; stone cutters and carvers, 22.2 percent.

To ensure that womens voice is heard in environment and natural resources (ENR) policy
making and management, several mechanisms have been instituted specifically by the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). In 1989, the Technical Working
Committee on Women (TWCW) was created which served as DENRs Women in Development
Focal Point. The TWCW was mandated to ensure that policies, programs and projects of the
agency responded to the needs and interests of its women clients/beneficiaries as well as its
employees.

In partnership with the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (now PCW),
a Women and Ecology Group composed mainly of women experts from government and non-
government sectors was also created. The Women Ecology Group was tasked to recommend
policy and programs for the sector to be institutionalized in government agencies particularly in
the DENR. The Groups efforts yielded policy recommendations on integration of gender
consciousness in environmental concerns, review and modification of laws and regulations for
gender-responsiveness, establishment of mechanisms to ensure proportionate representation of
women governing bodies for natural resources management, and monitoring of compliance on
directives for gender-responsiveness. Gender-specific researches as well as integrated gender
components in researches were also done on several ENR concerns.

The Philippine Strategy for Sustainable Development (PPGD) also indicates specific
objectives to ensure the full participation in and benefit by women from sustainable development.
These include the institutionalization of gender mainstreaming; promotion of womens
participation as agents and beneficiaries in the development and management of natural resources;
improvement of the living conditions of women and their families in the ENR subsectors; and
raise the level of awareness and skills of ENR development agents and beneficiaries on
WID/GAD and ENR concerns.

Philippine Initiatives to Address Environmental Issues

One of the earliest notable recognition by the Philippine government of the importance of
sustainable development taking into consideration the environment was set out in the 1987
Constitution which stipulates that The State shall protect and advance the right of the people to
a balanced and healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm and harmony of nature.

In 1991, the Philippines began to address the issue of climate change in its thrust to achieve
sustainable development with the formulation of the Philippine Strategy for Sustainable

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Development. As a result, the country officially adopted the Philippine Agenda 21 which serves
asthe nation's blueprint for sustainable development. During the same year, government agencies
and the Philippine Network on Climate Change were convened to create the Inter-Agency
Committee on Climate Change (IACCC) led by the Environmental Management Bureau of the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). The Committee aimed at harnessing
and synergizing the various activities undertaken by the national government and civil society in
response to the crisis posed by growing problem on climate change.

The Philippine commitment to address global environmental issues was further manifested
by its support to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
ratified on August 2, 1994 and the Kyoto Protocol, which was ratified on November 20, 2003. As
a signatory to the UNFCCC, the Philippines expressed adherence to the principles of sustainable
development and environmental preservation based on the notion of equity and the unique
capabilities of the participating countries. Article 3 of the Convention states that states who have
aligned themselves with the mandates set forth should protect the climate system for the benefit
of present and future generations of humankind, on the basis of equity and in accordance with
their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. In 2000, the
Philippines forwarded to the UNFCCC its Initial National Communication which enumerated the
accomplishments of the country in meeting the objectives of the Convention. The report presented
the gains made in the fields of greenhouse gas abatement and inventory. Also noted were
significant achievements in strengthening institutions and processes in relation to the mitigation,
prevention and adaptation initiatives in the country. Further, in adherence to the Kyoto Protocol,
the Philippines adopted the Clean Development Mechanism.

Also, the Philippines passed and implemented national measures that advance the
international communitys agenda pertaining to environmental preservation. Some of the major
legislations enacted were R.A. 8749 (Clean Air Act of 1999) that moves for an effective air quality
management program that will mitigate the worsening problem of air pollution in the country,
R.A. 8435 (Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act of 1997) that establishes that the
Department of Agriculture together with other appropriate agencies, should into account climate
change, weather disturbances and annual productivity cycles in order to forecast and formulate
appropriate agricultural and fisheries programs, R.A. 9003 (Solid Waste Management Act of
2000) that aimed at providing a comprehensive solution to the countrys garbage problem and
R.A. 9275 (Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004) that moves for a comprehensive water quality
management scheme.

In 2007, Administrative Order 171 was issued to create a Presidential Task Force on
Climate Change (PTFCC). The task force is mandated to address and mitigate the impact of
climate change in the Philippines, paying special attention to adaptation, mitigation and

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technological solutions. In particular, the task force focuses on improving compliance to air
emission standards and acts to combat deforestation and environmental degradation.

More recently, R.A. 9729 (Climate Change Act of 2009) which aims to systematically
integrate the concept of climate change in the policy formulation and development plans of all
government agencies and units, to the end that the government will be prepared for the impact of
climate change was enacted also creating the Philippine Climate Change Commission (PCCC).

The PCCC, an independent and autonomous body attached to the Office of the President,
shall be the sole policy making body of the government to coordinate, monitor and evaluate the
programs and action plans relating to climate change. The PCCC has drafted the National
Framework Strategy on Climate Change 2010-2022 which is committed towards ensuring and
strengthening the adaptation of our natural ecosystems and human communities to climate
change.

REFERENCES:

http://www.asean.org/storage/images/2012/publications/ACW%20Work%20Plan%2020
11-2015.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_on_the_Elimination_of_All_Forms_of_Discri
mination_Against_Women
http://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2009/ra_9729_2009.html
http://www.pcw.gov.ph/sites/default/files/documents/resources/ppgd.pdf

INSIGHTS:

Women nowadays are participating equally with men in all fields. They are
ahead of men particularly in the matter of prevention of pollution and protection,
preservation, and conservation of environment. This can be proved by the
participation of women in various environmental movements.

Though women are actively taking part in the protection of environment, their
participation in the formulation, planning, and execution of environmental policies
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still remains low. No environmental program can achieve success without the
involvement of women. Without their full participation, sustainable development
cannot be achieved.

As it was recognized by world leaders, there is a growing recognition of the

need to strengthen womens capabilities to participate in environmental decision-
making, by increasing their access to information and education, particularly in the
areas of science, technology, and economics. Womens lack of access to
development planning and policy formulation has also had a negative effect on
long-term management and protection of the natural environment and the
promotion of sustainable development.

Science and Technology interventions for sustainable development recognize

womens environmental needs and involve the promotion of sustainable
livelihoods, the protection of the natural environment, and womens equitable
participation and conceptual authority in environmental decision-making.

Any failure to meet these needs and interests is likely to have a negative
impact on womens ability to provide food, household needs and income for
themselves and their families, on their ability to use and manage the natural
environment in a sustainable manner, and on their equitable participation as
environmental decision-makers in their own communities.

Marie Rose H. Gan

Student

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