Pico Analytics Fortnightly Newsletter: Women's Month Edition
The gendered aspects of climate change are often discussed by international organizations, policy makers and researchers and yet there is a clear chasm between recognizing the disproportionate effect climate change has on women and girls versus implementing and seeing through policies or actions which would help to close this gap. Existing gender inequalities are easily exacerbated by climate change for a number of reasons, many of which are often linked to a level of socio-economic inequality. Studies have found that 80% of people displaced by climate change are women. According to ActionAid women and girls constitute the majority of the world's poor, who are overall more affected because they are more likely to depend on food and income from the land and natural resources which are now under threat. This can have a ripple effect of difficulties as women across the globe are often responsible for securing water, food and fuel, which leads to women and girls often walking or traveling long distances to secure water as local sources dry up. When accessing natural resources becomes more difficult and more time consuming or climate related natural disasters occur, often the fallout from those events is girls being taken out of school to help manage household affairs or being pushed into domestic work as household livelihood insecurities increase. Worse still, when families are struggling to feed their children rates of child marriage for young girls increase as parents feel they are left with no choice but to give their daughters away, often to much older men and resulting in early pregnancies that can cause significant damage to their young bodies. Rates of gender-based violence also increase in all its forms i.e. rape, trafficking, domestic violence etc. which adds another prospective layer of pain and trauma for women and girls. Even for those hoping to escape this life nine in ten countries worldwide have laws impeding women's economic opportunities such as those which bar women from factory jobs, working at night, or getting a job without permission from their husband. Through all this one might hope that there are at least a large body of women in high level positions championing the climate and gender inequality cause and pushing for implementation of policies which factor in the needs and requirements of women; however, just one look at a picture of the Cop27 delegates will wash away any hopes you had of that as you are greeted by a wall of men with an almost tokenistic sprinkle of women. But is it all doom and gloom? Are women really so vulnerable to climate change? Are all women and girls the fabled damsels in distress waiting for a 'loss and damage' fund to save them? The simple answer to this is no!
Women and girls around the world are standing up, making their voices heard and once again proving the strength and resilience of women in times of hardship. Taking action on climate change can empower women to be part of the solution as studies have found correlations between women in positions of political authority and lower national carbon footprints (around a 12% reduction on average) illustrating the importance of women's participation in decision-making. Meanwhile, programmes run by the UN and various other institutions which are working to secure education for young girls and help those in rural settings to adapt to climate change through a system of training in leadership and entrepreneurship, providing microcredit/loans and ensuring access to sexual and reproductive health facilities and information as well as providing access to clean energy are all steps in the right direction. Yet, it is often the women on the ground who are doing the work to ensure both a more sustainable and gender equitable future. According to the Goldman Environmental Prize approximately 60% of over 200 prize winners are women and still this is just a drop in the ocean of climate activism that is carried out by women. In Africa alone 70% of smallholdings are managed by women, meaning they provide more than half of all nutrition to people living on the continent. Their ancient Indigenous agricultural knowledge is passed from generation to generation as women farmers continue to use regenerative agricultural practices to return nutrients to the soil whilst building resilience and fertility over time without chemicals long before such practices became popular in the wake of the climate crisis. But it's not just agriculture where women are leading the way, sometimes without even realizing that they are doing so, there are so many sectors such as conservation, food security, environmental health, activism, mitigation and adaptation, policy making, law, representation, journalism and research, where women and girls are all excelling with a joint understanding and aim to slow the climate crisis and protect those who are most affected. In this rather special edition we seek to provide a comprehensive overview of women in the climate, environment, biodiversity and conservation sectors whilst also attempting to improve our readers' understanding of how the climate crisis is affecting women and girls through a selection of interviews with women based around the world who are working to combat climate change at every level. Our first interview is with Deepitika Chand, a young scholar who is currently completing a second Masters degree in the Netherlands who is also working as a Senior Climate Change Officer (Mitigation) at the Ministry of Economy, Fiji. Our second interview is with Melvine Otieno, the Kenyan based founder of the Planetary Health Eastern Africa Hub and Senior Next Generation Fellow at the Planetary Health Alliance. Our third interview is with Leona Bhuyan, a passionate conservationist currently working as a Friends of Elephants Community Project Officer and Wildlife Researcher based in Assam India. The fourth and final interview is with Nada Albadawi, an Egyptian journalist who specializes in Environment and Climate Change Issues. We have also filled this newsletter with some of the most striking climate stories from the past two years linked to women. From needing more female leaders in the fight against climate change to women and girls on the front lines of climate change in Bangladesh, this edition, as always, aims to educate, inform, and promote a more sustainable lifestyle whilst turning your attention to those projects and laws which aim to enforce sustainability at the highest level.
We here at Pico Analytics know that it can be disheartening and at times frustrating to read through the various articles and reports concerning climate change, sustainable development and ESG's but it is important to understand exactly what is happening in our world and how our needs and requirements are being met. In our Sustainability Spotlight we shine a light on the Mujeres Amazónicas movement, an Indigenous women led organization fighting to end oil exploration in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Our newsletter, as usual, will provide a short summary of some of the most notable, informative, and quirky climate stories of the past two weeks in the hope that it provides inspiration and insight into climate news from around the world. Finally, we want to hear from you, our readers, about any topics that interest you, which we can either produce research papers on or include as stories in future newsletters.
