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Acroecology and the right to food 2011, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- Sometimes, seemingly minor innovations can provide high returns. In Kenya, researchers and farmers developed the "push-pull" strategy to control parasitic weeds and insects that damage the crops. The strategy consists in "pushing" away pests from corn by inter-planting corn with insect-repellent crops like Desmodium, while "pulling" them towards small plots of Napier grass, a plant that excretes a sticky gum which both attracts and traps pests. The system not only controls pests but has other benefits as well, because Desmodium can be used as fodder for livestock. The push-pull strategy doubles maize yields and milk production while, at the same time, improves the soil. The system has already spread to more than 10,000 households in East Africa by means of town meetings, national radio broadcasts and farmer field schools. In Japan, farmers found that ducks and fish were as effective as pesticide for controlling insects in rice paddies, while providing additional protein for their families. The ducks eat weeds, weed seeds, insects, and other pests, thus reducing weeding labour, otherwise done by hand by women, and duck droppings provide plant nutrients. The system has been adopted in China, India, and the Philippines. In Bangladesh, the International Rice Research Institute reports 20 per cent higher crops yields, and net incomes on a cash cost basis have increased by 80 per cent.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Acroecology and the right to food 2011, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- The diversity of species on farms managed following agroecological principles, as well as in urban or peri-urban agriculture, is an important asset in this regard. For example, it has been estimated that indigenous fruits contribute on average about 42 per cent of the natural food-basket that rural households rely on in southern Africa. This is not only an important source of vitamins and other micronutrients, but it also may be critical for sustenance during lean seasons. Nutritional diversity, enabled by increased diversity in the field, is of particular importance to children and women.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- Pregnant women who are exposed to pesticides are at higher risk of miscarriage, pre-term delivery and birth defects. Studies have regularly found a cocktail of pesticides in umbilical cords and first faeces of newborns, proving prenatal exposure. Exposure to pesticides can be transferred from either parent. The most critical period for exposure for the father is three months prior to conception, while maternal exposure is most dangerous from the month before conception through the first trimester of pregnancy. Recent evidence suggests that pesticide exposure by pregnant mothers leads to higher risk of childhood leukaemia and other cancers, autism and respiratory illnesses. For example, neurotoxic pesticides can cross the placental barrier and affect the developing nervous system of the fetus, while other toxic chemicals can adversely impact its undeveloped immune system.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Infants
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 95
- Paragraph text
- Agroecological farming can help secure livelihoods for smallholder farmers and those living in poverty, including women, because there is no heavy reliance on expensive external inputs. If properly managed, biodiversity and efficient use of resources can enable smallholder farms to be more productive per hectare than large industrial farms (A/HRC/16/49).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Fisheries and the right to food 2012, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- The fisheries sector can contribute to the realization of the right to food by providing employment and income and sustaining local economies. Globally, 54.8 million people are engaged in capture fisheries and aquaculture and approximately three times as many are involved in upstream and downstream activities (e.g. fish processing, selling, net-making and boatbuilding). Small-scale fisheries predominate in developing countries, where most fishing-related employment resides. Industrial boats employ some 200 people for every 1,000 tons of fish caught, while small-scale fishing methods (used by 90 to 95 per cent of people in the fisheries sector) employ some 2,400 people for the same amount of fish. This greater intensity of labour has led experts to conclude that the small-scale fisheries sector is particularly pro-poor. Women comprise about half of the global fisheries workforce, typically concentrated in the pre-harvest and post-harvest sector. While employment is stagnating in wild-capture fisheries in most regions, it is increasing in aquaculture, especially in Asia, where employment rose from some 3.7 million people in 1990 to well in excess of 10 million people by the late 2000s (see table 1).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Fisheries and the right to food 2012, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- The small-scale fisheries sector is therefore an extremely important, albeit undervalued, source of livelihood, providing employment and income to millions of people, including women, in the post-harvest sector. It also plays an important safety net function, however. In times of crisis, often caused by failing agriculture, conflict or recession, fishing provides important part-time or temporary income or relatively free food. The increased price volatility of food commodities created by climate change and other factors could make this role even more important in the future. Nevertheless, for fishing to provide this safety net, it must be kept relatively open and free. This creates tension with some approaches to avoiding overfishing, in particular exclusive user rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Fisheries and the right to food 2012, para. 50d
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur has previously described the role that human rights impact assessments of trade and investment agreements can play in allowing countries to discharge their human rights obligations (see A/HRC/19/59/Add.5). Trade and access agreements in fisheries provide another such illustration. The above assessment of the potential opportunities and risks of such agreements (see paras. 29-32) may serve to identify the questions that should be asked in any impact assessment before the conclusion of an agreement by the coastal State. These are, for example:] Are measures in place to ensure that export-oriented fishing creates decent work opportunities to ensure an adequate standard of living? Overall, will the agreement increase the incomes of the poorest and most marginalized groups within the coastal communities, especially women?
