Natural disasters and climate change can affect men and women differently. However, often, addressing the concerns of both women and men in the context of disasters and climate change in the Pacific gets overlooked.

A regional workshop that ended in Suva today provided a forum for people working in the areas of natural resource management, climate change and community development to  exchange experiences and discuss the means of better integrating gender in disaster risk management and adaptation to climate change programmes.

The workshop examined why gender mattered in natural disaster risk management and adaptation to climate change and how the Pacific climate system impacts on island environments.  Gender is often a misunderstood term and an inconsideration of the different roles and responsibilities women and men play in society can reduce the effectiveness of development.

The workshop also examined the relevance of integrating traditional knowledge for programming as well as field experiences in the areas of agriculture production, fisheries, and energy resources.

“The women and men of Pacific island communities have managed natural resources for generations by drawing on their intimate knowledge of their surrounding environments. Through the application of this knowledge these communities have also demonstrated an enormous resilience in the face of a range of natural disasters,” said Garry Wiseman, Manager of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Pacific Centre, while officially opening the workshop yesterday.

He pointed out that women and men in Pacific island communities hold different knowledge and are able to make unique contributions to building the resilience of their communities because of the multi-faceted roles they play in their communities.

“It is important that the women and men of Pacific island countries work collectively to identify value and harness the diversity of their knowledge and experiences to develop effective strategies to adapt to, prepare for and reduce their vulnerability to these environmental and climatic challenges.”

“This will require the sustained participation and unique contribution of all Pacific Islanders no matter their sex, race, religion or age.  It is precisely the knowledge that comes from these differences that will make these strategies more effective,” said Mr Wiseman.

The discussions from the workshop will feed into future disaster risk management and adaptation to climate change programming. It also encouraged future opportunities for collaboration between the participating agencies. The workshop was organised jointly by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Pacific Centre in partnership with AusAID.