OUR
TOP STORIES
We Need More Female Leaders in the Fight Against Climate Change
by Maria Tanyag 11th November 2021
Way back in 2021 an opinion piece was released by The Guardian making a call for more women to be involved in the policymaking process to provide more robust solutions to the climate crisis. As Cop26 (and later Cop27) were dominated by men, one woman strode into the limelight and made a global impression. Mia Mottley, with her global ambitions, conviction to the cause, strength of character and unique oratory skills was not backwards in coming forward in commenting upon the lack of 'needed faces' which were not present at Glasgow. The sea of white men and just men in general is playing a part in limiting the imagination and implementation of transformative solutions. Though there has been some progress in increasing the participation of women in the Cop events, something which arguably took a step backwards at Cop27, it is believed that we will not achieve gender parity in climate leadership until 2068.
The United Nations framework convention on climate change (UNFCCC) came into force in 1994. With the implementation of this convention gender equality has gradually been recognised as playing a core role in tackling the climate crisis having made its first appearance in an outcome document of Cop7 in 2001. However, even after over two decades of discussion a UNFCCC secretariat report presented at Cop26 showed that women were still underrepresented in climate negotiations, particularly in leading government delegations or speaking at the events, though women did appear in larger numbers as part of the NGO contingents. This has led many to question whether giving civil society groups a more direct role could prove successful in providing more diverse perspectives, expertise and meaningful participation by women. This could prove to play a key role in improving the strength of climate policies as one study across 91 parliaments correlated female representation with more stringent policies on climate change policies and lower carbon emissions.
We must rethink how we address the climate by including more policy makers and leaders from the most climate-affected parts of the world i.e. Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Unfortunately, environmental factors continue to play a significant role in affecting the participation of people, particularly women, from these regions as they must contend with weather, distance and transport needs in addition to care responsibilities. It was believed that Cop26 would be the most exclusionary summit to date as delegates struggled to meet the costs of attending the summit, yet in the run up to Cop27 it became astoundingly clear that even when host nations are based in the Global South or developing countries this does not mean for certain that delegates from the most affected areas will have a smooth experience in both traveling to the conference and taking part whilst there. Though we can't afford for decision-making spaces to be closed off from women, we continue to define climate change in terms of science and security, traditionally male dominated domains, which continues to hold up a glass ceiling that few women outside of the traditional sets of expertise, procedures and diplomatic styles can pass through. Yet, as global leaders lag behind in tackling climate change the time to increase female leadership and participation is now whilst we still have the opportunity to secure humanity's survival.
Interview with Deepitika Chand
by Kate Martin 22nd March 2023
Q Could we start with you telling us a little bit about yourself and how you got into the environment and climate change sector?
Deepitika: I completed my bachelor’s in biology and chemistry, but then later on I went on to do a master’s in chemistry where my project was focused on atmospheric gasses… looking at methane emissions from the agriculture sector, particularly rice and ruminants, through that I gained a lot of theoretical knowledge on greenhouse gases. There was an opening at the time in the Climate Change Division in my country (Fiji) which was very new and so I took on the post of the senior mitigation officer. Coming straight from a scientific background I was thrown into policy work. In fact, one of my very first projects was to help in the coordination for the development of the Fiji Low Emission Development Strategy. It was very exciting. I think it was around six months of preparation as at that time we were aiming to launch that policy at the COP. So, there was very little time to actually do the policies, it was a tough time, but I think it was also a learning process and at the same time I got to learn about policy, from there I attended COP24. Now, I am in the Netherlands doing my second masters in water management and governance, however, I am continuing to work for the climate change division who I have now been with for four years. As I was so mitigation focused I wanted to have a grasp of what adaptation looks like as well, that’s why I took up a master’s in water management and governance.
Q If you could give one piece of advice to a young woman wanting to work in your field what would it be?
Deepitika: (In continuation of the previous question) … Actually, when I was applying for my current position everybody was telling me this is not your strength, policy is not your strength, why have you applied for a job that is policy oriented? In reply to this question I told myself I shouldn’t be doubting myself. I tell it to any other young woman who wants to go into this field, don’t doubt yourself. We can do anything we want and it’s really important to motivate each other. At the time I was applying for the job I had a few friends who were also aspiring to come into this field. They also kept motivating me, so it really helps and it works both ways. You motivate each other and you don’t doubt yourself, then you will get there. In fact, when I first joined the department, our team was an all girls team. There were three of us and I think we were the heart of the entire department. Everybody was very dependent on us so I could see the strength of women there. It is pretty interesting to see women working together because usually they say that women can’t work together but I think we were the best team!
Q Would you be ok talking to us about how climate change is affecting your region and what work you are involved in which is combating its impacts?
Deepitika: It’s not a secret what the Pacific and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) go through. I think we are the most vulnerable, although, when I came to the Netherlands and I was studying with my colleagues I realized that there are other places that are also very vulnerable like Africa and now the Northern regions are seeing the impacts of climate change as well. But for my region I think it’s very serious because we have very frequent, intense cyclones. I think last week it was in Vanuatu, they had back to back cyclones which were devastating. But Fiji also has similar
cyclones like Winston, which was one of the largest in the Southern Hemisphere and for us it's not just about GDP but it's about our lives too. So, when everything is destroyed some of the people have to start all over again. Also, when it comes to climate relocation and migration I think that is a very important part for where I come from because we have already - in Fiji- had to move six communities and relocate them to different places.
