The Gendered Impact of Climate Change

Research Background?

The primary objective of the study was to use a literature review and qualitative forms of study to gain a thorough understanding of the current state of climate resilience, adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and gender dynamics in Zambia. The research team conducted key informant interviews with 18 individuals from various government departments, international organisations, and NGOs in Zambia to gain insights on the impact of climate change in the country from a gender lens. The interview guides covered topics such as socio-economic indicators, infrastructure, climate change impacts, gender dynamics, policy integration, climate information systems, and ecosystem conservation. We prioritised diversity and inclusivity during the KII selection process to ensure a broad and representative sample.?

Executive Summary

Zambia's ecosystems, including wetlands, agro-ecosystems, and forests, are vital for climate resilience and livelihoods. However, these ecosystems face mounting challenges which have been intensified by the El-Nino climate pattern, competing development priorities and unsustainable practices. Deforestation and water scarcity further endanger these ecosystems, leading to crop failures and the loss of livelihoods, particularly for women, who are among the poorest and heavily dependent on natural resources for their survival.

Climate change in Zambia has also led to the loss of revenue from agriculture and tourism; an increase in human encroachment into conservation areas; inappropriate fishing practices and misuse of wildlife further undermining the efforts to conserve Zambia's vital resources and boost tourism. Thereby, underscoring the need for immediate strategies to improve preparedness, infrastructure, community-based early warning systems and to promote gender equality and sustainable agricultural practices to address these challenges and safeguard the well-being of all Zambian citizens.

Introduction

The increasing frequency of extreme weather events such as prolonged droughts and severe floods has left many communities in Zambia facing heightened risks and vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities have a direct impact on various social and economic aspects, including food security,? infrastructure development, natural resource management, livelihood sustainability, industrial productivity and access to basic services. Despite all these challenges, there seems to be a lack of gender sensitive coordinated policies and frameworks in Zambia that have been implemented to manage climate change impacts across the country leading to challenges such as fragmented approaches, duplication of efforts, and ineffective responses at various administrative levels.?

Key Findings

1. Socio-economic indicators?

Data obtained from ZamStat indicates that Zambia has a poverty rate of 60%, an unemployment rate of 13.8% and carries an external debt burden exceeding 30 billion US dollars. Inflation, coupled with the kwacha losing value by 55% against other foreign currencies, worsens vulnerabilities in Zambia's economy and climate crisis landscape, reducing purchasing power, limiting investment opportunities, and destabilising the economy.

Zambia has 42 million hectares of arable land but only cultivates on less than 1.5 million hectares of Land. As a low-middle-income country, Zambia has historically been heavily reliant on copper which accounts for 60% of its exports. Whereas, agriculture accounts for only 3.5% of Zambia’s GDP even though it employs over 59% of the economy.?

Statistics on Zambia’s imports and exports reveal that fertiliser is among one of Zambia’s biggest imports every year accounting for an estimated 391 million USD. However, productivity in the agriculture sector is still significantly low. Thereby, indicating that the monetary and human capital investment that is put into this sector is still far below the expectations.

Almost all the current statistics on Zambia's socio-economic indicators show that the country faces significant socio-economic hurdles. For a start, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexities, copper exports in Zambia declined in 2023 from 14.8 billion in 2015 to 10.22 billion in 2023. This decline has led to a decrease in government revenue and foreign exchange earnings, affecting the country's overall economic stability. In addition, since 2015, recurrent droughts have also significantly hampered agricultural activities in Zambia, leading to reduced crop yields and food insecurity. Despite the country's abundant water resources, Zambia has year by year experienced lower and lower harvests with the past 13 months being the worst in 40 years.

The food insecurity challenges have worsened, leading to the declaration of a state of emergency and the government signing an agreement with Tanzania to provide 650 metric tonnes of maize to feed 7 million Zambians this year. Responding to Zambia’s call for help, the IMF granted 570 million USD dollars to Zambia to manage the food crisis. Recently, the World Bank also granted Zambia a grant of 207 million USD for social protection, which is expected to support at least 1.6 million Zambian households. This indicates that the challenges are immense and require immediate, long-term actions to enhance preparedness and improve mitigation strategies.

Zambia generates electricity using hydropower but the depletion of water resources in Zambia has led to load shedding lasting more than 12 hours a day, significantly impacting industrial productivity nationwide. Zambia is currently experiencing one of the worst forms of load shedding in its history, despite government efforts to import electricity from neighbouring countries to mitigate power outages. The amount of electricity being imported falls significantly short of what is needed to support the economy.??

