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Anushka Virahsawmy

SADC Gender Protocol 2013 Barometer • Swaziland 109

• Climate change will affect all countries but its impacts will be spread differently among differentregions and different groups of people.

• Swaziland is prone to floods and prolonged drought.

• Women are worst affected by climate change in Swaziland.

• The SADC Gender Protocol Alliance has embarked on a regional campaign to lobby andadvocate for the adoption of an addendum to the SADC Gender Protocol to address climatechange and sustainable development.

• Of the four key ministries related to the environment, only two women have decision-makingpositions.

• Budgeting for climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies remains a challenge.

• The Southern Africa Gender Protocol Alliance is stepping up the campaign for gender andclimate change, including lobbying at the national level.

KEY POINTS

CHAPTER 11

Gender, climatechange and

sustainable development

Flooding caused by climate change poses travelling hazards in Swaziland. Photo: Swazi Observer

110 SADC Gender Protocol 2013 Barometer • Swaziland

identification of appropriate adaptation and mitigationtechniques, if only they are given the opportunity.

National context

Swaziland lies at the transition of major climate zonesas it is influenced by air masses from different originsincluding the equatorial convergence zone, subtropicaland Eastern Continental moist maritime (with occasionalcyclones). Only about 10% of the total area is suitablefor agriculture in Swaziland, where more than 95% ofthe water resources get used for irrigation.35 Thesymptoms of the adverse effects of recurrent droughts,associated with climate change, continue to be visibleon the livelihoods of the population. Small-scale farmersin particular have limited resources to cultivate largeportions of their arable land. Hence there is a notablerealisation that managed or policy-driven climate changeadaptation strategies have become necessary in somekey economic areas: water, agriculture, forestry andenergy.

Swaziland is party to the UN Framework Conventionon Climate Change (UNFCCC). Despite positive stridesin implementing the objectives of the convention,Swaziland is facing challenges, which include:• Constraints in research and systematic observation

systems;• Lack of financial support for institutionalisation of

the National Commission Committee;• Lack of understanding of models and use of estimate

values for national conditions;• Insufficient well trained skilled people in climate

change work; and• Lack of climate change data and information collection

framework and data base management system.

Swaziland has been able to receive technical andfinancial support for putting in place national policiesand a legal framework that conform to global standards.Swaziland is a member of key international organisationsand signatory to more than 20 international agreements.Organisations include SADC, United Nations EnvironmentProgramme and the World Meteorological Organisation.

Swaziland has also signed and ratified several inter-national environmental conventions and agreements.The most important for sustainable development includethe three Rio Conventions, ratified in 1994 and 1996 asfollows:• United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity

(UNCDB) (1994);• United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification

(UNCCD)( (1996); and• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate

Change (UNFCCC) (1996).

Global context

Climate change is a significant and lasting altering ofthe statistical distribution of weather patterns overperiods ranging from decades to millions of years. Itmay be a change in average weather conditions or inthe distribution of weather around the averageconditions (i.e. more or fewer extreme weather events).Global warming will have catastrophic effects such asaccelerating sea level rise, droughts, floods, storms andheat waves. These will impact everyone, including someof the world's poorest and most vulnerable people,disrupting food production and threatening vitallyimportant species, habitats and ecosystems. Sadly, climatechange effects affect mainly women globally whoexperience gross suffering due to the multiple rolessociety expects them to play.

Climate change threatens to erode human freedomsand limit choice, and gender inequality intersects withclimate risks and vulnerabilities.34 Women in developingcountries have limited access to resources; restrictedrights, limited mobility and a muted voice in shapingdecisions make them highly vulnerable to climatechange. The nature of that vulnerability varies widely,but climate change will magnify existing patterns ofinequality, including gender inequality. Women play animportant role in supporting households andcommunities to mitigate and adapt to climate change.Across the developing world, women's leadership innatural resource management is well recognised. Forcenturies, women have passed on their skills in watermanagement, forest management and the managementof biodiversity, among others. Through theseexperiences, women have acquired valuable knowledgethat will allow them to contribute positively to the

34 UNDP: Gender and Climate Change; Last Accessed 07/11/201335 L. Simelane; Dec 2012; An Investigation Of Climate Change Adaptation Strategies And Innovation Of Swazi Farmers

Way to go: Recycled products in Sunduze, Swaziland. Photo: Ncane Maziya


• Kyoto Protocol (2006); and• Convention on Wetlands of International Importance

Especially as Waterfowl Habitat-Ramsar Convention(2010).

