Gender Approaches in Climate Compatible Development: Lessons from Kenya

"Given the impact that climate change and extreme weather events are having on urban populations around the world, there is a clear need to provide more evidence to inform climate change and development interventions."

This research study highlights the advantages and challenges of pursuing climate compatible development in Kisumu, Kenya, drawing lessons from the five-year project People’s Plans into Practice (PPP): Building Productive and Liveable Settlements with Slum Dwellers in Kisumu and Kitale. The report is part of a global study on gender approaches in climate compatible development initiatives, which also includes India and Peru. (See Related Summaries, below.) The research project was carried out by Practical Action Consulting with support from the Institute of Development Studies, and commissioned by and supported by Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN). As stated in the report, although considerable evidence exists pertaining to rural areas, significant knowledge gaps can be found in relation to climate compatible development and gender in urban areas. For this reason, this research initiative has focused on urban areas.

Climate compatible development is defined in the report as being about “transforming development pathways to face the climate problem head on. It moves beyond the traditional separation of adaptation, mitigation and development strategies. Climate compatible development processes adopt strategies and goals that integrate the threats and opportunities of a changing climate to lower CO₂ emissions, build resilience and promote development simultaneously.”

The report starts off with information on the rationale for the project, the background to Kisumu and the PPP project, and the policy context on gender and climate change in Kenya. It also outlines the research methodology, which used qualitative, exploratory, and participatory approaches to data collection. This involved working closely with former PPP project implementers and other stakeholders at county, ward, and community levels.

The results of the research are discussed in line with four questions which the research attempted to respond to. The questions and a brief summery of the findings follow:

What does a gender-sensitive approach to climate compatible development mean in the urban setting of Kisumu?
As explained in the report, gender relations play a key role in determining vulnerability in urban Kisumu. A gender-sensitive approach means understanding the complex issues around how gender currently affects vulnerability to climate risks and the ability of both men and women to cope with and adapt to climate variability and change. The report makes the point that a gender-sensitive approach will help understand vulnerability and allow planners to factor in the different ways men and women secure their livelihoods, as well as their different support structures. In terms of the PPP project, gender was integrated into various stages, such as during project design, where committees were selected to include an equal number of men and women to ensure involvement of women in project activities. However, the PPP experience also highlights the need to address gender at both individual and structural levels, as the number of women and the level of their actual participation was still low due to the multitude of other roles and responsibilities that women have in the household. There was also intimidation by male counterparts in county-level decision-making processes, which points to the role played by culture as a determining factor to achieving gender equality. As the project evaluation report stated, “the project was gender-sensitive, but did not go deeper to unearth and address underlying causes of gender imbalances. Transformation of gender power relations was not one of the planned outcomes of the project, but gender issues were addressed as cross-cutting themes throughout its life cycle.”

What is the evidence of the relevance of gender-sensitive programming in climate compatible development to promote and achieve people’s empowerment?
“Findings showed that by implementing activities that can improve women’s and men’s access to services or resources, the PPP project supported the needs of both genders. However, given the scale of the intervention provided, the PPP project had little influence on the larger contextual issues that lie at the root of gender inequities. As a result, the PPP approach was probably not sufficient to bring about fundamental change to the balance of power in gender relations.”

What are the socio-economic, political, and cultural constraints and opportunities in promoting gender-sensitive approaches in interventions to support climate compatible development?
The study identified a number of opportunities that can contribute to gender integration and improved gender equality outcomes in interventions to support climate compatible development. These included: a supporting policy environment, the use of participatory tools and processes, and adequate monitoring and evaluation indicators to assess the gender impact of interventions as they progress. However, it also revealed a number of challenges which included: cultural attitudes related to gender roles; difficulty of women participating due to other household responsibilities; lack of policy and spaces for discussion of gender issues at local (city and ward) level; lack of technical capacity and understanding of the linkages between gender and climate change and how to make projects gender transformative; unequal opportunities to access and use technologies, with some solutions affecting women negatively; and limited ability of women to express issues in ways and in fora that matter.

Does a gender-sensitive approach enable better climate compatible development outcomes, and if so, in what way?
Findings from this study suggest that gender-sensitive approaches can help improve outcomes by better understanding the gender-based drivers of vulnerability to climate change and responding to the different roles and needs of women and men. Gender-sensitive approaches can also help improve climate compatible development outcomes by increasing flexibility in planning. However, these approaches only work when coupled with some crucial building blocks. In the case of the PPP project, these include: 1) continuous engagement and dialogue among policymakers on gender and climate change at the county level which would help keep the debate and discussions on gender and climate change alive; 2) improved coordination of programmes and activities that address gender and climate change, such as aligning the mandates of different institutions; and 3) exploring synergies between initiatives to share resources and approaches.

The report offers a number of recommendations for different stakeholders. The following is a selection which have relevance to the field of communication for development:

For national- and county-level policymakers:

• it is important to address entrenched biases against women in policy processes;
• it is advisable to introduce a designated gender focal person in every county department; and
• it is helpful to integrate findings on the need to understand gender-based vulnerability drivers and barriers to gender-sensitive approaches in county bills across various sectors and the national climate change bill.

For city- and ward-level policymakers and planners, it is advisable to:

• carry out a gender and climate change audit for Kisumu city in order to document the differentiated impacts of climate change and people’s vulnerability;
• encourage participation of both men and women in meetings and community projects, addressing specific strategic needs for women;

and

• create and build partnerships and collaboration with stakeholders who value gender equity, to disseminate policies and incorporate views of stakeholders.

For development agencies and donors, it is important to:

• document best practices and examples of successful gender integration into climate change programmes and projects in urban areas;
• focus on deeper, structural barriers to gender equality, such as women’s individual and household-level capacity to participate; and
• design and implement an information-gathering process on gender and climate change, which also ensures increased access to this information. For example, the Umande Trust is reaching out to county leaders and sensitising them on the need for and the importance of gender differentiation capacity. Another strategy is to request women in leadership to be vocal and share stories of change.

Click here to download the related 4-page policy brief, "How do gender approaches contribute to climate compatible development? Lessons from Kenya", in PDF format.