Q We know that climate change has a disproportionate impact on women, have you observed this and if so, how so?
Deepitika: When we talk about relocation for example, in Fiji we believe women are closer to nature and they take a lot more responsibilities than men because men are usually expected to go out to work, earn money and come back. The women, they look after the family, they’re close to nature and when we have issues like relocation the burden falls on women and it is very important to consider women’s needs when we are doing this type of relocation or anything else. We have tried to do that in Fiji but I think around the world there needs to be some emphasis placed on women because I feel like when you talk about gender it can be just a case of checking the box at times, because I have also done projects and when we are trying to incorporate gender, nobody really knows how to mainstream gender. It’s not just about having 50% female participants, you really need to understand how to incorporate gender and women’s issues. Usually, we are just doing it for the sake of it as all our development partners, all the funds, they all require some elements of gender so that is something which also needs to be addressed.
Q Do you believe there is gender equality in the climate sector or do you think there is still work to be done?
Deepitika: I think there’s some more work that needs to be done honestly. I am looking at the people who represent the Pacific at the COP for example, I think there is a gender imbalance. So, I think there needs to be some more work done on this.
Q What are your thoughts on Cop27, do you think much was achieved?
Deepitika: I wasn’t there at COP27 but it was very disappointing because it was supposed to be a COP for implementation after COP25. I don’t think they were able to achieve that especially with trying to convince these high emitting countries to start working strongly on reducing their carbon emission. I think one good thing was that they finally recognized loss and damage and they have a fund for it. The Pacific, for example, we have really been pushing for loss and damage because we are very vulnerable. That said having a fund, again, it's going to be very tough to actually populate it with a lot of resources because the world hasn’t really lived up to the commitment to the GCF and the climate fund. I don’t know how they are going to do it, but it’s very disappointing, they have another fund coming up and they’re really not able to fulfill the requirements of the first one so I am not sure how this is going to work out.
Florida Sea Turtles Overwhelmingly Born Female
By the Maya Yang 4th August 2022
Nearly every sea turtle born on the beaches of Florida in the past four years has been female, according to scientists.
The growing climate crisis has resulted in intense heat waves triggering a boom in female baby turtles. According to the National Ocean Service heat is the determining factor in the gender of turtles, "if a turtle’s eggs incubate below 27C (82F), the turtle hatchlings will be male… if the eggs incubate above 31C (89F), the hatchlings will be female". As temperatures normally fluctuate this would usually result in a mix of male and female hatchlings. Yet, as the sand warms female's are appearing in greater numbers. This increase in temperatures could, according to the National Ocean Service, could result in skewed and even lethal incubation conditions which will have ramifications for sea turtles as well as other reptiles. With California experiencing the hottest summers on record for the past four years, scientists studying the already rare clutches of sea turtle eggs are yet to find one male hatchling. This imbalance in the male-female ratio is causing growing concern for scientists who worry that this will, in time, stunt the growth of the sea turtle population at a time when they are already struggling to cope with human intrusion, pollution and falling victim to fishing nets. Without the necessary male-female ratio which provides the crucial genetic diversity for successful breeding sessions, sea turtle populations will go into sharp decline. For those who do manage to survive to adulthood they will also face a new threat. The recently opened Sea Turtle Hospital, a branch of the Miami zoo, is now working to provide treatment for fibropapillomatosis, a potentially deadly disease among sea turtles that causes cauliflower-like tumors to develop on the body including the eyes and mouth. The tumors could also form in internal organs. Sadly, there is a growing need for these treatment and rehabilitation centers which can only make one wonder if climate change and pollution are playing around in the growing numbers of infected sea turtles. Sea turtles are facing threats from every angle and do not have the adaptations to cope meaning they like so many species could disappear in the years to come.
Interview with Melvine Otieno
by Kate Martin 24th March 2023
Q Good afternoon, maybe we can start with you telling us a little bit about yourself and how you got into the environment and climate change sector?
Melvine: I have been actively engaged in the climate change and environmental health space since doing my bachelors in environmental biology and health then later on in 2018 I joined a master’s programme focusing mainly on nutrition, food security and environmental health. In the process of completing my degree I found that in my country (Kenya) there are a lot of ongoing climate change issues. At the same time the village where I come from in the Lake Victoria region, has had issues with flooding and so on, especially where my parents are, it is a really flooded area and this really sparked me to start becoming a climate change activist. During my masters I wanted to take on a leadership role in an environmental health space as a youth, so I applied for a campus ambassadorship programme under the Planetary Health Alliance. I was the only campus ambassador that year from Africa and I took that as a big opportunity to engage with my wider community as well as the student community as a whole. As part of the Planetary Health Alliance we were able to start some small activities in our community, the first of which was to work on solid waste management. We started small with an activity that brought onboard the various community members, we held a workshop with local communities and in the process we sparked a conversation about how we can protect our environment. We also ran a programme linked to biodiversity which was focused on protecting the wetland ecosystems around the University of Eldoret. In this we mixed educating the community with learning from the locals about the wetlands. As of 2020 I was appointed a Senior Planetary Health Next Generation Fellow which gave me the opportunity to visit other universities in Kenya and also participate in global conferences which were a real eye opener on how we can continuously act locally and also learn from the global community. This led me to start the Planetary Health East African Hub which is a regional movement that focuses on climate change, biodiversity etc.
Q Could you tell us a little bit more about any climate change projects that you have been/are involved in and what your experiences were/are in those projects?
Melvine: Projects are about the passion, you know starting with the small projects that are not even funded like student-led projects and also bringing the community on board and other stakeholders such as policy makers was really interesting because we tend to realise that let’s say with climate change, people think it’s just for people who come from the environmental health angle but they don’t know that it requires everyone to be onboard, including people from creative arts, engineers, media, nurses, doctors and so on. So, looking back at the activity I started back in 2019, figuring out how it has been impactful, leveraging the networks I had through my visits to Germany we started working closely with the German Climate Change Alliance who really supported us with movement building in the region and supporting me to apply for more impactful long-term projects. In the process we saw that there was a need to engage more individuals from an education perspective about financial health and climate change. So, we started some pilot studies to engage different universities in planetary health education, where we found several universities were interested in embedding climate change and planetary health as a unit or a course through different disciplines.
Q Would you be ok talking to us about how climate change is affecting your region and what work you are involved in, which is combating its impacts?
Melvine: Through my initiatives I saw that we needed to figure out how we can communicate the impacts of climate change through art and dance. You find that the communities that are really affected are also the Indigenous communities in the country located around the Lake Victoria region and the Rift Valley Lakes who are being affected by flood and drought. I decided to do a small project to see how we can communicate the impacts of climate change through art and dance and in the process also learn from communities because when you go to these communities there is a way they communicate, they don’t speak in a scientific way, but they have their own cultures which they value deeply. When we visited these communities in the Lake Bogoria and Baringo, which are affected by flooding and drought and can be surrounded by wild animals we saw that these communities were practicing tourism as tourists were visiting the sites of the lesser flamingos and so on. They were devastated by flooding in the game park and the communities had to shift from their way of living, so we were keen to find out how they were adapting to the climate change situation in their homes. It was devastating to hear them as they said that even when they were facing all this the government is not even involved and research is not being done as the flamingos and the chickens in their homesteads are disappearing at an alarming rate whilst they are facing foot and mouth disease and zoonotic diseases/malaria rates escalating. So, they were happy to see that we were thinking about them even during the pandemic. We have also visited the Maasai community who are well known for living with the wildlife. We could see through our process of dancing and connecting with them that there is a need for climate education as some thought that it (climate change) is a punishment from their gods they don’t know that it is a result of how we humans are destroying the environment. That’s why the climate repercussions are becoming more intense.
Q We know that climate change has a disproportionate impact on women, have you observed this and if so, how so?
Melvine: Women are the ones who are going to be affected more because they have to take care of the families whilst men have to go out and get food or work. We found that there are lots of single women in the lake region, some of them are widows left with several children because of poverty and there is a high cost of living so they are really, really struggling. I feel that climate change is a gendered and sensitive issue and it's going to be continuous if we don’t give women opportunities to get proper jobs or support them to be part of the decision-making table. In most cases we see that in these big forums there is always more male representation as compared to women, especially in my own country and reflecting on other countries in Africa.
Q Do you believe there is gender equality in the climate sector or do you think there is still work to be done?
Melvine: To tell you the truth, in my country for instance, many women have been empowered to go and study. Nowadays we see lots of women who have degrees but now moving from a degree level to a masters level so you can get these higher jobs, it (equality) is now minimal because of bureaucracies and corruption in the country. They tend to feel like women don’t deserve high jobs especially in the private sector and in most cases due to the lack of jobs many women who have degrees have ventured into business or most probably have gotten married. In our country we have people from different cultures, different backgrounds, for instance, women from the Maasai community in the Northern part of the country, the level of education for those women as compared to those from other cultures is different. So, there is also this culture barrier that is an issue that makes it difficult for women to get high end jobs in the private sector. There is also an issue of men taking advantage of women, even to get a job in the country you may have to sleep around or something like that… It discourages many women from trying for these bigger jobs. It’s really the issue of culture, joblessness in the country and so on.
Q What are your thoughts on Cop27, do you think much was achieved?
Melvine: In my opinion Cop27 did not involve more Africans as physical participants. I have been doing a lot in climate change but I didn’t get an opportunity to go there physically, but I participated in some side events. They don’t recognise ambitious people who are working on the ground unless you are within a specific network of your own and there was less representation of Indigenous communities. However, topic wise they involved more of the youth in terms of sharing their perspective which was really nice but maybe there was some bias in terms of reaching out to people who are really doing the groundwork to participate. It was funny that most of my friends were really actively engaged here in Kenya in the climate change spaces but only a few of them got an opportunity to share their voices. Generally, the focus, the topics of discussion on gender, climate change, planetary health, these issues were well taken care of. Matters to do with the impacts of implementation, for example, on climate change adaptation were top priority in discussion which I really liked as well.
Q What are your hopes for the future (relating to climate change/environment etc.)
