妇女与撒哈拉以南非洲农村的气候适应：约束与研究优先级

ABOUT THEAFRICA GENDER TheWorldBank’sAfricaGenderInnovation Lab(GIL)conductsimpact evaluationsofdevelopment interventionsin Sub-Saharan Africa, seekingtogenerateevidenceonhow to close gender gaps in Authors:Clara Delavallade, Melanie Gittard, Julia VaillantPublic Disclosure Authorized INTRODUCTION Sub-Saharan Africa faces increasing climate variability, with extreme weather eventsbecoming more frequent and disruptive to livelihoods, particularly in agriculturalcommunities where farmers must continuously adapt to these changing conditions, Women face an even greater burden. Pre-existing gender inequalities heighten theirvulnerability to climate shocks, limiting their ability to adopt adaptation strategiesbothon-farm, as part of their agricultural work, and off-farm, through income The impact objective of GIL isto increase take-up of effectivepoliciesbygovernments,development organizations, andthe private sector to addressthe underlying causes of genderinequality in Africa, particularlyin terms of women’s economic The recently published Africa Gender Innovation Lab paper “Women and ClimateAdaptation in Rural Sub-Saharan Africa: Constraints and Research Priorities” reviewsexisting empirical evidence on the main barriers women face in climate adaptationstrategies,both on and off farm,namely Climate Smart Agriculture,WeatherInsurance, Income Diversification, Migration, as well as Adaptive Social Protection. ADAPTATION STRATEGY NO. 1:CLIMATE SMART AGRICULTURE (CSA) instrumental in making these investments feasible. Lowliteracy also influences risk aversion and hampers theability to process and respond to climate risks, furthercomplicating women’s ability to adopt CSA strategies. Main barriers Climate smart agriculture refers to agricultural practicesthat aim to both improve food security and strengthenresilienceto climate change.1 Evidence shows thatadoption is gender-unequal, with women less likely thanmen to adopt CSA practices. Structural barriers thatdisadvantage women such as limited land ownership23, Additionally,unequal access to information poses asignificantchallenge to women’s adoption of CSA.Manywomen lack timely weather updates6,whichcouldenhance their adaptive capacity,as well asaccessto agricultural technology information7 that What’s next? Priority research areas The relationship between risk aversion, preferences forsustainable agricultural practices, and access to climateinformationremains largely unexplored.While limitedawareness of climate change and a high degree of riskaversion can hinder the adoption of CSA, risk aversionmay also drive long-term strategies that help safeguard At the same time, effectively addressing women’s limitedknowledge of climate change and its impacts remainsa critical challenge, as there is little empirical evidenceon how they perceive climate change as a long-term Additionally, social networks play a vital role in shapingadaptationefforts.Studying how best to optimizesocial group organization can help shed light on how to Limited land ownership and insecure land tenure furtherexacerbatethese challenges by creating uncertaintyandconstraining long-term adaptation efforts,raisingkey questions about how they hinder women’s ability to ADAPTATION STRATEGY NO. 2:WEATHER INSURANCE Main barriers Weather insurance was designed to help householdsmanage climate hazards by providing payouts basedon weather risk indices. However, it remains largelyunderutilized by women due to structural challenges Althoughevidence on this issue is still emerging,weather insurance products often lack gender-specificfeatures, making women less inclined to invest in suchcoverage10.Beyond exposure to agricultural risks, Additionally, land rights and financial control often serveas formal eligibility criteria for insurance access. Thesefurther limits adoption among women who frequently What’s next? Priority research areas More research is needed to understand the impact ofgender-specific parameters in insurance products andhow they may reduce women’s reluctance to engage withinsurance schemes, ultimately increasing uptake. Thisshould focus on identifying the most effective insuranceproducts for women, particularly those that addresslife cycle risks such as pregnancy and childbearing ADAPTATION STRATEGY NO. 3:INCOME DIVERSIFICATION Main barriers Diversifyingincome is essential for rural and low-incomehouseholds to manage risk and adapt tosudden changes. In the face of climate hazards anddeclining agricultural yields, securing multiple sources One major challenge is the heavy workload many womenshoulder,balancing agricultural labor,subsistencefarming,household responsibilities,and caregiving.They are often responsible for water collection and food Gendernorms and cultural expectations furtherreinforcethese constraints13,restricting women’sparticipation in entrepreneurship and business, whilealso limiting their decision-making power over financialmatters14. Additionally, gaps