A gendered approach to understanding climate change impacts: lessons from a coastal region of Bangladesh.

The purpose of this chapter is to understand the vulnerability of women's livelihoods to climate change impacts in Bangladesh. Data were collected through a survey of 150 randomly selected women from a sample of households. Focus group discussions, key informant interviews, participant observations, and a transect walk, provided supporting information to substantiate the household surveys. The chapter first outlines the theoretical foundation on which the research is based. This is followed by examining women's vulnerability in the study area. The chapter then describes women's coping strategies in the face of climate change-induced disasters. The chapter further explores women's adaptive capacity through the examination of their access to various services. It ends with a set of recommendations for policy makers in order to improve the situation of women's vulnerability.

Climate-induced migration, women and decision making power in the agricultural wage sector in Saiss, Morocco.

This chapter examines the gendered effects of drought-induced migration in rural Morocco for settler migrants and farmers who stay behind in sending communities. Due to state investments in irrigation, the Saiss plains of Morocco are experiencing rural-rural migration as an adaptive strategy for many who are escaping climate change and unemployment, to take advantage of labor opportunities in agricultural sectors elsewhere. The well-being and decision making power of male and female migrants in receiving communities (Betit and Sidi Slimane) and women staying behind in sending communities (Ain Jemaa) are examined. The chapter begins with a literature review on decision making power, gender, migration, and work in rural areas. Following this, the case study characteristics are presented, which detail how climate change is fueling migration, gender norms in host and sending communities, as well as the gender dynamics in accessing economic opportunities and decision making power. The chapter ends with recommendations to strengthen the women's decision making power as migration continues, with a focus on strengthening landed property ownership for women.

Understanding the gendered impact of disasters on women, household dynamics and coping strategies: a case study of Bangladesh.

This chapter discusses the vulnerability of women in Bangladesh, the strategies women adopt to cope and survive in post-disaster periods, and presents firsthand accounts of these dynamics from remote and disaster-prone regions of the country. The data were obtained through household surveys, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and participant observation in four research sites in Bangladesh during the period 2012 to 2019. This analysis recommends greater attention to gender mainstreaming in prevailing disaster management plans and policies, and suggests immediate actions to improve women's lives in the disaster-prone regions.

Bringing women's livelihood and care perspectives into climate decision making.

This chapter explores the livelihood and care implications of the climate crisis from a gendered viewpoint that includes the implications of this approach for climate decision making at multiple scales, from local to global. The focus is on grassroots political organizing, activism, and movements as well as women's community-based actions to (re)build social resilience in the face of climate chaos. Challenges and policy implications are discussed as governments struggle to meaningfully and equitably address climate change. Also highlighted are the transformational imperatives of care and livelihood priorities which cast into stark relief the unsustainability of the long-established gender inequities that serve as the foundation for economic systems everywhere.

An introduction to gender, climate change and livelihoods.

This serves as the main introduction about what the book is all about. The chapter provides a brief discussion about increased policy engagement of gender and climate change; the situation of gender, agricultural livelihoods, and climate change in developing countries; and the gendered impacts of climate change on livelihoods. The chapter also provides brief summaries of the succeeding chapters of the book.

Gender and climate change adaptation in livestock production in Tunisia.

This section begins by examining the pattern of women's involvement in livestock livelihoods, and ownership and control of assets (mainly land and livestock) in the study areas. The discussion then moves to changes in gender roles; changes related to climate change; implications and coping mechanisms adopted by women and men; rural services and their role in building resilience; and innovation availability and adoption in the past 5 years. The findings of the study reveal that both women and men are marginalized from income generation training and loan acquisitions, and are negatively affected by resource degradation and climate change impacts, albeit in different ways. The benefits of the feminization of agrarian labor may be incommensurate with the disadvantages mainly due to the lack of social and economic interventions needed to improve agricultural productivity for women and men in the context of increased climate change impacts and resource degradation.

Gendered livelihood adjustments in the context of climate-induced disasters.

This chapter focuses on the impact of climate-induced disasters on gendered livelihood adaptations in three contrasting countries: Lao PDR, Bangladesh, and Australia. At first glance there appears little commonality between these countries and their responses. The focus of this chapter is on the women in agricultural communities in these countries, where families are now adjusting to the reality of ongoing climate-induced disasters by seeking new ways of supporting themselves. Where disasters have eroded communities and critical local resources (such as agricultural land, animals, and productive capacity), families face the need to restructure income generation. Universally these agricultural livelihood adaptations involve complex gender rearrangements as people reconfigure how best to adapt. The case studies presented here illustrate the significant restructuring in both developed and developing countries and the remarkably similar although complex gendered livelihood adaptations under way.

Gender and climate-smart agriculture in Africa.

This chapter explores the interrelated issues of gender and climate-smart agriculture (CSA) within the African context. The importance and goal of mainstreaming gender into CSA is emphasized. The chapter draws on knowledge from CSA good practice and innovative approaches to highlight some successes and lessons learned from African countries. Opportunities for gender-sensitive actions in CSA within the African context are discussed, and gender-equitable CSA best practices in Africa are presented.

The nexus between climate change, migration and gender.

This chapter explores gender-specific dimensions of so-called 'climate-induced migration' and elucidates their relevance for research on climate change, gender, and livelihoods in the Global South. To this end, the chapter starts with a brief overview on the state of the scientific debate on the interlinkages of climate driven environmental change and migration, followed by a discussion of conceptual approaches applicable for the inclusion of the gender dimension. The chapter provides empirical evidence for gender relevance using a case study on the West African Sahel and ends with some considerations on policy issues and further research. In doing so, the chapter illustrates in which way a 'gender lens' adds to more robust knowledge and in what way the perspective of social ecology is of particular value.

Conclusion: final thoughts and future directions.

This concluding chapter outlines several key points about the relationship between gender, climate change, and livelihood that have been highlighted by the contributions in this book. First, climate change is a gender issue. Second, the gender implications of climate change are not universal; different social, cultural, and ecological contexts can require distinct diagnoses and prescriptions. Third, climate change generates a broad range of direct and indirect outcomes for women and their livelihoods. Fourth, for governments, a laissez-faire approach to dealing with the gender dimensions of climate change is not only insufficient, it is counterproductive. Fifth, while governments must be active in their approach to mitigating climate vulnerabilities and fostering adaptations, the content, design, and implementation of public policy is important. Finally, women have agency and are using it, as grassroots organizers and activists, and as mothers, sisters, daughters, wives, and community members fighting for their lives and livelihoods. The chapter also discusses the book's themes in light of the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic; and provides some directions and ideas for future research.