SADC environmental protocols that have been signedby Swaziland and relate to the climate include:• Protocol on Shared Watercourse Systems (1998);• Protocol on Energy (1998);• Protocol on Mining (2000);• Protocol on Wildlife Conservation and Law;• Enforcement MOU on Cooperation in Standardisation,

Quality (2003);• Revised Protocol on Shared Watercourse (2003);• Protocol on Fisheries (2003);• Protocol on Forestry (2002); and• Declaration on Agriculture and Food Security (2004).

Other important International environmental conven-tions, protocols, treaties ratified by Swaziland include:• Prohibition of the Development, Production, stock-

piling and use of Chemical Weapons and on theirDestruction (1996);

• Convention on the International Trade in EndangeredSpecies of Wild Fauna and Flora (1997);

• Vienna Convention for the Protection of the OzoneLayer (2005);

• Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete theOzone Layer (2005);

• Basel Convention on the Trans-boundary Movementof Hazardous Waste and their Disposal (2005);

• Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants(2006);

• Cartagena Protocol on Bio safety to Convention onBiological Diversity (2006);

• Convention Concerning the Protection of the WorldCultural and Natural Heritage (2006);

The ministry has encouraged citizens to plant moringatrees because they help control carbon dioxide emission,which assists in tackling climate change. Ministry staffimplemented this practice when they realised the needto grow more trees, especially in the rural areas, tomitigate the effects of climate change. Some bene-

ficiaries use moringa for other purposes including tea.Others dry and pound moringa leaves which havenutrients that benefit the communities. This initiativehas also helped communities create income thanks tothe by-products of the tree.

Ministry of Tinkhundla prioritises climate change

Even before the adoption of this addendum, the Alliancedecided in 2012 to include an 11th chapter in theBarometer on gender and climate change. This measuresthe performance of governments against the draftprovisions of the addendum. The message is simply thatthere is no time to waste.

SADC level

Against this background, the Southern African GenderProtocol Alliance has embarked on a campaign for anaddendum to the SADC Gender Protocol on Genderand Climate Change This underscores the fact that, likea constitution, a protocol is a living document thatshould be open to amendment, reflecting specific needsand concerns at any given time. Thisis yet another example of how - bybeing organised and strategic - civilsociety is yet again prying open demo-cratic spaces and getting gender intokey areas of the regional agenda.

There are precedents in the region togovernments elaborating on genderinstruments in response to civil societydemands. In 1998, a year after thesigning of the SADC Declaration onGender and Development, heads ofstate adopted an addendum onviolence against women and children.Just as women's organisations draftedthis addendum, so the Alliance hasdrafted the Addendum on Gender andClimate Change for consideration byheads of state through their ministers.


This good practice of waste minimisation is implementedunder the North-South Local Government CooperationProgramme led by Ellen Matsenjwa, senior healthinspector at Environmental Health Services. Sustainabledevelopment and coping with urban growth is one ofthe core components of the project, which supports bestpractices of waste management and promotes gendermainstreaming in all developmental projects withincouncil. The project is implemented along the principlesof Local Agenda (LA) 21 that supports sustainable wastemanagement practices. The practice advocates for wastereuse and recycling at sources of generation to encourageproduct use and to minimise the costs of productmanufacture from virgin materials. The main focus is onwaste prevention through waste reduction, reuse andrecycling (the 3Rs), including composting initiatives.

Increased diversion rates create jobs and significantlyreduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute toclimate change. This also decreases the emission of toxicpollutants that can be dangerous to human health andecosystems. The practice is implemented holisticallythrough an integrated approach to environmental andsocio-economic sustainable development. In doing so, itcontributes significantly to sustainable human develop-ment at grassroots level through mainstreaming gender,climate change and community-based adaptationapproaches.

The Municipal Council of Mbabane is committed tobuilding an organisation devoid of gender discrimi-nation,guaranteeing equal access to political, social and economicwealth creation opportunities for women and men. Infurtherance of this objective - and responding to MDG3- the council has developed a draft policy to build a justsociety devoid of discrimination, to harness the fullpotential of all social groups regardless of sex orcircumstance, to promote the enjoyment of fundamentalhuman rights and to protect the health, social, economicand political well-being of all city dwellers in order toachieve equitable rapid economic growth.

Activities under the waste minimisation project directlyprovide for women's empowerment, which is an objectiveof the SADC Protocol under Article 13 2 (a). The activityis mainly dominated by women and allows for effectiveparticipation in a conducive and enabling environment,so affirmative action is achieved meaningfully. Theactivities provide widows with equal opportunities toaccess employment. They have contributed significantlytowards women's sustainable livelihoods (Article 10.d).The waste minimisation activities support vocational andnon-formal education, effectively responding to Part 4(education and training) and to ensure gender equalityin education (Article 14).