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Human rights criteria for making contract farming and other business models inclusive of small-scale farmers 2011, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- What is in the interest of the parties to certain contractual arrangements or business models may not be in the interest of the community as a whole, and the solutions may not be sustainable. For instance, contract farming may divert agricultural production towards cash crops that, while potentially increasing revenue for some producers, may also lead to local food price increases, as less food would be produced for local consumption, with the risk that food would become unaffordable for the poorest in some communities. This may be in violation of the requirement that "every man, woman and child, alone or in community with others, have physical and economic access at all times to adequate food or means for its procurement" (see E/C.12/1999/5, para. 6). The specialization in cash crops frequently entails a loss of biodiversity and a shift away from diversity and towards mono-cropping in farming systems that may be detrimental to the biotic activity of the soil and may accelerate soil erosion. States have a duty to "protect ecological sustainability and the carrying capacity of ecosystems to ensure the possibility for increased, sustainable food production for present and future generations, prevent water pollution, protect the fertility of the soil, and promote the sustainable management of fisheries and forestry" (E/CN.4/2005/131, annex, para. 8.13).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Impact of climate change on the right to food 2015, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- While more affluent countries are better able to cope with the effects of climate change, nations with a higher proportion of people living in poverty may not have access to necessary infrastructure and resources and their populations have fewer opportunities to diversify their livelihoods and reduce their dependence on agriculture. Within this group of vulnerable populations, small-scale farmers and indigenous peoples, particularly women who depend on climate-sensitive natural systems for their food and livelihoods, are expected to be particularly susceptible to the effects of climate change on their food security.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Impact of climate change on the right to food 2015, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- As farm labourers, vendors and unpaid care workers, women are responsible for food preparation and production in many countries and regions around the world and play a vital role in food security and nutrition. Nevertheless, women and girls continue to be disproportionately affected by climate change, poverty and malnutrition. Women in rural areas are particularly affected as the number of female-headed households continues to grow, exceeding 30 per cent in some developing countries, while women own only 2 per cent of agricultural land and have limited access to productive resources. According to FAO, women are responsible for 50 per cent of the world's food production, most of which is for family consumption.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Impact of climate change on the right to food 2015, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- In addition to the many challenges they face in relation to food production, women face significant barriers in tackling climate change because of their gender. Their vulnerability to climate change-related risks is exacerbated by discriminatory practices in the agricultural sector, where gender discrimination may affect women's access to financing, technical support and other necessary resources. They may also have less bargaining power in or be excluded from decision-making on land use or preparedness and adaptation strategies. Migration as a result of natural disasters, climate change and conflict also has a disproportionate effect on women, increasing the difficulties of providing for their families, including children and the elderly. This affects in particular women living in rural areas and among the urban poor.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Impact of climate change on the right to food 2015, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- The empowerment of women by way of education, secure property rights and technology is paramount to tackling climate change and at the same time eliminating hunger and poverty by using the knowledge and experience of local women. At the national and local levels, rights-based practices can contribute to climate justice. For example, women in Maradi, Niger, traditionally lacked access to rights, making them particularly vulnerable to food crises caused by recurrent droughts. Rights-based approaches have been used at the community level to improve women's access to and control over land as well as their access to information and credit. Enabling women to adapt their agricultural practices improves household nutrition and generates income. Helping women and other vulnerable groups to claim their rights is therefore essential to climate justice. Similarly, the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research, in Behar, India, organized a series of training programmes to promote women's empowerment and leadership to fill the knowledge gap in climate change.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Impact of climate change on the right to food 2015, para. 76
- Paragraph text