Melvine: What I hope to see is for climate change to be a part of the educational curriculum across the globe and also specifically in the African universities so that it's not in one but cuts across different universities. Another thing I would be interested to see is more community engagement in our research. Especially when doing research in different spaces, for example focusing on regions that are affected by climate change, instead of just going to collect data and then publishing it. Publishing it alone is not an issue, but we could see how we could be disseminating research findings to our community. Maybe we need to encourage more researchers to do more research dissemination through workshops in their community. Also, I would like to see more youth engagement and giving youth a chance to champion for climate change initiatives and encouraging/supporting them through small funding opportunities. Other than that, I am also really passionate about working closely with Indigenous communities and bringing the voices of Indigenous communities to global platforms whilst embracing their Indigenous knowledge. That would be ideal.
Q If you could give one piece of advice to a young woman wanting to work in your field what would it be?
Melvine: I would like to encourage them. If somebody is really passionate about being part of the change in these climate change spaces and being an activist just go for it. No matter how devastating sometimes, no matter how you feel if you are facing a difficult or huge task, just start small and you never know who is watching, who would want to back you up, because climate change is not a personal issue but is a global issue, it’s for everyone. I just want to encourage the youth to be there to push forward for change because you never know, with the networks you get or engage with, or the people you work with, just be a voice in these spaces. There are so many resources out there that are helpful to push you forward. It’s really high time for the youth to have a chance to be a voice on behalf of others and bring others on board with climate change activism.
Women and Girls on the Front Lines of Climate Change in Bangladesh
by Thaslima Begum 5th July 2022
Catastrophic flash floods in Bangladesh have often inundated much of Sylhet, washing away whole town's, killing at least 68 million people, and leaving thousands displaced. "According to the UN, an estimated 7.2 million people across seven districts have been affected". Now, Amina Ahmed, from Mirabazar is hoping to make a difference through volunteering and working as part of the rescue and relief operation for the Bangladesh Red Crescent. When flooding began in the summer of last year Ahmed's team attempted to reach remote communities and bring them to safety. Going above and beyond to carry small children for those struggling to stay afloat, providing reassurance to terrified families and providing cooked meals, clean water and medication when needed. Through her experiences Ahmed has realized how Sylhet women are more likely to be affected by the climate emergency than men and realization is a key motivation behind her work. “I’m in the best position to help impacted women as I personally understand the gender-based issues that they face,” she says.
One of the difficulties women face are the inadequate toilet facilities in shelters for menstruating women and girls. “There are no proper washrooms so when they get their periods, they don’t have access to disposal bins or space to change,” says Ahmed. Shelters are cramped, housing multiple families under one roof with just one bathroom with sanitary towel provisions often being overlooked, something Ahmed is working to change. Humayara Jeba, 20, a climate fighter at YouthNet, the largest youth-led network for climate advocacy in Bangladesh, is also advocating women's access to resources during flooding. Jeba has been involved in crisis response planning and was pivotal in making sure those most at risk made it to safety, including children, elderly people and pregnant women. Just one of the women aided by Jeba was Rita Akhter, 19 who was eight months pregnant with her first child and awoke to find herself in waist high water, she was terrified and within ten minutes the water was up to her neck. Jeba saved Akhter from the water and upon looking back they saw nothing but water as the flooding submerged her tin hut and all her possessions. All the nearby shelters were at capacity so Jebu offered up her home as a refuge to Akhter but with the knowledge that hospitals were inaccessible due to the flooding making it impossible to reach if Akhter went into labor.
Akhter was just one of 60,000 pregnant women in the region who are struggling to access hospitals or medical treatment due to the extensive damage caused by flooding. Of the 926 community clinics scattered throughout Sylhet, 414 are under water, this has sparked further concerns over the spread of waterborne diseases and the medical services which were struggling to cope. Not far from the flooding Nawfat Ibshar, 18, from Habiganj, organized a climate protest in frustration over the lack of international response. On the day of the protest Ibshar marched down a busy road carrying placards and shouting climate slogans in Bangla and English. One protester held up a sign that read “Up to my neck in the climate crisis” – while half submerged in flood water. “We don’t expect much from global leaders as we’ve become used to their empty promises,” says Ibshar. “But we can always expect Sylhetis to show up, especially during a crisis.”
Interview with Leona Bhuyan
by Kate Martin 10th March 2023
Q Let's start with you telling us a little bit about yourself and how you got into the environment/climate change/biodiversity/sustainability sector.
Leona: I grew up in a small region surrounded by picturesque natural landscapes, lush forests, thriving ecosystems, and exotic wildlife. I always felt closely for my natural surroundings and was raised in a family of wildlife enthusiasts and environmentalists, which always kept me rooted in nature. I knew that this was the path for me. However, it wasn't until I started witnessing much of the natural spaces and wildlife that I cherished - uprooted, destroyed, and degraded by rampant urbanization and development- I knew, without a doubt, that this was what I wanted to pursue and fight for. And that's how I got into the conservation sector; the journey has been challenging yet wholesome!
2. Would you be ok talking to us about how climate change is affecting your region and what work you are involved in combating its impacts?
Climate change has impacted my region in many ways - which is predominantly an agrarian economy. We've witnessed extreme weather conditions like higher temperatures, erratic rainfalls, rising cyclonic activities, and flash flooding. These effects are impacting our food security, farmers, and natural vegetation - and have caused displacements of both humans and wildlife.