The women participating in the activities receive furthertraining as service providers, enabling them to offer

Municipal Council of Mbabane invests in the “3 Rs”

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services to people with special needs and to implementstrategies to prevent new HIV infections - Articles 24 (c)and 27.3 (HIV and AIDS). Further waste minimisationactivities include training on dry sanitation options (greentoilets) that promote composting practices through theprovision of sanitary facilities and the establishment oforganic gardens to ensure that the nutritional needs ofwomen are met (Part 7 Health).

Stakeholders initiated the waste minimisation project asa result of the city of Mbabane's friendly cooperationwith the city of Salo in Finland. In 2008, the State ofEnvironment Report (SOER) developed under the projectprovided baseline information on environmental, socio-economic conditions in Mbabane. It identified severaldevelopmental gaps such as the lack of systematicmanagement of solid wastes, poor land use andbiodiversity management plans, and the lack of strategiesto respond to the socio-economic needs of the peopleof Mbabane.

Stakeholders used the results of the study as a basis fordeveloping innovative sustainable approaches that canbe used in meeting demands for job creation and povertyalleviation in the informal areas of Mbabane. On theeconomic dimension, stakeholders developed the LocalEconomic Development Strategy to incorporate bestpractices and practical approaches to stimulating businessdevelopment and growth. The focus on sustainablemanagement of solid wastes is part of the wasteminimisation initiative, which promotes management ofwaste through the 3Rs to solve the long-standing solidwaste management struggles faced by the city. Itmainstreams gender equality issues, which remain highon the national agenda due to the very low participationof women in decision-making and gender-based violence.The City of Mbabane tends to follow these nationaltrends. In the waste minimisation activities, it has beenobserved that more women than men participated - apositive indicator towards achieving Article 13.2 (a, band c).

Partners from the north and south developed goals andobjectives on identified sustainable good practices that

Sifiso Dube , Fikile Mathunjwa and the chairperson of the climate changeproject in Mbabane, Swaziland in February 2013. Photo: Trevor Davies


have been realised through case studies, learning fromeach other's experiences, knowledge exchange and skillssharing.

One of the main objectives of these activities is economicempowerment; to ensure that women benefit equallyfrom economic opportunities through enabling policiesthat ensure equal access, benefit and opportunities forwomen and men in trade and entrepreneurship. Inaddition this should take into account the contributionof women in formal and informal sectors (Article 17 ofthe SADC Protocol). The Salo/Mbabane CooperationProject is aimed at increasing understanding andknowledge through the integration of sustainabledevelopment best practices in all major developmentswithin the city, including communities and schoolenvironments. This is done through creating awarenessand education programmes at community level and inschools. Additional activities have been aimed at thedevelopment of environmental strategies to eradicateurban poverty and to address unemployment throughmainstreaming gender into existing programmes tocreate jobs through green practices (e.g. waste mini-misation activities).

The activities further increase awareness and under-standing of the nature of the environmental emissions,and how these impact on human lives. Stakeholders planthe activities with best environmental practices thatcontinually create awareness and build the capacity ofcommunities to understand, cope, adapt and mitigateenvironmental impacts in their immediate environments.

The activities seek to provide sustainable solutions toincrease mitigation and adaptation, while buildingresilient communities to cope with the pressures broughtby climate change in order to tap the potential of womenfor development.

Mbabane Municipality consists of 11 informal communitieswhich have been given priority in the partnership withthe City of Salo to address sustainable developmentissues. The communities have been characterised byclimate change vulnerabilities, such as insufficient meansto access energy sources due to increasing costsexperienced in the grid system. This means that citizenshave been forced to look for and use diminishing naturalreserves of fuel wood with its attendant health andenvironmental impacts. The waste minimisation activitieshave been a key step in reducing extreme poverty whilecombating the impacts of climate change and providingequal opportunities to women and men for economicempowerment.

ProcessIn 2004, Finland's Turku University of Applied Sciences(TUAS) identified Msunduza, an informal community -one of the largest - on the eastern outskirts of the cityas a case study area. The university sent a pair of studentinterns to conduct an in-depth baseline survey and to

gather information on the landscape of the communityand project location. Researchers then analysed the datato provide the socio-economic and environmental settingof the community. They used this background informationto describe the issues that had to be addressed. Wastemanagement emerged as the number one problem,followed closely by the need to provide sanitation optionssince the community is without space to dig new latrines.Researchers determined that community mobilisationshould be the next step in order to raise awareness onthe findings of the study.

