Philippine women weathering climate change

Kara Santos in AlertNet via IPS: As the world commemorates International Women's Day today, women around the globe are speaking out on various issues that affect them. In light of recent natural disasters and calamities in the Philippines, women are increasingly citing climate change as one of their most pressing concerns.According to the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW)'s executive director Emmeline Versoza, the traditional role played by women makes them one of the most vulnerable populations to climate change.

"During disasters, women attend to the needs of the family and prioritise the safety of family members, especially their children, which makes them more vulnerable," Versoza told IPS.

The Philippines is one of the most disaster-prone nations in the world, with an average of 20 typhoons hitting the country every year. The United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction reported that in 2011, a total of 33 natural disasters ravaged various parts of the country, resulting in huge losses of life and massive damages to agricultural produce, infrastructure, and properties.

...Pangging Santos, Advocacy Officer of Sarilaya, a community-based organisation working on women's issues and the environment, told IPS that female farmers are feeling the impact of climate change most acutely. "Extreme weather events have really been on the rise, which has affected the farming sector. When yields are low, it's usually the women farmers who have to find a way to make ends meet," Santos told IPS....

International Women's Day in Davao, 2008, shot by International Women's Day, Wikimedia Commons via Flickr, under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license