Sisters on the Planet campaign pushes for tougher targetsBy Rob Edwards, Environment Editor
When the weather turns bad, it's the women that suffer. That, in essence, is the message of a new campaign being launched by Oxfam.
The international aid agency is highlighting how women around the world are hardest hit by storms, floods and droughts caused by global warming. And it is stepping up pressure on the Scottish government to agree on tough targets to cut the pollution causing the problems.
Women produce most of the food in developing countries. As agricultural workers and family providers, they are responsible for up to 80% of household food production in sub-Saharan Africa and 65% in Asia.
"Because women tend to be poorer, and more immediately dependent on the natural environment for their livelihoods, they are more vulnerable to economic shocks and natural disasters," said Oxfam Scotland's campaign manager, Eilidh Whiteford.
"Climate-related changes exacerbate existing inequalities. It's a timely reminder that we can't separate environmental concerns from the bigger economic and social picture."
Oxfam's campaign Sisters on the Planet features online videos of women working to combat climate change in Uganda, Bangladesh and Brazil.
After the "feeble" response of the G8 leaders in Japan last week, it was even more important for Scotland to take a lead, Whiteford argued. "A strong Scottish climate bill is not just about Scotland playing its part, it's also about raising the bar for other governments."
Oxfam is a member of Stop Climate Chaos Scotland, a coalition of more than 30 environment, development, faith, community and other groups with at least 1.5 million supporters. It is pressing ministers to introduce annual targets to cut pollution in the forthcoming climate change bill.
Gavin McLellan, head of Christian Aid Scotland, agreed women were more vulnerable to the effects of climate change. "In many rural areas women make up 70% of the workforce, working on land already affected by drought and changing weather conditions," he said.
"These are real people suffering now, which is why the Stop Climate Chaos Scotland coalition wants to see rigorously enforced interim targets in the Scottish climate bill, to ensure we really do arrive at its ambitious target of reducing emissions 80% by 2050."
The Scottish government has received 21,000 responses to its consultation on a climate change bill, which closed in April. Ministers are expecting to introduce a bill to parliament before the end of 2008.
Martina's story Martina Longom from Uganda remembers her parents waiting every year for the ki-ki-ki-ki of the elele bird. "It was his happy way of saying the rain is coming," she says. "Now the birds have disappeared. We don't know when to cultivate and when to sow. For the past three years the rain was late. In two of them there wasn't enough rain for the sorghum to grow. And then last year the rains came as a flood."
Earlier this year, six months after Uganda's worst floods in 35 years destroyed much of the harvest, Martina's family grain store is empty.
Martina is worried the lack of food and milk is making her children ill. "I regret having to raise my children at a time like this," she says.
"There aren't enough words to express the pain to you. Some people in the village are being accused of putting a curse on the rain. But is it really those here who are damaging the rain patterns and climate?"
Muriel's story Women, points out Muriel Saragoussi from Brazil, produce food and ensure the stability of the family. "Break this stability and all we'll have left are shattered societies," she warns.
"Climate change causes more catastrophes, higher temperatures, more intense storms, more frequent rain, or drought. Catastrophic events destabilise production, and life itself."
Muriel is a senior official in the Brazilian environment ministry. As part of her job, she spends much of her time travelling throughout the country, seeing first-hand the impact of climate change on traditional communities.
She has seen many examples of the drastic impact changing weather patterns can have on farming. "As the climate changes, you see plants flourishing," she says.
"You think it's the right time to plant your crop. But it's not. People can't interpret the signs of nature in the traditional ways they are used to so they can't ensure their food security."
"These are problems for which we should all take responsibility," she argues. "If you're on a boat that's sinking, it's useless to say it is somebody else's fault. We all have to play our part."
Sahena's story "The floods are getting worse," says Sahena Begum from Bangladesh. "We never know which months will be the hot or the cold ones and when will be the right time to plant our crops."
Every year more than a third of Bangladesh is flooded, and the waters keep rising. The annual monsoons are becoming heavier and last year's floods were the worst in decades, affecting as many as nine million people.
And when the floods come, it is the women who are hit the hardest.
They are the ones who usually collect water and fuel, grow and prepare food, and care for their families.
Now they are having to adapt. They are making use of early warning systems and adopting simple precautions like storing clay ovens in high places. "We are not born to suffer," says Sahena. "We are born to fight."
As elected president of the local women's committee, Sahena has been learning about how best to protect her community from disasters.
"If women are aware then families can be saved from many losses," she says.
"Diseases can be avoided and poultry can be saved. The children are properly looked after and don't suffer from diseases, and the women themselves are saved from a lot of suffering."