I am currently involved in community-based conservation work focusing on mitigating human-elephant conflict in Assam and protecting wild elephants in the landscape. We've adopted a few measures to minimize these negative interactions and partially address the climate crisis - as they are all interlinked. For instance, some of our efforts focus on habitat restoration across barren or degraded landscapes through plantation drives, building economic capacity among marginalized farming communities through programs on sustainable livelihood alternatives, and facilitating dialogue among the rural youth on various environmental challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, human
wildlife conflict etc.
3. We know that climate change is having a significant impact on the natural world, how much have you observed this and do you think there is hope for biodiversity?
Undoubtedly, we've all seen how the climate crisis impacts biodiversity - globally and locally. I’ve observed it in the changing foraging behaviors and migratory patterns of wildlife, the absence or loss of certain wild species of fruits and plants, and the resulting negative human-wildlife interactions caused by rapidly altered and changing landscapes.
To suggest that there is no hope for biodiversity is to declare inaction. We must keep that hope and optimism alive to see positive changes in the natural world. The damage is stark, but there is still much to look forward to and protect. We need to urgently act, collaborate, and foster more substantial support for biodiversity to reverse and curtail the damage already caused.
Do you believe there is gender equality in the climate/biodiversity/sustainability/conservation sector or do you think there is still work to be done?
I think there is always a lot more work that can be done when trying to address gender inequality or gaps in any space or sector. Several studies have indicated that involving women in leadership positions for biodiversity and natural resource management decisions delivers positive outcomes for nature. Yet, women remain underrepresented in leading solutions to conservation challenges. You can face multiple barriers as a woman in this sector, such as gender biases, discrimination, mansplaining, the threat of sexual violence, harassment, and retaliation. So yes, much more consideration can be afforded to make conservation action equitable and an inclusive space for women.
However, this narrative is also changing with time - as I have met remarkable women in this field who are stepping forward, leading change, and reclaiming their seats at the table - and men who are actively encouraging that positive shift for women in conservation.
Could you tell us a little bit more about any conservation projects that you have been/are involved in and what your experiences were/are in those projects?
I currently work as a community program officer for a local non-profit organization focusing on community-based interventions for elephant conservation and conflict mitigation. My role in this venture is to organize environmental sensitisation workshops for rural students, create capacity-building programs for marginalized communities, and monitor elephant presence and interactions in collaboration with local communities.
I've learned so much from my experiences working at the grassroots - especially understanding the value of participatory and inclusive conservation action. You experience many hurdles when navigating through community based work, like identifying stakeholders, facilitating dialogue, identifying shared interests, building consensus, and creating trust. Although the process is arduous, the outcomes are always far more effective and impactful.
What are your thoughts on Cop15, do you think much was achieved?
I think COP 15 produced an ambitious agreement highlighting the urgency of the global biodiversity crisis, ensuring gender-responsive representation and participation in decision-making, and the need for a “whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach”. However, like previous COP agreements, these targets are not legally binding and will require substantial commitment and will from governments to effectively integrate them into their central biodiversity plans. As we’ve previously witnessed, many previous COP agreements in the past have failed to materialize significantly, and biodiversity disproportionately continues to decline each year.
So yes, while much has been achieved regarding dialogues and negotiations, - there is so much left to accomplish regarding compliance, accountability and immediate action.
What are your hopes for the future (relating to climate change/environment etc.)
My hopes for the future of biodiversity is one where we see more cross-sectoral collaborations in conservation, develop a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, create more significant funding and compliance for biodiversity welfare, facilitate a diversity of roles in conservation planning and, more than anything - build an ability to co-exist with the natural world.
The greatest threat to conservation action today is the belief that someone else will save the planet, but every effort counts. Now is the time to consciously act, or else we may risk irreversible damage and witness the fall of our own kind.
If you could give one piece of advice to a young woman wanting to work in your field what would it be?
To work in this field, you need grit, determination, and you need heart. You may experience many challenges as a woman - but nothing can bring you down if you stand your ground and fight for what you truly believe in.
Move Aside Weather Presenters the Grandmothers of Chad have all the Answers!
by Alice McCool 25th August 2022
With heat, drought and floods wrecking livelihoods and sparking conflict, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim set out to help villages map and share precious resources.
In an interview with The Guardian Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim stated that "If you’re born as an Indigenous person, you’re born an activist, because you’re born with the problems surrounding your community". In her home country of Chad the climate crisis is felt most acutely as temperature increases are set to be 1.5° higher than global average rises, meanwhile, land degradation and severe flooding is displacing hundreds of thousands and food insecurity. Desertification has shrunk farming and grazing land and with it farmers are facing not only instability but conflict as government and military land grabs deplete the available water supply. Ms. Ibrahim has in an effort to mitigate tensions through the mapping of the local area and having communities agree on the sharing of natural resources. The maps were produced in part through high resolution satellite images but layered over the top of these local communities were able to include rivers, settlements and roads, as well as sacred forests, medicinal trees, water points and corridors for cattle. Copies of these maps are being distributed to each community.
Ms. Ibrahim saw how vital it was to include women in the process as they posses unique knowledge, such as how to find water in the dry season. Whilst most Westerners would check a weather app in Chad, grandmothers are the weather app, observing cloud positions, watching bird migrations and following wind directions, even looking at the behavior of little insects they are able to tell you almost exactly when it is due to rain. Ibrahim's unique innovations are just another in her long line of achievements, having chaired Indigenous peoples initiatives at four UN conferences and been listed by TIME as one of fifteen women leading on climate action in 2019, her maps evidenced the success of combining Indigenous-led responses and technology. Ms Ibrahim has been able to achieve so much in part thanks to her Mbororo background and seeing the struggles her mother went through to ensure she had access to an education and it was during this time that she decided which changes she wanted to see in the world and how she would go about it. In a most impressive move at just 15 Ibrahim founded the Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad (Afpat), focused on women’s rights and environmental protection.