Poverty levels in Zambia are projected to surpass 60% by 2025 as a result of the climate change crisis,. Additionally, the unemployment rates are expected to rise due to prolonged load shedding, which have resulted in decreased industrial productivity and impacted skilled workers, such as carpenters, welders, barbershops, and salons, who are at risk of falling into poverty if climate change effects are not mitigated. This data shows that Zambia needs to heavily invest in other forms of energy generation such as the use of renewable energy systems like thermal, gas, wind or solar energy systems.

1. Gender Dynamics?

The eighth national development plan highlights that female-headed households, both in rural and urban areas, experience higher levels of poverty than male-headed households. The poverty assessment survey carried out in 2022 found that 78.8 percent of the rural population was poor and that urban poverty rose to 31.9 percent from 23.4 percent in 2015. Poverty levels among female-headed households was 63 percent, which was higher than the 59 percent poverty level for households headed by males. Gender disparities stem from unequal access to education, lack of resources such as land and access to finance, unequal division of household labour and chores, negative cultural norms and the lack of appropriate and targeted empowerment initiatives that address the root cause of the unequal balance of power.?

Climate change has had a profound impact on gender inequalities in Zambia, exacerbating the risks faced by women, who heavily rely on natural resources for survival. For instance, the increasing scarcity of water at the household level puts girls at a higher risk of dropping out of school. Typically, households assign girls and women the role of fetching water, and as the distances to do so increase, so do their household responsibilities. Many girls are likely to spend more time searching for water than pursuing an education. Therefore, mitigating the risk of climate change can help reduce the gender gap in education by alleviating the burden on girls and women to fetch water, allowing them to focus on their studies instead.

As households struggle to access food, young girls face protection risks such as early child marriage, GBV, and even teenage pregnancies. This is because during difficult times, many families tend to marry off their female children to reduce the financial burden at the household level. Some families may feel that it is easier to shift the financial responsibilities of feeding to others. This perpetuates a cycle of poverty and vulnerability for these girls, trapping them in a harmful cycle that can have lifelong consequences. These consequences can include limited education opportunities, increased health risks, and perpetuation of the cycle of poverty within their own families.

Women's lower literacy levels also make it much harder for them to receive climate information and early warnings. Many women in rural areas may not have access to a mobile phone, have time to listen to the radio and neither are they often invited to engage in community meetings. Therefore, women are less likely to receive accurate and timely information on climate change. This impedes readiness, as information on climate arrives late. In some instances, members of the community have already used the little money they had to grow crops that are not climate-resilient, increasing the risks of crop failure and loss of investment. Therefore, there is a need to improve and expand the current information management systems to include the dissemination of information across various platforms, taking into account people's literacy levels, access to resources, and activity profile, so as to increase the overall effectiveness of response measures.

Specific health risks, such as cholera outbreaks, also pose a significant threat to women, men and children. Water scarcity tends to push many households into using any type of water, even if it is contaminated, due to the lack of access to clean water at houehold level. Furthermore, the limited access to water has specifically affected girls who rely on water for menstrual hygiene, worsening period poverty. This can force girls to miss school during their periods.?

Gender dynamics play a pivotal role in shaping vulnerability and adaptive capacity but are often overlooked. For instance, deep-rooted disparities in access to resources, such as land ownership, access to financial services, decision-making power within households and communities, and prevailing negative cultural and gender norms can constrain women's decision-making power and their capacity to respond quickly to climate events. It also can hinder their ability to adapt to the changing climate. Thereby perpetuating the unequal effects of climate change on women and marginalised communities. Addressing these disparities is crucial for strengthening resilience and protecting the most vulnerable populations.?

For instance, research shows that in Zambia, the majority of women work at the lowest level of the value chain, specifically in the production stage, where they engage in tasks such as ploughing and growing crops. The crops typically grown in Zambia are rain-fed crops that need ample water and as those options start to decline so do their sources of livelihood. This is primarily because women are rarely found performing tasks further up the value chain, such as in processing and distribution. Therefore, climate change disproportionately impacts women, as they often lack the necessary resources, skills and knowledge to explore alternative livelihoods such as irrigation farming, animal husbandry, poultry farming, and food processing.?

Culturally, in many Zambian households, women tend to have ownership of smaller livestock, mostly chickens. Men, on the other hand, own the land and possess the more profitable livestock, such as cattle and goats. Therefore, men have an upper hand in the implementation of climate-resilient actions or alternatives compared to women, who have limited access and control over resources. Implementing gender-responsive policies and programmes is vital to fostering a more equitable and sustainable future for all.

Due to the inability to sell agricultural food crops and limited access to other viable forms of livelihood, some women resort to selling bushmeat in local markets. This practice negatively impacts the ecosystem and further perpetuates the culture of endangering wildlife, which is crucial for tourism and maintaining the balance of the natural environment. This creates a harmful cycle within the communities that can be difficult to break, as it fosters a culture of eating bushmeat, which in turn increases the demand for bushmeat and exacerbates the targeting of wildlife for human consumption.Therefore, It is imperative to address the root causes of this behaviour and provide alternative sources of livelihood for women such as sustainable agriculture or eco-friendly handicrafts. In doing so, we can help these women support themselves and their families while also protecting the environment for future generations.?

Conclusion?

Although Zambia acknowledges climate change as a pervasive threat, the integration of gender-sensitive adaptation measures and disaster risk reduction into Zambia's policy frameworks lacks coordination, leading to challenges such as fragmented approaches, duplication of efforts, and ineffective responses at various administrative levels. The effectiveness of Zambia's current climate information and early warning systems remains unclear due to their limited coverage. This impedes timely alerts and readiness, delays alert arrival, slows down response times, and results in insufficient information dissemination, thereby reducing the overall effectiveness of response measures.

Zambia stands at a pivotal juncture where the combined impacts of climate change, gender disparities, inadequate policy integration, and ecological vulnerability directly threaten the well-being and livelihoods of its people, creating challenges that require immediate attention. Decision-making requires the implementation of integrated policies and approaches, adequate investments in climate change, strengthened policy frameworks, training and capacity building of key technical staff, and timely dissemination of information on climate-resilient practices among communities to ensure practices at the local level are climate-responsive.?

Recommendations

To address the climate change crisis in Zambia effectively and strengthen the response, several key measures need to be implemented. Below are some comprehensive approaches that are needed:

1. Policy Integration and Coordination

• Unified Frameworks: Develop and implement integrated policy frameworks that combine climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction with a strong focus on gender sensitivity.
• Coordination Mechanisms: Establish inter-agency coordination mechanisms to ensure that efforts are streamlined, avoiding fragmentation and duplication.

2.Strengthening Climate Information Systems and Early Warning Mechanisms

• Improved Coverage: Expand the geographical coverage of climate information systems to ensure that all regions, especially remote and vulnerable areas, are included.
• Timely Alerts: Enhance the timeliness of alerts by upgrading the technological infrastructure and ensuring that real-time data collection and dissemination are possible.
• Effective Dissemination: Utilise multiple channels, including traditional media, mobile networks, and community networks, to ensure that climate information and warnings reach all segments of the population promptly.

3. Baseline Assessment and Data Collection

• Comprehensive Assessments: Conduct detailed baseline assessments to gather data on climate vulnerabilities, gender disparities, and ecological conditions across Zambia.
• Data-Driven Decision Making: Use the collected data to inform policy decisions, prioritise interventions, and allocate resources efficiently.

4. Community Engagement and Education

• Inclusive Participation: Engage local communities in the planning and implementation of climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction strategies. Ensure that women and marginalised groups are actively involved.
• Capacity Building: Educate communities about climate risks and empower them with knowledge and skills to respond effectively. This includes training on sustainable land and resource management practices.

5. Sustainable Land and Resource Management

• Best Practices: Promote and implement sustainable agricultural practices, reforestation, and conservation of natural resources to enhance ecological resilience.
• Support Systems: Provide financial and technical support to farmers and local communities to adopt sustainable practices.

6. Gender-Sensitive Approaches

• Gender Analysis: Conduct gender analysis to understand the specific vulnerabilities and needs of different gender groups in the context of climate change.
• Targeted Interventions: Design and implement interventions that address the unique challenges faced by women and girls, ensuring they have equal access to resources, information, and decision-making processes.

7. Strengthening Institutional Capacity

• Training Programs: Develop training programs for government officials and stakeholders to enhance their capacity to implement and monitor climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction strategies.
• Resource Allocation: Ensure adequate funding and resources are allocated to institutions responsible for climate change and disaster management.