How six women are helping their communities adapt to climate change
In southwestern Uganda, banana farmer Ahumwire Justine lost 300 trees and two cows during a devastating hailstorm a few years ago. With no insurance, she faced food shortages, unpaid school fees and an uncertain future. Now, a new digital crop insurance system, introduced by NDC Action Project, offers protection. Farmers use smartphones to document healthy banana plants and submit damage photos after storms, allowing quick assessments by agroeconomists. Justine, a ‘champion farmer,’ shares this tech with fellow smallholders—nearly half of whom are women—boosting resilience and productivity. This innovative approach provides financial security and fosters hope across Uganda’s growing network of banana farmers. Bananas are integral to Uganda’s economy, with 47 per cent of farmers involved in their cultivation in 2019, according to Uganda’s statistics bureau.
When Typhoon Nock-ten ripped through the Philippines in 2016, chef Louise Mabulo noticed cacao trees still standing amid the wreckage. It was at that moment that she realized cacao trees were relatively resilient to storms and she launched “The Cacao Project”, training over 200 farmers in agroforestry and planting more than 150,000 trees. By focusing on cacao’s climate resilience and high market value, her initiative combats deforestation, revitalizes farmland and empowers communities to withstand future storms, which are expected to become more common as the climate changes. Recognized as a Young Champion of the Earth, Mabulo was said to exemplify how women’s leadership can transform adversity into opportunity.
In Gambia, climate change is causing more severe flooding. Fishers in the countryside sometimes lose their lives because they lack reliable forecasts and receive no alerts of when to avoid open water. Anti Rohey Ceesay, a forestry expert from the Central River Region, decided to take matters into her own hands a few years ago. After nine weather stations were built in her district with funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), Ceesay was able to gather weather alerts and travel via motorbike from village to village sharing vital warnings. In Ceesay’s culture, knowledge is often passed on through song and dance, so she organized ‘climate theatre’ performances in villages to educate her community about climate change and how to adapt. Since Ceesay began providing advanced warnings, the number of deaths from climate impacts has fallen in her community, Ceesay said.
On Madagascar’s southeast coast, climate change has led to erratic and unpredictable rainfall. For rice farmer Vivienne Rakotoarisoa, floods and droughts devastated her family’s harvests. Determined to adapt, Rakotoarisoa now cultivates rambo—a drought-resistant reed—and transforms it into hats, mats and baskets. Although the plant is not edible, it’s more resilient than rice and its popularity as a weaving material makes it a valuable crop. With funding from GEF, Rakotoarisoa and hundreds of villagers gained new skills, providing them with alternative, climate-resilient incomes. Weavers would traditionally forage for rambo in the wild, but now they can sustainably farm and sell the reed, which maintains a steady income even if the rice harvests fail.
Michelle Delgado, Mexico
With precipitation patterns changing in Xalapa, Mexico, local homemaker Michelle Delgado once believed restoring forests was “for men.” But through a project funded by the GEF and implemented by UNEP, workshops were organized to teach women how to plant and nurture tree species. Alongside other participating women, Delgado reforested the riparian forest of the Arroyo Papas stream, helping protect communities from landslides and floods while building a more sustainable future. Women collect native seeds, germinate them, and distribute trees to households—“one tree for every home”. Now called “guardians of the forest” by their communities, these women’s efforts are dismantling gender stereotypes and empowering them to shape decisions that build resilience and curb climate impacts.
The Sectoral Solution to the climate crisis
UNEP is at the forefront of supporting the Paris Agreement goal of keeping global temperature rise well below 2°C, and aiming for 1.5°C, compared to pre-industrial levels. To do this, UNEP has developed the Sectoral Solution, a roadmap to reducing emissions across sectors in line with the Paris Agreement commitments and in pursuit of climate stability. The six sectors identified are: energy; industry; agriculture and food; forests and land use; transport; and buildings and cities.
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