- Agroecology is particularly beneficial and well suited to the needs of poor rural communities, as it is relatively labour intensive, most effectively practised on small plots of land and relies on locally produced inputs, thereby reducing dependence on access to external inputs and on subsidies. It is also of particular benefit to vulnerable groups such as smallholder farmers, women and indigenous peoples, owing to their reliance on local inputs and practices. The shift being advocated builds on the skills and experience of the world's small farmers. Farmers living in harsh environments in Africa, Asia and Latin America have developed traditional knowledge and skills that facilitate resilience and sustainability. One of the virtues of agroecology is that it combines local knowledge with innovative technology.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Integrating a gender perspective in the right to food 2016, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- Considering the vital importance of women to the global food systems, as well as, to family budgets, this report will first outline the persistent discrimination and structural barriers that women and girls face in several fields. Despite the recognition of the vital role of women in international human rights law and policies, the situation of women with regards to implementation of right to food remains critical. This report will deal with the cultural, legal, economic, and ecological barriers that hinder the equal implementation of the right to food. It further addresses the positive role that women can play in developing solution to the posed challenges such as eliminating hunger, maintaining food security and preserving natural resources. The report particularly focuses on the importance of gender-sensitive policies in the context of climate change, and the particular vulnerability of rural women.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Integrating a gender perspective in the right to food 2016, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- Globally, women have bred more than 7,000 species of crops. In India alone, seed saving has enabled women to breed 200,000 varieties of rice. Biodiversity offers the genetic variation necessary to protect against diseases, pests, and weather events that threaten to wipe out food supplies.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Integrating a gender perspective in the right to food 2016, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- It is widely acknowledged that climate change impacts are not gender-neutral. As already marginalized individuals in virtually every society, women face discrimination and are subject to human rights abuses at a disproportionate rate, further accelerated by climate change.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Integrating a gender perspective in the right to food 2016, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- Women have multiple responsibilities as heads of households, caregivers, and subsistence farmers, and balancing these roles is increasingly challenging in the face of climate change. Women also participate in a wide range of activities that support sustainable agricultural development, such as soil and water conservation, agro-ecology, afforestation and crop domestication and are vital to adaptation and mitigation policies.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Integrating a gender perspective in the right to food 2016, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- The successful implementation of climate change policies and projects requires an understanding of the gender-based roles and relationships vis-à-vis natural resources, as well as the gender-differentiated impacts of climate change. The Beijing Declaration in 1995 was the first international declaration to recognize the links between gender equality and climate change. It took a long time for international climate change policy makers to address gender dimensions of climate change. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process referred to gender considerations only in "Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation" (REDD+) and response measures, with the latter only referring to women as a "vulnerable group". In recent years, progress has been made in integrating gender equality in the COP decisions. It remains uncertain how the gender perspective to climate change policies will be acknowledged in the upcoming document of the climate change agreement.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Integrating a gender perspective in the right to food 2016, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development also acknowledges the critical importance of advancing gender equality and empowering women and girls to realize sustainable development. Many of the climate-related SDGs include gender-specific targets, including those related to ownership and control over land and access to new technology (SDG1), women small-scale food producers (SDG2), and water and sanitation (SDG6). These goals provide a mandate for advancing gender equality and women's empowerment across all areas of climate change action.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Integrating a gender perspective in the right to food 2016, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- However, the system still needs to incorporate a human rights approach, including participatory monitoring systems to evaluate standards as well as mechanisms to seek remedy for violations of human rights, particularly for women. A human rights approach emphasizes local self-determination that frustrated by externally imposed ownership and promotes control over critical and traditional local resources like water, land, and biodiversity.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Integrating a gender perspective in the right to food 2016, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- One area of concern is disaster management because climate change is likely to impact the number and severity of extreme weather events. Researches show that in societies where men and women should be impacted indiscriminately in disasters women and girls, as a result of gender based inequalities, are up to 14 times more likely to die in the event of a disaster. This is especially true of elderly women, those with disabilities, pregnant and nursing women, and those with small children, who may have lack of, or limited mobility and resources, and therefore remain most at risk in cases of emergency.