“Sustainability
is about women” – Mr Sha Zukang, UN under Secretary General for Economic and
Social Affairs.
This
remark, made by the UN Under Secretary General of the Rio+20 Conference at the
International Forum on Women and Sustainable Development in Beijing, underlines
the important and urgent need for women’s organisations to appreciate and promote the
important role of women in sustainable development.
At Rio+20,
the dual challenge is to mainstream gender equality in national development strategies
on the policy front and also strengthen capacity building for women, so as to
genuinely improve the status of women. The Beijing Forum (November 9-11), organised by the All
China Women Federation (ACWF), saw 18 Ministers and representatives present a
brief country report on their work, and the experience and status of women
under the issue of sustainable development. The broad topics of development and
economic policy, international development, green economy and corporate social
responsibility were discussed repeatedly, in relation to the theme “Women and
Sustainable Development”.
An
interesting topic highlighted at the session was on “Innovation for Sustainable
Development – The Role of Women” by the US
Deputy Environmental Protection Agency Administrator, who was also involved
with the “Global Alliance for Clean Cook Stoves”. This organisation aims to
create a thriving global market for clean and efficient cook stoves and fuels.
Their objectives are to save lives by reducing exposure to cook stove smoke,
particularly women and children in poorer countries; improve livelihoods
by reducing diseases; save time and money; empower women through productive
enterprises associated with stove use; and to combat climate change by reducing
green house gas emissions.
Another
interesting case presented by the Business and Professional Women (BPW) of Brazil is
the “Tree is life” project. This simple project promotes tree planting
throughout the country. Within a year, 3 million trees have been planted and they
are working towards a target of 20 million trees by 2013, in partnership with
local communities, companies and other government agencies.
300
delegates attended the forum – mainly country government representatives from
39 countries, a few International NGOs and UN agency representatives. The
International NGOs represented were International Women’s Forum (IWF), NGO
committee on the Status of Women New York, Bahai International Community,
Overseas Development Institute, Europe External Policy Advisors and the Centre
for Women’s Land Rights (LANDESA), as well as Soroptimist International.
A
declaration was developed and signed by the participants of the conference.
Looking ahead to Rio+20,
the declaration focused on gender equality and sustainable development,
reaffirming the outcomes of the Earth Summit in 1992, including Agenda 21, and
puts forward proposals for further actions.
“Emphasizing that immediate actions be taken to promote gender
equality and sustainable development, We [the participants of the International
Forum on Women and Sustainable Development] suggest:
1. Further strengthen political wills and advance sustainable development
processes at national, regional and global levels;
2. Enhance women’s capacity building, empower and invest in women,
accelerate the process of gender equality and sustainable development;
3. Take comprehensive measures to eliminate gender-based discrimination
and all barriers that hinder gender equality and sustainable development;
4. Enhance gender awareness, pay special attention to different impacts on
men and women by policies and measures of sustainable development, and
integrate gender perspectives throughout the process of sustainable
development;
5. Promote women’s participation in all levels of decision-making of
sustainable development, and give full play to their leadership;
6. Strengthen partnership and enhance cooperation between and among governments,
the civil society, including the business sector, women’s organizations and all
relevant stakeholders, and support women’s organizations in their efforts to
promote gender equality and sustainable development;
7. Deepen international cooperation, increase support to developing
countries, promote balanced development of the three pillars of sustainable
development in all countries and regions, and make joint efforts to attain
sustainable development."
Reported
by Siew Yong Gnanalingam
President Elect SISWP
18th
November 2011