integrating gender responsiveness in environmental ... gender... · 3 user’s guide the gender...

1

The EPM Source Book Series

Integrating GenderResponsiveness

in Environmental Planningand M anagement

Prepared and written by the staff and consultants of theSustainable Cities Programme

HS/595/00ISBN 92-1-131455-0

2

Integrating Gender Responsiveness in Environmental Planning and Management

3

User’s GuideThe Gender Source Book is organised into 3 parts.Part One presents the essence of the Source Book,(a) the context and the concept of gender responsiveenvironmental planning and management (EPM), (b)the process of gender responsive EPM, drawn lessonsof experiences from cities and programmes, and (c)the lessons learnt and challenges. Part Two containsthe summaries of twenty practical case studies,presented during the International Workshop onGender Responsive EPM (Nairobi, 1998). Part Threegives references to resources in gender issues(individuals, city representatives, international supportprogrammes, research institutions etc.)

The content of Part One is described in more detail:

Chapter One: Context and ConceptsChapter One discusses the context and concepts ofGender Responsive Environmental Planning andManagement. It provides an overview of theenvironment-development relationship, the conceptof gender and its definitions, and outlines genderissues in Environmental Planning and Management(EPM).

4


Chapter Two: M ainstreaming Gender in the EPM ProcessChapter Two reflects on mainstreaming gender in environmental planning andmanagement. Short practical case examples from cities from all over the worldare used to illustrate the five key elements of gender responsive EPM:

� gender disaggregated information;� gender responsive stakeholder involvement;� gender responsive strategy formulation and decision making;� facilitation of gender responsive action planning and resource mobilisation;� institutionalisation of gender responsive EPM and measuring progress.

Chapter Three: Gender Responsive EPM : Lessons Learntand ChallengesChapter Three examines lessons learned and challenges faced at the city leveland also describes how gender responsive EPM can be locally adapted, appliedand used.

W ho should use this Source Book?This Source Book is intended to be a useful foundation document for peopleinvolved in planning and managing urban areas. It is targeted at urban managers,urban stakeholder groups and development managers dealing with urbanenvironmental issues and the general planning and management of urban areas.The Source Book documents initiatives of how gender responsive EPM elementshave been taken into account in resolving urban environmental issues and in theplanning and management of urban areas. The book is also valuable for peoplesensitising urban managers, planning and implementing urban projects andprogrammes and for students and scholars interested in the basic elements ofgender responsive EPM.

Although the Source Book is targeted at urban managers, it is not a tool kit ofactivities. However, it is intended that it can be further developed into a practicaltraining tool, and adapted to local needs and circumstances at neighbourhoodlevel. The last part of the document points out the key elements to consider inadapting the Source Book to local needs and the necessity of constantly reviewingit to suit changing local needs.

5

Table of Contents

User’s Guide 3Foreword 7Introduction 9

Part 1 11Chapter 1: Environment, Urban Development and Gender 131.1 The Environment - Development Relationship 141.2 Understanding Environmental Planning and Management (EPM) 151.3 Understanding Gender Concepts 151.3.1 Gender roles and relations 161.3.2 Gender sensitivity 161.3.3 Mainstreaming gender 161.3.4 Practical gender needs 171.3.5 Strategic gender needs 171.3.6 Gender analysis 171.3.7 Indices: Gender-related Development Index (GDI) and Gender

Empowerment Measure (GEM) 181.4 Gender Responsive Environmental Planning and Management (EPM) 211.4.1 Linking gender and environment 211.4.2 Linking gender and sustainability 231.4.3 Gender Responsive Environmental Planning and Management (EPM) 24

Chapter 2: Mainstreaming Gender in the EPM Process 292.1 Gender responsive stakeholder involvement 302.2 Importance of gender disaggregated information and qualitative

data from women and men 342.3 Facilitating gender sensitive strategy formulation and decision making 382.4 Gender responsive action planning and resource mobilisation

for effective implementation 422.5 Institutionalising gender responsive EPM and measuring progress 46

Chapter 3: Gender Responsive EPM: Lessons Learntand Challenges 533.1 Gender responsive EPM activities today 543.2 Factors affecting the implementation of gender responsive EPM 553.2.1 External factors 553.2.2 Internal factors 563.3 Challenges of implementing gender responsive EPM 583.3.1 Research in city experiences 593.3.2 Measuring progress in gender responsive EPM 593.3.3 Administrative support 613.3.4 Collaboration and networks 623.4 Supporting and adapting gender responsive EPM locally 623.5.1 How support programmes respond 64

Concluding Remarks 67

6


Part 2: Case Study Summaries 69� Al Naseryah Urban Improvement Project, Aswan, Egypt 73� Promotion of Sanitation among Households in Luzira, Kampala 77� Women’s Committees in the Sustainable Ismailia Governorate

Project, Egypt 81� Selective Solid Waste Collection and Recycling in Recife, Brazil 85� Future Workshops - From Vision into Action: Women’s Role in City

Planning in Heidelberg, Germany 89� Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana Programme, Guntur, India 94� Women’s Initiative in Environmental Protection, Hue City, Vietnam 98� Consumer Education and Community Participation Project,

Kathmandu, Nepal 101� Good Governance: New Forms of Cooperation and Partnership for a

More Gender Responsive Urban Development in Hamburg, Germany 105� Establishing a Women-Oriented Cottage Industry in Madaba,