"In 2019, Chad ranked bottom on the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative index, which measures vulnerability and resilience to climate change in 182 countries". Ms. Ibrahim worries for the future of her people but remains hopeful as she sees her own communities stand up for nature as those who were involved in her mapping project are now working together to find ways to use the environment sustainably. However,
Ibrahim was critical of the international response to climate change calling out "overdeveloped" countries
for their continued use of fossil fuels and slow response to the crisis. Meanwhile, in Chad there is a significant migration occurring with people moving from the North to the South, thereby causing further conflict over natural resources. According to Ms. Ibrahim people in Chad do not wish to be called climate refugees, however, this elephant in the room does require further discussion. Finally, Ms. Ibrahim put out a call to ensure more Indigenous people must be seated at the policy making table when making decisions about the future of our world.
Interview with Nada Albadawi
by Kate Martin 22nd March 2023
Q Good afternoon, maybe we can start with you telling us a little bit about yourself and how you got into the environment and climate change sector?
Nada: Hello, it’s a pleasure to be with you. My name is Nada and I am an Egyptian journalist specializing in environment and climate change issues. I have been in the journalism field since I graduated in 2013 with a major in media. I have worked for many years as an investigative journalist. Actually, my interest in the environment and the climate change issue began a long time ago. In 2015 I decided to take this track, it was very tough, it wasn’t easy. It was challenging because environment reporting is still rare in our region. Really, I was interested in this because there was not enough highlighting of the environment issues and the impact of climate change on the environment.
Q Would you be ok talking to us about how climate change is affecting your region and what work you are involved in which is combating its impacts?
Nada: There are many regions including the Arab countries which are the most affected by climate change. Global warming in our area is almost twice the global average so it's massive. We face a lot of impacts and increasing hazards from climate change, especially in the heatwaves and the droughts which cause desertification and land degradation. The water and food security in our region is very fragile. In Egypt where I belong we face increasing heatwaves and the drought affects the agricultural fields badly. You know, more than 35% of the workers in Egypt work in agriculture so climate change affects their economy and livelihoods. The coastal cities are also facing increasing threats due to the rising sea levels, especially in cities like Alexandria, which is a very special, historical city and is one of the most important economic places in Egypt. The Nile delta is low land so it is considered one of the most threatened delta’s in the world. So, there are a lot of stories we must report on and that is my role, to report on these impacts, to go to those people who are most affected by climate change and tell their stories to the world. I believe the media have a powerful and effective role if we make it.
Q We know that climate change has a disproportionate impact on women, have you observed this and if so, how so?
Nada: Yes, women are greatly affected by climate change especially in the Middle East. Women are more vulnerable to climate change in many regions, but this vulnerability is increasing. Here in our countries women suffer from inequality in many ways. We saw that the statistics in Egypt on the impact of climate change on agricultural fields shows that more than 42% of the women in Egypt work in the agricultural field, so they are for sure affected by climate change. Another important point actually is that climate change increased the rate of violence against women because of the economic conditions it causes. We need to improve and activate the programs to protect and to empower women in our region and all over the world. There are some initiatives, many of which were launched at COP27 held in Sharm el Sheikh. There are initiatives that work on gender issues and climate change but I think we need more efforts to empower women.
Q Do you believe there is gender equality in the climate sector or do you think there is still work to be done?
Nada: No, I don’t believe that there is a gender balance at all. There is no gender balance actually in the climate sector or in climate action at all levels. Starting from the mitigation and climate policies to the adaptation strategies and in all sectors of climate action globally. It’s unbelievable, women are the most affected by climate change and they are not represented in the decision making. So, I think we have to work on empowering women especially in the decision making process.
Q Could you tell us a little bit about how you see climate change being portrayed in the media and could journalists be doing more to inform the general public and spread the climate message?
Nada: We have to produce in depth, balanced stories on climate change. Especially in our region in the Middle East. The content of the climate change stories is very rare in our outlets.
Q What are your thoughts on Cop27, do you think much was achieved?
Nada: I think COP27 was a milestone step in global climate action, especially for the developing countries which are the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The most important outcome of COP27 was the agreement on the loss and damage fund for vulnerable countries. It was a very hard and impressive step that we were really waiting for for a long time. The most vulnerable countries which are effected by climate change, for years they were fighting for the loss and damage fund and to have more adaptation funds. Actually, Egypt hosted COP27 on behalf of the African continent so the voices of the Southern and developing countries were very loud. It was heard by the whole world and it was a great opportunity for me to cover COP27. I feel very inspiring vibes from those people and the activists and the advocates who came from all over the world, it was really impressive. But, for sure countries are very far from the right track, we are not on track, if you read the latest IPCC report it shows that the countries and the governments and the policy makers, they don’t address their implementations and their pledges for climate action to save the 1.5 degree pledge from the Paris agreement. I hope we all hope to see more of the international efforts at COP28 in the UAE next November.
Q What are your hopes for the future (relating to climate change/environment etc.)