It became clear that a sound proposal had to bedeveloped, one that would bring to light the modelpractices supported under the awareness activities. Thisgave birth to the Environmental Health Education Project(EHEP), a project that is today implemented by TUAS inpartnership with council under the Salo/MbabaneCooperation Project. Over the years the project has givenbirth to many sub-projects, including the EnvironmentalHealth Educators and Sanitation Experts of Msunduza,the Msunduza Community Recycling Centre (whichstakeholders built as a pilot model to promote large-scale waste recycling at community level) , the WasteInformation Centre (a central distribution point for infor-mation on waste), The Reuse Women's EmpowermentGroup and the Dry Sanitation Project (involving composttoilets, implemented by the Salvation Army andTUAS and Monitored by the Municipal Council ofMbabane).

Another spin-off is the Fuel Efficient Stove Model, a pilotproject implemented with a group from the Bahaicommunity. It investigates alternative renewable energyoptions. Researchers obtain funds for implementing theprojects through the Salo/Mbabane Cooperation Project.The City of Tampere (also in Finland) is the sponsorengaged by TUAS to support the Dry Sanitation Toiletpractice models.

SOER is the main document that identified gaps insustainable management of the environment in Mbabaneand it serves as the reference document that has yieldedpositive outputs. From this study, the council budgetedfor the establishment of nine waste drop-off points inschools, the Community Recycling Centre at Msunduza,the Waste Information Centre, the Reuse Group forproduct use and economic gains, organic gardens fornutritional needs and to combat hunger in less privilegedfamilies, creating a link between recycling activities andthe Buy Back Centre to provide a local market forrecyclables, tree planting programmes with schools andcommunities to promote carbon sequestration, SanitationToilets (Compost and Enviro Loo) as sustainable sanitationoptions, success stories for improved livelihoods andmany other benefits reflected in several project evaluationreports. One of the latest achievements is the MunicipalCouncil of Mbabane Waste Management Strategy of2012, developed to guide all future plans of wastemanagement in Mbabane.


Table 11.1: Measures for adapting to climate change and sustainable development in Swaziland

1. Crop production

• Promoting irrigated agriculture through large,

medium and small scale dams.

• Introducing conservation agriculture.

• Diversifying crops grown to reduce the risk of

failure.

• Converting to development other than grazing

conservation, ecotourism and hunting.

2. Water

• Integrated water resources master plan.

3. Small earth dams

4. Establishment of 5 river basin authorities

5. Conversion of irrigated systems to drip

6. Research

7. Lower Usuthu Smallholder Irrigation Project

(LUSIP)

Measure

• The Komati Downstream Development Project and Lower Usuthu

Smallholder Irrigation Project (LUSIP) is promoting agriculture through

large scale dams.

• The Shewula COSPE project adopting zero or low tillage to project soils

from heat, drought and intense rainfall;

• Large scale production of cassava for starch; and

• Options include extensive grazing, nature and bio-diversity conservation,

eco-tourism. Examples are the COSPE project above, NISELA and

Ecotourism In Piggs Peak.

To improve overall governance of water the country embarked upon the

development of an integrated Water Resources Master Plan (IWRM) in

2008. This is intended to broaden awareness of water issues and promote

sustainable utilisation of the resource. Climate change issues have been

included in the IWRM plan.

For several decades small earth dams have been used in rural areas to

provide domestic, crop and livestock water. Under an EU project in the

1990s, builders constructed more than 25 earth dams. Eight will be

constructed under the FAO Swaziland Development Project with downstream

infrastructure to store runoff water for domestic, crops and livestock.

The Department of Water Affairs under the Ministry of Natural Resources

established under the 2003 Water Act River Basin Authorities to better plan

and manage basin water resources. Climate change adaptation is central

to these initiatives through increasing irrigation water use efficiencies, water

distribution infrastructure improvement, water accounts, expansion of

domestic or community water schemes, catchment management and alien

plant eradication.

Royal Swaziland Sugar (RSSC) is implementing a programme of converting

sprinkler irrigated fields to drip irrigation as well as improving water use

efficiencies. The conversions allow for water saving that can be used for

further expansion of the hectares under cane.

Dlamini (2010) and Monadjem have been conducting studies to ascertain

the possible impacts of climate change on vegetation and avifauna. It is

anticipated that these research initiatives will provide the impetus and

direction for future adaptation of species and biodiversity in general.

The objective of this project is to reduce land degradation and biodiversity

loss in the Lower Usuthu River Basin through the application of sustainable

land management practices. The LUSIP project will address the undesirable

environmental trends related to land and water mismanagement in the area,

which include land degradation, ecosystem and biodiversity losses and

worsening conditions in human settlements.

Description

Measures for adapting to climate change and sustainable development

that provides credible evidence of climate change andensures that stakeholders employ the correctintervention in each particular area. Public participationis essential in ensuring that both men and women bene-fit equally from climate change interventions.

Table 11.1 indicates various possible projects that canbe used to mitigate climate change effects in the country.In some cases, a combination of methodologies isessential to ensure that all aspects of climate changehave been covered. Research studies form a baseline


Climate smart agriculture refers to the implementationof agricultural practices that emphasise the mitigationof climate change impacts while also encouragingfarmers to adapt to these impacts for increased resilience,improved productivity and improved livelihoods. Ledby Lynn Kota, the project presents new alternatives tosustainable agriculture.

The need for climate smart agriculture for Swaziland'ssmallholder farmer cannot be over-emphasised.Smallholder farmers provide a large percentage of foodin the country and manage vast areas of land. They alsomake up the larger share of Swaziland's most under-nourished. As the most vulnerable and marginalisedpeople in the country, many of the smallholder farmersare women heads of households that remain especiallyexposed to climate change. Continued cultivation ofmarginal areas without adequate management is amajor driver of widespread land degradation. Climatechange is adding pressure to the already stressedecosystems in which smallholder farming takes place.

With the practice of climate smart agriculture, yieldlosses associated with climate impacts will be reducedthrough improved land management and climateresilient agricultural practices. There will also be efficiencyof water use for smallholder agricultural productionand processing.

Variations in climate have been documented in theSADC region and have begun to show that climatechange is a serious threat to liveli-hoods. The adverse effects of climatechange on women and othervulnerable groups have becomeevident and threaten to be evenmore severe. Women suffer morefrom the impacts of climate changebecause of their limited access toservices and goods, even as theyremain responsible for providingfood for their families. Increased foodinsecurity as a result of decreasedproductivity of lands caused byclimate change places a heavy burdenon women. Water shortage also addsmore stress on women as they haveto increase their effort to secureadequate water for their families.Introducing and practicing climatesmart agriculture in the droughtprone areas of Swaziland contributesto ensuring that the poor families inthese areas, and in particular women,can be well equipped to mitigate theimpacts of climate change, and ableto adapt to its adverse effects.

Agricultural production and food security are expectedto be grossly compromised by climate variability andchange in many African countries, including Swaziland.Swaziland's agriculturally-based economy is highlyvulnerable to increased climate variability and climatechange, with potentially huge social and economicimpacts for the sustainable development of the country.This vulnerability is exacerbated by existing develop-mental challenges (endemic poverty, limited access tocapital and markets, poor infrastructure, low technologyand ecosystem degradation). The effects of climatechange will be compounded by the country's highpoverty levels, weak rural infrastructure, poor naturalresource management and relatively high dependenceon rain-fed agriculture.

Declining soil quality due to decreasing soil organiccarbon (SOC) and nutrient mining is widespread,affecting the land potential and productivity of crops.This results from the continuous cropping practiced byresource-poor families, most of whom have abandonedtraditional fallow, rotation or mixed cropping systemsin their struggle to sustain their households. Many nowendeavour to grow only maize monocultures. Farmerslack knowledge about how to apply sustainable landmanagement practices (return of organic matter to thesoil after harvesting, fallows, low or zero tillage,integrated crop-livestock, agro-forestry systems), sothere is pervasive poor vegetative cover resulting in thereduction in soil organic matter content, which reducesrainwater infiltration, exacerbating drought. As a result

Smart agriculture empowers rural women

Members of the Lower Usuthu Project work on the land. Photo: Thando Dlamini

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of climate change, the country could see major reductionin the production of food crops. Climate smart agricultureis one way to adapt to, and mitigate, the impacts ofclimate change.

Water-related problems will likely worsen as a result ofclimate change. Intense rainfall events will increaserates of runoff, resulting in land degradation and highsediment content. The semi-arid areas of Swazilandhave experienced droughts on a regular basis, but recentchanges in rainfall distribution have increased thefrequency and duration of droughts (attributable toclimate change), affecting supplies of freshwater andaquifer replenishment. Aquifer replenishment, whichis vital at all levels (local and global), is also reduceddue to the development of surface encrustations ondegraded soils, reducing the infiltration of rainwater.Reduced run-off as a result of drought will exacerbatewater stress and reduce the quality and quantity ofwater available for domestic, crop and livestock use.Without adequate mitigation and adaptation practices,the effects of climate change will indeed grossly affectagricultural production and food security in the country.

In order to achieve the reduction of yield losses associatedwith climate impacts, there is a need to improve soilquality through increases in soil organic carbon (SOC),resulting in nutrient retention. This is being achievedthrough the continued adoption of sustainable landmanagement practices, including minimum tillage,integrated crop, livestock and agro-forestry systems.Monitoring current climate change impacts, predictingfuture trends and communicating weather and climateinformation to local communities for agriculturalplanning purposes contributes to the empowerment ofsmallholder farmers to contend with variability in rainfalland temperature. Availability of weather and climateinformation also empowers communities to change cropvarieties and crop calendars in response to climatevariability.

Increase in the availability and efficiency of water usefor smallholder agricultural production and processingis being achieved by using integrated water resourcesmanagement to maintain and improve the healthyfunctioning of watersheds. It also builds resilience toclimate change by combining watershed managementwith resilience oriented land-use planning, climate-proof infrastructure, water users associations, waterrecycling and grey water use. Availability and efficiencyof water use is also being achieved by adopting a rangeof water harvesting techniques, water-efficient irrigationsystems and climate-proofed small- to medium-sizedreservoirs.

An increase in institutional capacity for adaptation atlocal and national levels, and in particular an increasein traditional knowledge, is being promoted. A coherentresponse to climate change also requires promotion ofgood governance both to empower farmers and to

recognise the relevance of their traditional knowledgein addressing issues of climate variability, and thedifferences between women and men's knowledge androles in responding to climate change.

BeneficiariesThe project has several main groups of stakeholderswho will benefit from its implementation. Mostimportant: the primary stakeholders who will beparticipating in the project, and will be the directbeneficiaries. These rural communities consist largelyof land users who have relatively small individualholdings on Swazi Nation Land (SNL) and have the rightto use the communal grazing areas for their crops andstock. Women comprise a large percentage of these.The traditional leadership of the rural chiefdoms, thechiefs (who administer SNL on behalf of the king) andindvunas, are also primary stakeholders in the project.

Process• Capacity-building undertaken at local level (extension

services, NGOs, private sector) to promote coordinatedsustainable land management (SLM) planning;

• Community mobilisation, SLM awareness-raisingamong project area communities;

• Development and strengthening of ChiefdomDevelopment Committees;

• Preparation of inventories of chiefdom naturalresources using participatory rural appraisal (PRA)techniques (including community mapping);

• Chiefdom SLM plans prepared, including identifyingdegraded crop, range and woodlands; options torestore degraded areas and avoid future degradation(e.g. afforestation of riparian areas); opportunitiesfor conservation and sustainable use of wild and agro-biodiversity; approaches which contribute to adapt-ation to the increasing frequency of extreme weatherevents and mitigation of climate change;

• Communities assisted to implement elements of SLMplans to restore degraded areas and ecosystemfunctions, protecting integrated agro-ecosystems,biodiversity, mitigate climate change and contributeto raising communities' resilience to the impacts ofclimate change;

• New strategies promoted to increase the productivityand reliability of crop yields by restoring soil fertility,above and below ground biomass (mitigating climatechange) thereby increasing the resilience of thecropped areas to the adverse impacts of climatechange;

• Promoting the planting of deep-rooted species inrotations that include legume fallows, increasingagro-biodiversity and integrating cover crops orperennial species into the cropping systems;

• Encouraging minimum tillage and conservationagriculture approaches, which is only effective inrestoring soil fertility (increasing yield totals andreducing variability in yields) and mitigating climatechange (inter alia by increasing soil organic mattercontent - hence contributing to carbon sequestration),


but have often also been widely shown to be laboursaving;

• Encourage household composting, providing anadditional source of nutrients and organic matter forsoils in croplands; and

• Promote rainwater harvesting to combat decreasedavailability and to improve soil moisture management.

Main outputs• Capacity building of local NGOs and extension workers

to promote coordinated SLM planning andimplementation of activities. Facilitators trained atotal of 45 community development facilitators across14 institutions on a variety of topics;

• Community training and establishment of perma-culture gardens in three chiefdoms - women accountfor 95% of the community members trained (and whohave established backyard gardens); and

• Community training (followed by practical plantingusing the knowledge gained) on the concept of conser-vation agriculture and orchard establishment.

Farmers have established food plots using the conser-vation agriculture principles. Communities have beentrained in household water harvesting, and water tankshave been constructed at the homestead level to harvestrain water.

Main outcomesOne of the major outcomes of practising climate smartagriculture has been the improvement of livelihoods.One of the women trained in permaculture gardeningshared her story as follows:

Sbulelo Gamedze is full of smiles as she opens the gateand welcomes us into her beautiful garden. She hadnever been involved in any form of farming beforeattending training in permaculture gardening. Shestarted attending the training, which took place atMadlenya area. Now she has her own beautifulpermaculture garden, which will help her to feed afamily of six people. So far from her garden she hasharvested spinach and lettuce, which takes a muchshorter time to be ready for consumption. Her gardenhas other vegetables such as beetroot, carrots, garlic,onions and cabbages. Through attending the trainingshe became motivated to start a garden. What motivatedher even more was the thought of saving money, becauseif she had a garden then she would not have to spendmoney buying vegetables from the markets.

“Madlenya area is faced with a serious issue of shortageof water so this is the perfect way of growing vegetablesbecause you only water the garden twice a week andyour produce is very good and healthy,'' she notes. ”I

didn't have all the necessary garden tools to start andmaintain a garden but during the trainings we wereencouraged to use any available tools around thehouse.”

Gamedze has great plans for the future of her gardenand she hopes to extend it to a larger scale forcommercialisation. She says this will not be too difficultfor her, since she will not be spending too much money- she will use already available resources to start andmaintain her garden. She dreams of supplying storeswith her good organic produce one day. “I wouldencourage every member of my community to try thiskind of gardening. They will not regret it, just like me.I now have something to keep me busy all day whilemy family is working and at school. Most importantlyI now save a lot of money and hopefully I will makesome money in the future through this practice.”

ChallengesClimate smart agriculture is a new concept in Swaziland,emerging with the reality of the impacts of climatechange hitting the country. Adoption of sustainableland management practices is still difficult. Smallholderfarmers still find it difficult to adopt these practices.The SLM agenda is weakly articulated at the highestnational policy level and needs to be prioritised, notablyin the public expenditure framework. There is littleevidence that sector policies (agriculture, livestock,forestry, water, land) have been modified to addressSLM. It will be necessary to raise awareness at the localand national levels.

The SLM policy and legislative framework in Swazilandis unclear and contradictory. A single sector approachprevails, with a lack of coordination and collaborationbetween various sectors and different stakeholders,resulting in high transaction costs due to lack ofcoordination and harmonisation among investments.To address this, a consultancy to review and harmoniseall land-related policies and legislations is currentlyunder way.

A set of barriers in the enabling environment renderineffective or insufficient the various policy initiativeswhich the Swazi government has attempted to reduceland degradation and loss of biodiversity. These keybarriers include:

• Lack of institutional and human resource capacities;• Lack of awareness and capacity for SLM;• Weak or absent policy formulation and lack of enforce-

ment;• Knowledge and technological barriers; and• Lack of resources (financial and others).


Table 11.2: Representation of women and men in key decision-makingpositions in environment and agriculture

Minister of Environmental Affairs and/or Sustainable Development/Natural Resources

Deputy Minister of Environment and/or Sustainable Development/Natural Resources

Principal Secretary/DG - Ministry of Environment

Ministry of Agriculture/ and/or Mechanisation/Irrigation Development

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and/or Mechanisation/Irrigation Development

Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and/or Mechanisation/Irrigation Development

Minister of Natural Resources

Deputy Minister of Natural Resources

Principal Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources

FEMALEMALE

✓

N/A

✓

N/A

✓

N/A

✓

N/A

✓

N/A

N/A

Table 11.2 indicates that women are underrepresentedin decision-making when it comes to environment andclimate change issues. Men dominate as decision-makersin the ministries of agriculture, environment and naturalresources. The principal secretary with the Ministry ofEnvironment is acting and has been in this position forsix months. People in acting capacity typically can onlyhave limited decision-making powers.

Officers within these departments have saidenvironmental policies and programmes continue to begender blind although the officers described themselvesas gender conscious. The Ministry of the Environmentis in the process of mainstreaming gender inenvironmental issues during the implementation of theNational Gender Policy of 2010. The second objectiveof the Prioritized Action Plan for the Implementationof the National Gender Policy specifies that “ensuringequal participation of both women and men inenvironmental management will be measured againstthe increase in number of women involved in environ-mental management by 2014.”

Land policy

The Draft National Land Policy 1.4.6 addresses genderequity by stating that, “obstructions to the humandevelopment of any individual should not be imposedon the basis of gender or marital status. Land-relatedlegal impediments to gender equity are to be removed.The growth towards gender equity in customary tenureis to be encouraged.”

The basic principles of the proposed National Land Policyhave been based on a fair and equitable distributionof land on a sustainable basis. This is evident in humanrights issues and policies as follows:

• It is national policy that all land-related genderdiscrimination in legislation or administration beprohibited under the constitution;

• It is national policy that all citizens responsible forraising a family can khonta (be allocated communalland by the chief directly);

• It is national policy that land held through khonta beconsidered as joint tenure for households; and

• It is national policy that all Swazis are free to buy,lease or khonta anywhere in Swaziland.

These welcome policy statements address issues centralto gender inequality and set out to ensure that womenand men have equal access and/or control over land.The policy suggests legislative reform, “to amend theMarriage Act, and to revise the Deeds Registry Act inorder to remove gender biases. Provisions in theMarriage Act that institute a wife's inferior status regar-ding property rights should be revisited to removeaspects of it that institutionalise gender bias.”

The Draft National Land Policy 1.4.6 addresses genderequity by stating that “obstructions to the humandevelopment of any individual should not be imposedon the basis of gender or marital status. Land-relatedlegal impediments to gender equity are to be removed.The growth towards gender equity in customary tenureis to be encouraged.”

Agriculture policies

The Food Security Policy developed by the Ministry ofAgriculture is one of the few agriculture policies toplace an emphasis on gender issues. Developmentprinciples put in place to reach the stated objectives ofgender equity include:

• The fundamental right of everyone to be free fromhunger will be exercised without discrimination ofany kind as to race, colour, sex, language, religion,political or other opinion, national or social origin,property, birth or other status;

• The distribution of food supplies will be carried outequitably;

• The right to food security is an integral part ofuniversal, inter-dependent, indivisible and inter-relatedhuman rights; and

• Women, poor and disadvantaged segments of societyare to have full and equal right to own land andother property, including the right to inherit.


• Educate citizens on the importance of climate changethrough awareness campaigns.

• Add to the already existing data by conducting furtherresearch on the effects of climate change in thecountry.

• Replicate successful initiatives such as the climatesmart agriculture project in other parts of the country.

• Lobby for increased funding for gender and climatechange in all government ministries.

• Continue local lobbying efforts to include theAddendum on Climate Change to the SADC Protocolon Gender and Development.

• Increase financial support for institutionalisation ofthe legislation linked to climate change andsustainable development.

Next steps

It is national policy to improve the impact of gender onfood availability by special programmes.

(a) Support and implement commitments made at theFourth World Conference on Women, Beijing 1995,that a gender perspective is mainstreamed in allpolicies.

(b) Promote women's full and equal participation in theeconomy and for this purpose introduce and enforcegender-sensitive legislation providing women withsecure and equal access to and control overproductive resources including credit, land and waterincluding irrigation and appropriate credit servicesand that job creation opportunities are focused onthose most in need.

(c) Develop special programmes and social measuresfor direct assistance to the most vulnerable groups(elderly, widowed, children, orphans, disabled, andill) to access food.

(d) Promote careers and participation of youth in agri-culture, provide vocational training programmes in

agricultural production and marketing, and supportagricultural income-generating activities for youthand other vulnerable groups at community level.

(e) Gather information on women's traditional know-ledge and skills in agriculture, fisheries, forestry andnatural resources management and integrate suchfindings into all programmes directed at improvingfood availability.

Gender and climate change financing

Officials have budgeted for gender and climate changeprogrammes in the ministries of agriculture, tourismand environment and natural resources and energy.This includes local funds for the establishment ofdemonstration plots and training of farmers on properwattle management skills. Women use wattle forfirewood and forests turn to jungles without propermanagement.

Table 11.3: Summary of financing related to climate and the environment

Establishment of demonstration plots and training of farmers on proper wattle management skills

Disaster relief management programme - Deputy Prime Minister's Office

Ministry of Natural Resources - finalisation of the draft national land policy

Implementing reforms in the energy sector

Local and donor funds for providing electricity to rural institutions, health facilities and communities

Local and donor funds for the installation of energy saving solar heaters and other energy saving equipment

at public institutions and education and awareness campaigns on energy saving technologies

Local funds for the long term programme for monitoring of fuel volume

Completion of the ethanol blending rollout programme to government depots; public awareness on bio fuels;

training and study tours on the development of the bio fuels industry

Local funds for conducting correct use of cooking demonstrations, making of marketing of wood saving/replacing

technologies, studies and surveys, briquetting and stove builders monitoring, quality control, training and audit

fees and national advisory group meetings

Department of Rural Water - borehole installation, provision of portable and safe water and sanitation to rural

communities

Procurement of tools and equipment for potable water schemes.

AmountArea

E455 000

E15 000 000

E500 000

E2 000 000

E29 050 000

E11 400 000

E5 500 000

E530 000

E1 500 000

E24 000 000

E8 750 000

The above programmes in Table 11.3 have benefited both women and men. Women will benefit more as they holdmore responsibility for water and energy provision.

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