Current dialogues on climate change are now giving priority to issues on women and children specifically in terms of the extreme events as fallout of the three planetary crises – global warming, climate change and extreme weather events, correlated and damaging with each passing year, according to senior journalist Salam Rajesh.
Speaking at a One-Day Workshop on Climate Change and Its Impact on Women and Children held at the Irengbam Modhumati High School Hall in Irengbam village under Nambol Constituency on Sunday (01 November), Rajesh noted that climate and weather extremes are taking a toll of vulnerable communities all across the globe.
Extended droughts influenced by rainfall deficits and induced by extreme temperature rise are threatening possible conditions for famine in many parts of India and the world presently, with reports of few locations in Manipur experiencing drought-like conditions in the preceding months, he stressed.
Deliberating on the current extreme heat stress across continents, Rajesh re-emphasized that in water stressed areas, the main burden of sourcing potable water falls on the shoulders of women particularly and this adds additional stress to already vulnerable families in the mountainous and semi-arid areas.
This is a reason why the United Nations through its several subsidiary organizations is giving priority on Nature-based Solutions wherein women and children can engage in grassroots activities aimed at regenerating natural landscapes with the dual purpose of climate change adaption measures and sustainable livelihoods through engaging in forest, grassland and wetland management and conservation, he said.
PRDA field coordinator Soibam Boby Devi speaking as resource person at the workshop reiterated that State policies needs to strategize ways to find solutions on loss and damage incurred due to extreme weather events like hailstorms, floods and droughts with particular emphasis on the impacts on women and children of marginalized families.
Women bear the dual burden of shouldering responsibilities for the family while also working in the agricultural fields or engaging in capture fishery, and localized trade and commerce, Boby noted stressing that natural calamities bear heavily on the shoulders of the women specifically in terms of the damages suffered.
Referring to recent instances of massive damage to agricultural crops owing to extreme heavy rainfall with hailstorm, and floods, Boby emphasized the suffering endured by the marginalized families in areas of Bishnupur District, particularly in the absence of loss recovery by the State administrations.
The workshop was jointly organized by Bishnupur-based Peoples Resources Development Association (PRDA) and Irengbam-based Women Development Organization (WDO).
