The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in collaboration with the Ministry of Climate Change (MoCC) and OXFAM Pakistan organized the National Stakeholder Consultation - Sector Specific Climate Change Gender Action Plan to hold a stakeholder discussion on the draft recommendations being finalized, focusing three thematic areas of Wheat, Rice and Fisheries & Mangroves that are facing impacts of environmental degradation.

In his welcome address, Country Representative, IUCN Pakistan, Mr. Mahmood Akhtar Cheema briefed the participants about the initiative of Sector Specific Climate Change Gender Action Plan. He said the climate change spearing environmental degradation was causing loss of livelihoods, food, productivity, yield and health of local communities due to ecosystem loss.

He said the IUCN and OXFAM had an old collaboration in implementing many ground based and stakeholder level nature conservation, capacity building and community development endeavors. Elaborating the Sector Specific Plan, he added that the IUCN initially approached Global Climate Fund to get funding for National Plan for Climate Change Gender Action whereas after recommendations from the experts and other quarters concerned it was linked to different sectors.

Speaking on the occasion, OXFAM Programme Manager, Mr.  Aamir Kaleem said the OXFAM was striving to end injustices including poverty, social injustices, and unfair distribution of resources, rights and unjustified policies of the corporate. Globally, he said the OXFAM had done huge efforts for climate justice and believed that climate change should be coped with and shifted towards true betterment as an opportunity.

Project Manager, IUCN Pakistan, Mr. Hammad Saeed presented a brief overview of the Sector Specific Gender Action Plan. He told that the study was awarded by OXFAM to IUCN Pakistan that started in January 2021 till July 2021.

Mr. Hammad informed that the study focused three thematic areas of rice, wheat and fisheries and mangroves. For mangroves and fisheries sector study area of Keti Bandar and Kakapeer village in Sindh, for rice areas of Gujranwala, Muridke and Sheikhupura, and Gilgit Baltistan’s Yasin Valley was focused for the study of wheat. He informed that the guidelines and recommendations for the Gender Action Plan were made after consultations with NARC, MARC, Rice Research Institute, civil society organizations, academia and the private sector.

Gender Expert, Ms. Humera Malik gave a detailed presentation on the draft Sector Specific Climate Change Gender Action Plan.   She told that the recommendations would be shared with all stakeholders whereas her main task was to study impact of climate change on women’s life and livelihoods etc.

She underlined that there was no gender specific data on climate change available in the country. However, the study would also serve as a baseline document.

Ms. Malik mentioned that gender inclusion in all relevant climate change policies, frameworks and acts, monitoring and evaluation of funding allocated for women, local adaptation plans, decision making at lowest appropriate level and addressing structural inequalities among others can help address the gender crisis in climate change.

For more information, please contact:

Hammad Saeed
Project Manager/ Manager, Information and Knowledge Management
IUCN Pakistan, Islamabad Programme Office
Cel. +92 307 7773801
E-mail: hammad.saeed@iucn.org