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Integrating a gender perspective in the right to food 2016, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- Climate change itself intensifies psychological stress associated with disasters, increasing women's risks of situations of violence, sexual harassment and trafficking. Some women are forced into prostitution and research has shown increased HIV prevalence in drought-ridden areas of rural Africa.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Integrating a gender perspective in the right to food 2016, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- In rural areas, women and girls spend the majority of their time engaged in subsistence farming and in the collection of water and fuel. As a result of flooding, droughts, fires and mudslides, these tasks become more difficult. Water shortages and depletion of forests require women and girls to walk longer distances to collect water and wood. In Senegal and Mozambique, women spend 17.5 and 15.3 hours respectively each week collecting water. In Nepal, girls spend an average of five hours per week on this task. In rural Africa and India, 30 percent of women's daily energy intake is spent in carrying water. Depletion of land and water resources may place additional burdens on women's labour and health as they struggle to make their livelihoods in a changing environment.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Integrating a gender perspective in the right to food 2016, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- The impact of environmental degradation and biodiversity loss on common property resources threatens household food security and livelihoods. Women who lack land tenure depend on common resources, for subsistence. This decreases the time available for food production and preparation, and threatens women's safety, with consequences for household food security and nutritional well-being.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Integrating a gender perspective in the right to food 2016, para. 68
- Paragraph text
- Impacts of decreased water quality as a result of climate change are also gender differentiated. Children and pregnant women are more physically vulnerable to waterborne diseases and their role in supplying household water and performing domestic chores makes them more vulnerable to developing diseases, such as diarrhea and cholera, which thrive in degraded water. Decreased water resources may also cause women's health to suffer as a result of the increased work burden and reduced nutritional status. For instance, in Peru following the 1997-98 El Niño events, malnutrition among women was a major cause of peripartum illness.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Gender
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Infants
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Integrating a gender perspective in the right to food 2016, para. 69
- Paragraph text
- Insecure land tenure reduces rural women's and men's incentives to make long-term investments in soil rehabilitation and conservation, which are crucial to agricultural land management in era of climate change and resource scarcity. A reduction of agricultural productivity and more competition for productive land leave women with the more marginal and fragile lands. Tools are often reserved for men's plots of land and women may not use technological adaptation techniques. In a Sub-Saharan African county, women, have limited access to irrigation or other farm technology, such as motorized tillers that would increase productivity and offset negative impacts of climatic shocks.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Environment
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Integrating a gender perspective in the right to food 2016, para. 70
- Paragraph text
- Crop failure caused by slow-onset disasters such as land degradation and drought has resulted in the increase of men's out-migration in developing world. Women are often left behind to struggle to feed their families to take on men's traditional roles and responsibilities. This increases women's work, but does not grant women equal access to financial, technological, and social resources to lessen the burden.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Integrating a gender perspective in the right to food 2016, para. 71
- Paragraph text
- A gendered approach to climate change adaptation and mitigation is necessary to combat the vulnerabilities women face because of existing social, economic and political inequalities. Mitigation activities aim to decrease greenhouse gas emissions through support for technology development and capacity building. These activities also provide important opportunities to improve women's health and livelihoods by creating new opportunities for women particularly in the renewable energy sector. Development programs that support the distribution of clean cook-stoves have had a significant impact on reducing emissions and limiting premature deaths and illness linked to indoor air pollution, particularly benefiting women and children.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Integrating a gender perspective in the right to food 2016, para. 72
- Paragraph text
- Despite women's role in collecting biofuels for household use, women are often excluded from energy plans and policies because energy is associated with electricity and fossil fuels and is therefore considered to be within men's domain.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Integrating a gender perspective in the right to food 2016, para. 73
- Paragraph text
- More needs to be done to improve opportunities for women to participate in the green economy, notably through ensuring that women benefit equally from employment opportunities arising from development projects focusing on clean technology and renewable energy.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph