November 23, 2010 SCENARIOS FROM JAMAICA EVERY YEAR WE LOSE - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Linnette Vassell November 23, 2010

SCENARIOS FROM JAMAICA

“EVERY YEAR WE LOSE SOMETHING- FROM DROUGHT, STORM OR FLOOD, BUT BECAUSE WE ARE FARMERS, WE HAVE TO STICK WITH IT”-

• Ms. Joan Buchanan, Trinityville, St. Thomas, Jamaica,

speaking of her experience of increase of extreme weather events.

SCENARIOS FROM JAMAICA

 Drought for six months before followed by three days

• f flooding in September 2010 left 14 persons dead and

US$245 in damage mainly to infrastructure and

• agriculture. These are prime examples of recent

extreme weather events in Jamaica.

 Damage to infrastructure affects both men and

women adversely and in some instances, quite differently:

 With farm roads destroyed, male farmers in the

Somerset community for example, face high risks from crossing flooded rivers;

SCENARIOS FROM JAMAICA

 Men risk injury from landslides as they travel to tend

their animals;

 To the risk of their health, men often have to carry the

loads to rehabilitate the paths and farms high in the mountains.

 Men are more linked into the public networks to

receive benefits for rehabilitation than women.

SCENARIOS FROM JAMAICA

 Women in farming have to pay high labour costs to

rehabilitate their farms, hence their ability to recover quickly is low;

 The impact on households from loss of livelihoods,

destruction of toilet facilities, increase in diseases, increase on work-load of households particular, is

• ften not counted nor compensated;

 Women’s safety is compromised when roads and bridges

are destroyed and they have to walk long distances and in darkness, especially if they work outside the community.

SCENARIOS FROM JAMAICA

 Importantly, these pressures on the lives of women

and men from the impact of climate change, have to be seen in context of the global recession, IMF conditionalities, and a small open dependent economy as is the case of Jamaica, a Small Island Developing State (SIDS):

 90,000 jobs have been lost since 2008  of the 445,000 (16.5% of pop.) living below the poverty

line (US$2/day) in 2009, the majority were women.

SCENARIOS FROM JAMAICA

 51.6% of rural female household heads have children

and no male partner, compared to 5.3% male heads in a similar category.

 Men own 80%, women own 20% of agricultural land and

are holders of smaller plots.

 Some 10% of the population only has access to

untreated sources of water mainly rivers, ponds and wayside tanks for daily use.

 Drought and floods make provision of water from these

sources a major pre-occupation for women in particular.

SCENARIOS FROM JAMAICA

 With reduced water flow during droughts, the river

water becomes stagnant ; washing is difficult, skin diseases increase, especially among children.

 Women and children walk long distances for water; in

many instances, men will ride their bicycles or take transport to fetch water .

 Nearly 1 million citizens live in informal settlements

with inadequate water, sanitation and housing.

 Pit toilets , used by the majority, are often damaged or

destroyed by hurricanes & floods. Open defecation exists in pockets of urban, rural and peri-urban areas.

SCENARIOS FROM JAMAICA

 Women face higher risks than men in conditions of disaster

and in adjusting to the situations described above, because

• f their higher levels of poverty and dependency, the

burden of domestic responsibilities, their confinement to traditional occupations and domestic violence .

 Climate change is therefore an issue of human security-

security of survival, of livelihoods and of dignity.

SCENARIOS FROM JAMAICA

Actions being taken to address these issues include:

 NGOs taking actions through projects and strengthening

community based organisations and women’s role in leadership ;

 Addressing women’s gender interests, eg, labour support

grants for women farmers and other adaptation measures:

 nurseries to produce seedlings for quick replanting after

hurricanes; reforestation projects.

 construction of check dams to contain soil erosion;  establishing local disaster management committees.

SCENARIOS FROM JAMAICA

Processes to promote public policies include:

• Research and sensitization on gender and climate

change towards building dialogue on the issues;

• The design and promotion of practical proposals to

address felt needs, for example, financing mechanisms for the construction of toilets;

• Strengthening of the organisation and voice of the poor

and of women in particular;

• Linking of the agenda of gender and climate change into

the broad agenda of women’s movements.

SCENARIOS FROM JAMAICA

 Challenges or difficulties faced include:

 Limited advocacy because of resource constraints facing

civil society bodies, including those interested in gender and climate change issues;

 Responsible state agencies seem more focussed more on

the ‘scientific ‘ rather than the human aspect of climate change;

 The low level of organisation of and social support for

rural women in particular. This means that their leadership potential while high, is limited by numerous

• bstacles.

SCENARIOS FROM JAMAICA

 Systemic gender barriers constrain the best efforts to take a

gender-sensitive approach in implementing projects. For example, one community based organisation, led by a female, has received a grant for training and re-forestation in the target area. The grant requires that women should be 60% of beneficiaries. However, the majority of female farmers do not be have formal land tenure arrangements, their recruitment to the project is uncertain. This is evidence of incomplete gender analysis in the project from design stage and into the entire cycle. There is also need for a broader policy intervention.

SCENARIOS FROM JAMAICA

What remains to be done? Possible actions include…

• Intense and sustained community mobilisation and

education and training in a variety of issues for local leaders and the broader community;

• Effective and gender-sensitive community

facilitation;

• Sustained advocacy around gender, climate change

and community adaptation;

• Local, national and international collaboration to

build linkages and community confidence.

SCENARIOS FROM JAMAICA

Lessons learned include:

• Gender sensitive community organising must become

more integrally linked to strategies for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation;

• The greater spaces that disaster preparedness and

management opens for changes in the traditional roles

• f men and women, can be sensitively utilized in

rehabilitation and reconstruction to promote deeper dialogue on issues of gender equality and women’s empowerment at all levels.