Nada: I hope that countries, governments, all the stakeholders and all the companies take it as their responsibility to protect our planet and to reduce the crimes and the hurt that people have done to the planet over the past years. I hope to live in a more sustainable world and I hope for more peace and for more people to be peaceful with nature. I hope that people realize that nature is a great blessing from our God and that we have to protect this planet because there is no other planet on which to live. May the future for the coming generations be more safe from climate change and its impacts. I hope they have an equal opportunity to live a safe and worthwhile life. Everyone has a responsibility to protect the planet and are actually capable of making change, we can make this change, it is never too late. But we have to change our ways of dealing with nature and the environment in terms of consumption and in how we manage our relations with natural resources. We
Q If you could give one piece of advice to a young woman wanting to work in your field what would it be?
Nada: My advice for the journalists or the women who want to work in this field is that you have to work hard because you have a great responsibility to deliver and to focus on the voices of those who are suffering all over the world. We have a great responsibility and actually nothing replaces the field and the work in the field. The coverage must express the true reality and to touch people. The human aspect and the human context is very important to make it relatable and touching for the audience so that they can empathize with the people who are suffering. You should
enhance your knowledge of climate science and be updated with the new studies, because, you know every day there is something new with climate change issues. You have to be aware of the international conventions and the terms used regarding climate change. I know in the beginning it will be a little difficult but it is worthwhile. I think we have a very huge role to play.
Diversity Lacking in Environmental Groups
by Paige Neal-Holder & Kamilah McInnis 24th November 2022
Climate activism in the UK is some of the least racially diverse in the world, however, some young campaigners are looking to make a change. One young woman, Dominique Palmer, is working to open up the climate space after experiencing apathy towards the movement due to it being seen and felt to be a "white space". Activist Dominique makes content for social media, speaks in public and writes about the climate. Most recently she visited Cop27 but once upon a time she didn't imagine herself doing anything like this, yet, her involvement has opened her eyes to the many climate issues, particularly the connection between health and environmental issues.
Dominique has observed a disconnect between the black community in the UK and climate activism. Dominique believes that representation plays a significant role in this as only around 5% of environment professionals identify as black, Asian or from other ethnic minorities, compared to around 12% across all professions in the UK. Meanwhile, African and Caribbean communities are being disproportionately affected by the climate crisis, yet the UK environmental sector continues to be the second least diverse industry in the country. Dominique also believes that accessibility to nature may be the reason behind this disconnect as according to Dominique many of the UK's black community who are based in urban centers don't have access to green spaces making the environment and the climate crisis feel more distant that it is in reality. "But so many incredible, black-led groups are now working to focus on that gap."
The launch of Race for Nature's Recovery is looking to increase representation as part of a government kickstart scheme for 16-24 year olds on universal credit who are at risk of long-term unemployment. It is strategically placing young people of black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds into placements at environmental organizations. This move has opened up the climate space and received a fair amount of praise from participants, with some going on to take up positions with the companies upon completion of the placement. As companies look to hire in a more diverse way in order to change how their companies are set up and to reach across the racial-environmental divide there are more opportunities than ever for young people to join in climate activism and to work in the climate sector.
Pico Analytics Sustainability Spotlight!
by Kate Martin 26th February 2023
This section of our Newsletter is where we here at Pico Analytics shine a spotlight on one of those businesses, initiatives, positive news stories or people that are paving the way for sustainability and a more eco-friendly future. In this edition we will be taking a look at a women led initiative named Mujeres Amazónicas.
The Mujeres Amazónicas movement began in 2013 as a response to the oil concessions the Ecuadorian government were making, more often than not offering up Indigenous held lands and blatantly ignoring their clear requests not to do so. In Ecuador this organization is now synonymous with resistance as for over a decade this group of 100 women from six of the Indigenous nations (Kichwa, Shuar, Achua, Shiwiar, Sapara and Waorani) have fought to protect Indigenous land from oil companies whilst railing against climate change and gender based violence. In their fight for land and bodily freedom they have faced continuous threats from both government and industry alike. In a time when the government banned marches and stigmatized Indigenous organizations these brave women chose to stand up for the Amazon and spent two years protesting in Quito in abysmal conditions and suffering increased threats to their lives, land and territories before the President Lenin Moreno agreed to meet with them. For the first time in history, a delegation of Amazonian Indigenous women were received by the highest officials in the Ecuadorian government to say no to resource extraction. Unfortunately, in typical government behavior after promises were made to do all they could to respond to the demands made but have done nothing to this day. This has not stopped Mujeres Amazónicas as they now plan to expand to reach more communities, territories, nations and possibly even go international. The all-female lead movement is made up of women of all ages who are worried about what is happening to their territories and what the future will have in store for their children. The movement also creates an important safe space for Indigenous women activists because being Indigenous and a woman who is fighting the extractive industries is not easy, in fact it is often risky with some women having been threatened and/or attacked for daring to speak out. There is not just risk for Indigenous women who speak out but to all those who live in the Amazon as the increase in oil extraction has also led to a spike in sexual abuse and gender-based violence cases which are never investigated and go underreported. The strength of these women to stand up and be counted in the face of such extreme adversity is proof that women can do anything, women can take the lead, women can be a part of the climate movement no matter where they come from, no matter what age they are and no matter their reasons for doing so!
