News

What women want from Rio+20

08.06.2012

As first recognized twenty years ago, at the UN Conference on the Environment and Development in Rio, women have a vital role in environmental management and development. Their full participation is therefore essential to achieve sustainable development.

UN Women, the newest member of the United Nations family, will be championing four measures to uphold and deepen this commitment at the upcoming Rio+20 meeting. Sustainable development should reduce women’s poverty and lower the harmful impact on health and the environment. Another part of the discussion should focus women’s major contributions to solutions.

Women in developing countries make up 43 percent of agricultural workers, but can’t get equal access to land and credit, for example. “The Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that giving women equal access to fertilizers, seeds, tools and other agriculture support would result in 100-150 million fewer hungry people,” says Nanette Braun, Chief of communications and advocacy at UN Women.

“Clean energy is vital for both improving human well-being and curbing climate change. Yet without it, millions of women primarily in rural areas still cook over smoky, polluting stoves,” added Braun. “At the same time, in urban areas, almost a quarter of people lack piped water in their homes, placing a disproportionate burden on women and girls.”

Photo (c) Bioversity International / Flickr

Mountain Partnership event on women at Rio+20

Save the date!

22 June

11:00 – 12:00

Gender in mountains event: Run-up to Bhutan+10

venue: Mountain Pavilion, Athletes’ Park

A number of women’s advocates will participate in Rio+20. Other global events are:

19 and 21 June

Women’s Leaders Forum hosted by U.N. Women

20 June

Rio+20 and Women’s Lives: a Cross-generational Dialogue (Ford Foundation Pavilion, Museum of Modern Art, People’s Rio+20)