“From Local Action to National Policies” – WEP X WECF Event Recap

Together with our partner Women Environmental Programme Nigeria (WEP), we organised the Commission on the Status of Women parallel event, “Gender and Climate Justice: From Local Action to National Policies”. The event focused on best practices from local women and gender civil society organisations, shared lessons from gender-responsive climate and forest policies and gave recommendations for the CSW66.

The event, moderated by WECF Executive Director Sascha Gabizon, kicked off with the welcoming words of Dr. Priscilla Achakpa, Founder and Global President of WEP. She reflected on the role WEP has had to play in their 25 years of existence as “game-changers” in the gender, climate change and environmental field.

Our first presenting panelist, Terry Dale Ince, Founding Director/Convener at CEDAW Committee of Trinidad and Tobago, highlighted the work of several grassroots organisations. One of the success stories featured “Castara Tourism Development association,” an NGO who created a line of eco-friendly cleaning products “in an effort to reduce their solid and liquid waste impacts on the environment.”

After this presentation, we were kindly joined by Fedoua Derouiche, Director International Cooperation at the Ministry of Women Tunisia. She discussed Tunisia’s national gender and climate change programme, and reflected on the importance of having a “holistic plan” that not only takes gender into consideration, but also other groups which are more vulnerable.

Chair of the WEP Board, Winfred Osimbo Lichuma, presented next, reflecting among other things on the importance of the participation of women’s grassroots organisations:

Answering the question on the significance of women’s civil society organisations’ involvement in drafting the Nigerian gender plan, was Anne-Marie Abaagu, Executive Director of WEP Nigeria. She also highlighted some women’s led solutions, including an example of their project with women farmers who produce organic fertilizers and pesticides.

Joining us late in the evening from Malaysia, our final panelist, Anne Lasimbang from PACOS Trust. Through this selected clip from Anne Lasimbang’s excellent presentation, learn more about the traditional concept of Gompi-Guno, or translated “care & use”:

Inspired by the presented case studies, the floor opened up for a discussion between the panelists and participants, answering the questions: what more needs to be done and what message would we like to bring to this CSW?

Bringing all presentations together in one keen observation, was Terry Dale Ince in the following statement: