CSW62 Side-event: Shouldering the Burden: Rural Women and Climate-Induced Displacement

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, distinguished Guests,

It is a pleasure for me to address you today on behalf of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.

I take the opportunity to thank the Government of Bangladesh and the NGO Committee on Migration for the kind invitation to speak here.

FAO has a strong partnership with the Government of Bangladesh. FAO, IOM and WFP, for example, are implementing an initiative funded by the United States as part of the response to the Rohingya crisis in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, at the border with Myanmar. The project has multiple aims: support agricultural livelihoods, increase farmers income, combat rising local food prices, improve nutrition fight rising food prices and promote reforestation.

Ladies and gentlemen,

To start, let me recall that around 15 percent of the world’s migrants originate from Sub-Saharan Africa, and about half of them migrate within the continent. This is a tendency that is expected to continue in the near future and attests to the magnitude of South-South migration. Climate change is one of its reasons.

It is important to underline that climate is one of the elements in a complex web of factors, often interlinked, that can lead to displacement and migration in sub-Saharan Africa. These include natural, social, political and economic factors such as poverty, conflict and governance shortcomings that affect populations living in already vulnerable and fragile environments, particularly in rural areas. These are also factors causing the increase in hunger in Africa and in the world, according to last year’s State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World –a worrisome trend as we join efforts to end hunger and achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Migration and displacement are high on the UN climate change agenda. For example, the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement established a Task Force that is preparing recommendations for integrated approaches to avert, minimize and address displacement related to climate change.

Climate-induced displacement is also high on the UN agenda on migration. The New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants acknowledges that one reason people move is, and I quote, “in response to the adverse effects of climate change, natural disasters some of which may be linked to climate change, or other environmental factors.”

The zero draft of the Global Compact for Migration recognizes climate change as one of the adverse drivers of migration.

In Africa, the Kampala Convention adopted by the African Union in 2009 recognizes natural disasters as one of the factors that cause internal displacement. The Convention also calls on governments to address root causes of displacement and to protect those that are forced to move.

This attests to the growing recognition of the importance of climate-induced migration, and of climate change as a multiplier of existing adverse drivers of forced migration, including slow-onset drivers such as increasing temperatures leading to recurring droughts, soil erosion, and desertification.

Slow-onset changes already undermine the sustainability of local livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa. The region is particularly vulnerable because of specificities such as the extensive reliance on rain-fed crop production, that reaches 96% of agricultural land in the region.

Over the next few decades, in the context of climate change, environmental and climatic pressures in the region are expected to increase. In fact, crop losses for major cereals in Sub-Saharan Africa are estimated at around 20% by 2050 if no action is taken to mitigate the effect of climate change.

And it is worth noting that it is often the poorest – and most food insecure –that are the hardest hit by the adverse effects of climate change in rural areas.

Often, they are rural women. Their greater vulnerability exists because of constraints in accessing inputs, technical advice, and financial services; and because of disadvantages relative to men in all dimensions of land tenure.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Seeking alternative sources of income by migrating becomes a means to reduce vulnerability and diversify livelihood risk. Internal migration is one of the main coping strategies rural families have in response to the threats of weather and climate extremes in sub-Saharan Africa.

Therefore, it is crucial that the climate change, agriculture, and migration nexus is adequately addressed in relevant policies and programmes through a whole-of-government approach. Interconnected policy and programmes can effectively address the adverse drivers of forced migration and help ensure that migration remains a matter of choice rather than an act of desperation.

FAO is already taking important steps in this direction and integrating a gender perspective throughout its strategic program, including in its work on climate change, agriculture and migration.

In sub-Saharan Africa, FAO supports Member States in their efforts aimed at creating decent rural employment opportunities, promoting sustainable agricultural practices, alleviating pressure on natural resources, and contributing to climate change adaptation and mitigation.

In this context, today’s focus on rural women reflects a reality we see through our work: often climate-vulnerable smallholders are rural women. It is crucial that they adopt climate-smart agricultural techniques which allow them to better adapt to climate change and its impacts, address food and nutrition insecurity, and when possible, contribute to the reduction of greenhouse emissions from agriculture.

We must also invest in technologies that reduce women’s workloads. Poor rural women typically work about 12 hours more per week than men. Often, this is unpaid, unrecognized, and undervalued labor. Free of this constraint, rural women will be better positioned to engage in productive paid work, invest in their own health and education and that of their families, and become leader in their communities.

And any action to address climate-induced displacement, even those that do not target women, must be responsive to the specific roles, voices, vulnerabilities and needs of migrant women and girls.

Let us all work together towards addressing climate-induced displacement in a human rights-based and gender-responsive way. 

Thank you very much.