乐鱼体育

鈥淥ur planet is changing. Our population is growing. Each one of us is impacting the environment鈥ut not equally. Each one of us will be affected鈥ut not equally,鈥� asserts the new documentary, , launched at the 乐鱼 体育 on September 22. The film, produced by  (PAI), explores the devastating impacts of climate change on the lives of women in developing countries through personal stories from , , and . Family planning, argue the filmmakers, is part of the solution.

It will be eye-opening for those who haven鈥檛 considered the connections, said Suzanne Ehlers, president and CEO of PAI, but climate change and family planning are much more closely linked than many people expect. Ehlers was joined by Sarah Harbison, senior advisor for research and evaluation in the  at USAID; Esther Kelechi Agbarakwe, an Atlas Corps fellow at PAI from Nigeria; and Tonya Rawe, senior policy advocate at , for a panel discussion moderated by ECSP Director Geoff Dabelko following the film (full feature above).

Women鈥檚 Lives Closely Linked to the Environment

鈥淎 woman鈥檚 life is hard, and climate change is making it harder,鈥� says one of the film鈥檚 subjects, Aregash Ayele of Ethiopia鈥檚 Gedeo Zone. Effects associated with climate change, like decreasing access to water and declining food production, often affect women more strongly than men at the household level. 鈥淸B]ecause of the erratic weather, with the rain not following seasonal patterns, the harvest has decreased and it鈥檚 affecting our livelihood,鈥� says Ayele. 鈥淭he only way we can raise our kids is from the land. If the land fails to produce, there isn鈥檛 enough to feed them.鈥� 

In , access to water is a very big problem, acknowledged PAI鈥檚 Agbarakwe during the discussion. Without sufficient rain, women must go farther in search of water for domestic use, which may take them into insecure areas, or make them . Agbarakwe said one of her friends was raped while walking to the next village to fetch water after her own community鈥檚 well dried up. Her friend鈥檚 ordeal was not only emotionally and physically traumatizing, but it also isolated her from her community and jeopardized her future plans and dreams.

 is another important piece of the puzzle and a major challenge for individuals, families, and population dynamics as a whole, according to Harbison. Radhika Poudel, a woman from the Langtang Region of Nepal, describes in the film how the men in her village have left to find to work, placing all household responsibilities on the women. 鈥淚 have to look after the cattle, work in the fields, and grow vegetables by myself. So obviously it鈥檚 difficult,鈥� she says.

Family Planning: Part of an Integrated Solution

鈥淭he failure to provide women with the opportunity to space and limit their children鈥� will further exacerbate the effects of climate change on poverty and human development, said Harbison. By providing a way for women to control the timing and number of their children, family planning gives them a way to adapt to an increasingly challenging environment, she said. 

For example, USAID鈥檚  project responds to this need by integrating population, health, and environmental interventions in a holistic approach to development, said Harbison. In the Philippines, rigorous programming that incorporated family planning and  led to positive. Another project, targeting communities living near national parks in, provides sustainable sources of alternative income alongside reproductive health services. 

鈥淚t is really very intuitive that our programs need to be integrated,鈥� Harbison said. 鈥淲omen鈥檚 lives are integrated. Their concerns are integrated. They are closely linked to the environment. It鈥檚 intuitive that this is the way we need to program.鈥�

Women and Youth: Agents of Change

鈥淲omen are incredible agents of change 鈥� research shows that when you give a woman control of her household budget, when you put the cash in her hands, it goes back into human development, it goes back into helping her family,鈥� said CARE鈥檚 Rawe. 鈥淏ut it is also a matter of not just looking at a woman and seeing her as a tool for eradicating poverty. She is a woman,鈥� and therefore deserves human rights. 

In Nigeria, young people, and particularly young girls, are frequently excluded from formal discussions about governance and adaptation related to climate change and sustainable development, said Agbarakwe. Although young people are considered to be stakeholders at the  (UNFCCC), it is imperative to continue actively promoting more participation by youth and women in such official processes.

Weathering Change, which allows women on the frontlines of climate change to share their stories in their own words, will help PAI reach out to new constituencies, said Ehlers, including those working on disaster management, emergency response, and food security. A woman 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 live her life in a silo,鈥� she said, but rather 鈥渋s constantly struggling across development sectors.鈥� Weathering Change demonstrates the need to holistically address the interdependent challenges faced by women in a changing climate.

Extra vignettes that did not appear in the final version of the film can be seen on .

Drafted by Theresa Polk and edited by Schuyler Null and Meaghan Parker