E/2002/27 E/CN.6/2002/13 disaster, a window of opportunity for social change frequently appears, during which new legislation, policies and programmes aimed at promoting gender equality, women’s empowerment and more equitable and sustainable living conditions can be formulated and applied. Opportunities to challenge fundamental inequalities in gender relations frequently present themselves and should be seized. Legislation to protect and promote women’s human rights, including with regard to natural resources, such as land and water, participation in the paid labour market and in political and public life, and access to education and training can all be introduced or strengthened. International human rights treaties, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, can also provide the framework for the development of disaster planning and response. 7. Participants stressed the need to instil a culture of prevention, safety and disaster preparedness in communities in order to reduce and mitigate the impact of natural disasters. To increase preparedness, risk maps, including gender-based hazard maps, based on the assessment of the risks and vulnerabilities, should be created. Early warning systems and urban-planningmonitoring based on detailed, accurate and current information on hazards and vulnerabilities directed at minimizing exposure to vulnerabilities are also considered to be important for ensuring preparedness. 8. High-quality studies and statistics disaggregated by sex and age that take into consideration different social relations, roles and responsibilities in disaster management, development and environmental management and risk reduction were considered to be essential tools in the assessment of vulnerabilities and the mitigation of the impact of natural disasters. In order to promote women’s role in environmental management and disaster mitigation more effectively, the development of specific programmes to encourage and support multidisciplinary and comparative research and disaggregated data analysis is considered essential. Participants also stressed the need to compile and distribute information related to case studies on good practices and lessons learned, as well as information on successful laws, policies and programmes being implemented in various countries in the area of environmental management and natural disasters. These should be made widely available in an accessible form and language. 9. The link between environmental degradation and poverty, especially that of women, was underlined. Participants stated that poverty limits the knowledge and technical ability to address problems and forces people to rely on non-renewable resources. The need to address the issue of poverty by implementing United Nations Millennium Declaration goals was highlighted, with participants emphasizing the importance of the development of alternative technologies in order to address climate change and reverse the damage that exacerbates natural hazards and to promote the use of renewable resources, such as gas, solar and windenergy. Analysis of the relationship between disaster risk reduction and globalization to ensure that trade is not interrupted during natural disasters is also critical. 10. Changing values, attitudes and behaviour are a key part of a disaster reduction strategy. Awarenessraising programmes at all levels (pre-school, primary, secondary and tertiary), as well as gender-sensitive programme-targeted training and awareness-raising campaigns on environmental management and risk management, are considered essential. Media and other information and communication technologies, including new forms of such technologies, can play a major part in changing values and combating gender stereotypes and biases and in disseminating best practices and positive experience in disaster contexts. 11. The participation and involvement of local communities and civil society in general and women’s groups in particular are considered central for addressing the issue of natural disasters mitigation. Women’s active role in society before, during and after natural disasters, the knowledge of natural resources management among women’s groups and networks, and their involvement and that of other communitybased organizations in the decision-making process was stressed by many participants as a necessity to ensure sustainability. Gender equality in disaster reduction requires the empowerment of women so that they can play a greater role in leadership and management. The need for women to be empowered as decision-makers in order to participate fully to the formulation and implementation of disaster mitigation policies was brought to the fore. Some suggested that shifting decision-making on environmental issues to the local levels can give women greater opportunities for participation. 12. Investing in women as a strategy for environmental risk management is considered to be 59