Mail & Guardian reporter
Women environment ministers and other women leaders engaged in sustainable development have ensured that women won’t be left out of the picture at the World Summit.
A meeting of Women Leaders on the Environment, held in Helsinki on March 7 and 8, drew up a draft environmental position endorsed by women. The main themes of the discussion were globalisation and poverty in relation to the environment and gender.
At present 35 women ministers in different parts of the world are responsible for the environment and natural resources. The Helsinki meeting was attended by 22 of them, and they were joined by a number of women leaders from international organisations and NGOs working for sustainable development.
The meeting was arranged in cooperation between the Finnish Ministry of the Environment, the Council of Women World Leaders at Harvard University and the Swiss-based NGO, IUCN-World Conservation Union.
“This was the first time that a forum of women leaders from all over the world met to discuss environmental and development questions in regard to globalisation, poverty and equity,” said Yolanda Kakabadse, the president of the IUCN-World Conservation Union. “The meeting created an opportunity for an open North-South dialogue. We wish to come up with solutions as to how women and men can act in an environmentally sustainable manner in a highly globalised world and how our work can take into account the different roles of men and women in sustainable development.”
“Women constitute 50% of the world’s population, and we are being affected by and receive benefits from environmental policies. We have a lot to say on the subject,” said Lorena Aguilar, the IUCN’s global senior gender adviser. “The meeting developed a position to go to the World Summit to ensure that the topic is incorporated into the global agenda for the next 10 years. More often than not women are not associated with discussions on the environment.”
Finland’s Minister of the Environment and of Development Cooperation Satu Hassi chaired the meeting, with the South African Deputy Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Rejoice Mabudafhasi.
Among the keynote speakers were Margot Wallstrm, Environment Commissioner of the European Commission; Joke Waller-Hunter, executive secretary to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change; and Dr Massoumeh Ebtekar, Vice-President of Iran. The meeting was also attended by Vigdis Finnbogadttir, former president of Iceland, who is honorary president of the Council of Women World Leaders.
The issues discussed included the role of women as producers and consumers, their right to food security and an equitable access to benefits derived from genetic resources in agricultural and medical plants.
To address the questions of poverty, equity and environment, the women gave suggestions on how to empower poor women to promote their active participation in sustainable development, reasserting the rights of women to the sustainable use of natural resources and to developing gender equity policies throughout the environmental sector.
For example, the Compensation for Environmental Services, a system that is gaining favour in many parts of the world, determines which benefits should be equitably distributed among women and men. Among other initiatives, it is suggested that women should have an active participation in the development of territorial legislation plans, and concessions involving resource management.
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