将性别平等纳入水资源管理的主流：全球现状和实现这一目标的7条途径

POLICY NOTE Mainstreaming gender equality in waterresources management Global status and 7 pathways to progress This policy note is a call to action for all practitioners working in water management and gender mainstreamingworldwide. With only five years left to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 on gender equalityand SDG 6 on water and sanitation, urgent action is needed to scale up efforts and accelerate joint progress.Drawing on the latest assessment of SDG indicator 6.5.1 on integrated water resources management (IWRM)and country-level insights, this note highlights key challenges in gender mainstreaming within water resourcesmanagement and identifies powerful enablers of progress towards both goals. These enablers includefostering political will at the highest levels, developing detailed plans with dedicated budgets, and ensuringeffective participation of women and parity in decision-making and technical roles. Additional enablers, suchas collaboration and partnerships across institutions on gender equality, robust monitoring, and educationinitiatives, are shown to be critical for achieving transformative and inclusive water governance. Key Messages 1.Gender mainstreaming in water resources management is essential forachieving both gender equality (SDG 5) and water security (SDG 6).In the current context of the climate, biodiversity and pollution crises,strengthening gender mainstreaming is crucial to ensure water resourcesmanagement practices benefit all members of society equally. 2.Global progress on gender mainstreaming in water resources managementis uneven, slow, and off track.Data from SDG indicator 6.5.1, on theimplementation of integrated water resources management (IWRM), showsthat global progress on gender mainstreaming is too slow, and substantialdisparities can be seen between countries. Implementation on the groundtypically lags behind policies and plans. However, significant steps are beingtaken by governments and non-governmental organisations around theworld, which are to be commended and learned from. 3.Countries face multiple challenges to translate high-level commitmentson gender mainstreaming into concrete actions within water resourcesmanagement.Countries highlight three key challenges: (1) water-specificgender mainstreaming frameworks often lack detailed plans, sufficientcapacity, dedicated funding, and political will for implementation; (2) theabsence of sex-disaggregated and other intersectional data undermineseffective monitoring and accountability; and (3) the underrepresentationof women in decision-making and technical roles within water resourcesmanagement limits progress and effective implementation of commitments. 4.Experiences from countries point to seven particularly powerful enablersfor mainstreaming gender in water resources management.These coverexecutive leadership, legal frameworks, funding, practical frameworks forparticipation, monitoring, education, and coordinated action on genderacross the water, climate and environment sectors. This note includespractical examples from countries for each enabler. 1.Gender mainstreaming in water resources management is essentialfor achieving both gender equality and water security Implementing integrated water resources management(IWRM) is critical to support societies, economies, andthe environment. Increasing pressures such as climatechange, pollution and biodiversity loss, also known asthe triple planetary crisis, are impacting the availabilityof, and access to, water resources globally, hinderingsustainable development. Box 1: Indigenous Women:Guardians of Water, Land, andBiodiversity Water, land, biodiversity, and the protection andflourishing of these sacred resources are thebasis of many of the world’s Indigenous cultures.Indigenous women and girls and their communitieshave worked tirelessly, and at personal peril, toexpand protections and transform Indigenousvalues and local ecological knowledge intoenforceable ecological rights. Vulnerable populations, such as women and girls livingin poverty, are among the most severely affecteddue to their limited ability to mitigate the impacts ofwater-related shocks. Globally, an estimated 1.5 billionwomen and girls live in countries facing high or veryhigh exposure to droughts. Flood exposure, resultingfrom rising sea levels, extreme rainfall, and intensehurricanes, threatens an estimated 3.7 billion womenand girls globally (Azcona et al. 2023). In India, women from Indigenous communities havebeen instrumental in blocking the depletion andcontamination of water resources by multilateralcorporations. In Brazil, Indigenous women areengaging in collective actions, including formingsurveillance groups, to defend their ancestral landsand protect their water resources. Women’s vulnerability is further exacerbated by theclimate crisis as it is driving increased levels of gender-based violence. Economic instability, floods, foodinsecurity, and elevated rates of