Nisha Onta, Knowledge Management Coordinator, shared publications by WOCAN and our partners onGender and Climate Change at the information booth during the Regional Forum on Climate Change (RFCC) – Low Carbon and Climate Resilient Societies: Bridging Science, Practice and Policy. The Forum was organized by the Asian Institute of Technology in collaboration with the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development, ASEAN Secretary General, and the European Union and it was held from 1-3 July in Rangsit, Thailand. RFCC brought together close to 400 scientists, practitioners and policy-makers from 24 counties in Asia, Europe, Africa, and North America to discuss the translation of science into practice and policy, and offers ASEAN negotiators a venue to build positions of increased ambition prior to the pivotal COP 21.
José Ramos-Horta, former President of Timor-Leste, and recipient of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize, addressed the first day’s proceedings with a keynote speech titled – Saving our Common Home: Our Common Responsibility. President Ramos-Horta addressed the implication of climate change in security due to scarcity of resources; he also highlighted the need to ensure support from funding mechanisms such as the Green Climate Fund and mainstreaming climate change through increased education and awareness campaigns to boost participation from policy makers and the public.
There was a definite blindness to gender issues in the forum. President Ramos-Horta was one of the few speakers who mentioned gender equality and women’s role in the adaptation and mitigation to climate change, but his remark was limited to women’s participation in the policy processes. WOCAN’s information booth had publication related to Gender and Climate Change and also shared publication from our partners and fellow GGCA members RECOFTC and USAID LEAF project. There were many participants who visited WOCAN’s booth and wanted to learn more about integrating gender into their climate change policies and projects. It was a missed opportunity for the forum for not having any panel discussions or side events which discussed gender issues which has a significant effect in the access of resources that leads to an effective implementation of low carbon and climate resilient development.
Outcome documents
