Nairobi: Climate and Gender workshop

25-29 January 2010

Gender mainstreaming in climate change adaptation; monitoring and evaluation of climate change adaptation projects

The Climate Change Adaptation Africa (CCAA) training workshop convened at the Lake Naivasha Simba Lodge, Naivasha, Kenya from 24-30 January 2010.  The workshop was organized by the Department of Women Agenda Studies, Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda and hosted by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) as part of the Climate Change Adaptation in Africa (CCAA) programme (funded by the IDRC and the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DfID)).

Approximately 35 participants from various countries where the CCAA programme has funded projects took part in the workshop. Lucinda Fairhurst attended on behalf of ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability - Africa, Sub-Saharan African Cities project.

The CCAA programme aims to significantly improve the capacity of African people and organisations to adapt to climate change in ways that benefit the most vulnerable members of society. The workshops focused on gender vulnerabilities to climate impacts and risks specifically, and sought to build the capacity of its participants on these issues. The ICLEI AS Sub-Saharan African Cities project under the CCAA Programme aims to improve the capacity of the five Southern African coastal Local Authorities to adapt to climate change in ways that benefit the most vulnerable and incorporate gender issues converse in the workshop training.

A number of tools and various methods were introduced and tested during the workshop to ensure capacity building within various organisations funded by the CCAA programme (see the CCAA website for more information on these tools here. 

Adapting effectively to climate change risks is often an issue that is felt most severely at local level and is dependent upon historical and cultural aspects as well as education, awareness and understanding of climate change and the environment. Researchers working in this arena need to take such aspects into account when gathering information at the community level and when formulating plans and strategies to effectively increase adaptive capacity at all levels.

Through the training workshop ICLEI Africa’s representative, and other participants, were capacitated in the reasoning behind including gender in climate change research. More particularly, in understanding how to ascertain the various risks and impacts associated with climate change impact upon the roles of individuals at the community and household levels through the use of various tools such as the Moser Tool.

ICLEI AS has compiled their own report back process to build capacity into Africa Secretariat programmes and projects.

For more information on the 5 City Adaptation Programme, click here.