Know Your Indigenous Trees

By Nheya Vivian

Climate Change is one of the greatest global challenge in the 21st century. Its impacts differ among regions, generations, age, class and gender. Urban women are equally vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change just as their fellow rural women though the degree of vulnerability vary. Water shortages in cities has become the order of the day. The Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) is failing to adequately supply all the urban areas communities with water, at times communities going up to one week without water. Women who bear the responsibility of providing water for household use tend to walk long distances in search of this important basic commodity. Looking to 10 years back the scarcity of water is intensifying year by year with rapid population growth caused by rural to urban migration, the shortages will still continue to rise. Most urban women in Zimbabwe are local vendors who rely on selling farm fresh produce, due to high temperatures posed by climate change business has been hindered with most of the fresh vegetables and fruits quickly perishing. Moreso, due to the biological make up of women they are affected mostly by respiratory diseases and high temperatures increase their vulnerability. Challenges in the economic and transport sector of Zimbabwe are also exacerbating the situation, women walk long distances in search of food, water and ways to sustain their families therefore they become vulnerable to fainting and other respiratory related illnesses. There are growing concerns on the increase of sexual abuse of women by men at water collecting points. Women wake up as early as 3am in search of water and therefore they are vulnerable to violence and sexual abuse mostly rape. The gender disparity gap between men and women keeps widening due to climate change impacts with women becoming more vulnerable and even more subjected to poverty.

Furthermore, women in urban areas rely on gardening and urban farming to feed their families with the increase in droughts and erratic rainfall patterns livelihoods have been disrupted and climate change impacts will worsen food insecurity across the globe.

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The government of Zimbabwe is committed to include women as part of development solutions to contribute to the sustainable management of the environment and reducing climate risks. To address the gap between gender and climate change at national and local levels and realizing the need to coordinate efforts on gender issues in climate change initiatives, the government has introduced the national gender action plan. The plan seeks to address challenges which are being faced by women as a result of climate change.