Amman, Jordan 109� Capacity Building for Urban Poverty Alleviation in Ibadan, Nigeria 112� Gender Responsive EPM: An Experience from Lonhla Community, Patan,

Kathmandu, Nepal 116� Mabibo Environmental Management Society: A Case Study of

Solid Waste Management in Mabibo Ward, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 119� Gender Responsive Approaches in the Sustainable Lusaka

Programme, Zambia 123� Gender Responsive EPM in the Sustainable Chennai Project, India 127� Mothers’ Centres in Baden-Württemberg, Germany 131� The Latin American View of Gender Responsive Environmental

Planning, Chile 136� Projet Integre de Dalifort, Environnement et Amelioration du Cadre

de Vie, Dakar, Senegal 139� Vulgarisation de la Technologie de la Brique en Terre Stabilisee (BTS),

Conakry, République de Guinée 146

Part 3: References 157Workshop Statement on Gender Responsiveness for SustainableUrban Development 159Case Study Authors 165Inventory of Acronyms 169

7

ForewordThis Source Book on gender responsive urbanenvironmental planning and management (EPM) is asignificant contribution to the current internationaldialogue on gender and development and is built ondiscussions facilitated through the Urban EnvironmentForum (UEF). Today, it is generally accepted thaturban development is constrained by poormanagement rather than by lack of financial resourcesand technical expertise. The new challenge facingcities is to build better management capacities. ThisSource Book examines how a consistently genderresponsive approach to urban environmentalplanning and management will result in cities whichare economically more efficient, socially moreequitable and generally more sustainable.

This Gender Source Book draws on practical lessonsof experience to provide guidance and build thecapacities of not only gender specialists but alsodevelopment officers and city managers in genderresponsive environmental planning and management.

Gender responsive EPM addresses the specificneeds of women and men involved in or affected byurban development by fully incorporating the needsand possible contributions of all urban dwellers.Although cities and development agents are awareof general ‘gender issues’ and theoretical concepts

8


have been developed to ‘mainstream’ gender inprogrammes and projects, there are few documentedlessons of experience on gender responsiveness tourban issues at the field level. This Source Book isthe first of its kind to bring together on a global levelinformation on local experiences in genderresponsive EPM.

This initiative on gender responsive EPM was startedby the Sustainable Cities Programme (SCP), a jointprogramme of the United Nations Centre for HumanSettlements (UNCHS-Habitat) and the United NationsEnvironment Programme (UNEP), which works onurban environment matters. The Source Book isbased on the findings of an international workshopon gender responsive EPM held in Nairobi in 1998.Twenty case studies of local experiences in urbanmanagement formed the basis of the workshop whichbrought together city practitioners, internationalgender experts and partner programmes involved inurban issues from every continent.

This Source Book provides evidence of the widerange of challenges, initiatives and achievements ingender responsive environmental planning andmanagement worldwide. I believe that the variety andextent of city responses collected here will help citydwellers to focus their collective energy and know-how towards concrete improvements in the quality oflife – and sustainability – of human settlementseverywhere.

Dr. Klaus ToepferAg. Executive DirectorUnited Nations Centre for Human Settlements

9

IntroductionIntegrating gender-responsiveness in addressingurban issues has been widely recognised as animportant element in efficient urban planning andmanagement. Experience from cities show that lackof gender awareness in urban planning andmanagement can lead to poor decisions on strategiesand inefficient implementation of action plans.Improved capacities in gender responsiveenvironmental planning and management providemunicipal officers and other stakeholder groupsworking in the urban environment with a valuable -indeed an essential - addition to their repertoire ofurban environmental management skills. More genderresponsive environmental planning and managementalso supports better prioritisation of issues, and opensup non-traditional routes for mobilising resources andimproving implementation.

The idea of a Gender Responsive EnvironmentalPlanning and Management (EPM) Source Book wasraised in 1996 by the Sustainable Cities Programme(SCP), supported by the Dutch Government. Thisactivity connected the normative challenge ofmainstreaming gender awareness with the practicalissue of improving urban environmental planning andmanagement. A framework for the development of thetool was published under the title ‘Gender ResponsiveEPM: Get Involved’. This brochure was distributed

10


worldwide through programmes such as Citynet,Environment Liaison Centre International (ELCI), theFriedrich Ebert Foundation, German Corporation forTechnical Assistance (GTZ), UNCHS (Habitat) Womenand Habitat Programme and many other partners fromthe Urban Environment Forum (UEF).

The brochure called for experiences in genderresponsive EPM. Partners and cities collectedpractical experiences, describing them according toa commonly structured format. This provided anessential body of baseline information which wasshared at a three day international expert meeting.This event brought together over 80 participants from18 countries, drawn from city practitioners,international gender experts and partner programmesinvolved in urban issues. Participants sharedexperiences from their own cities and discussedissues, approaches and common principles for moregender responsive environmental planning andmanagement.

It is evident from city experiences that theimplementation of urban environment action plansand projects improves considerably if genderconcerns are appropriately and effectivelyincorporated in programme and project design.Gender responsiveness is a cross-cutting theme inenvironmental planning and management which, ifappropriately applied, leads to improved stakeholderinvolvement, better decision-making, more efficientaction-planning and implementation, and enhancedresource mobilisation. By institutionalising genderresponsive EPM, human settlements become fairerplaces for all their citizens.

11

Part 1Chapter 1

Environment, UrbanDevelopment and GenderChapter 2

M ainstreaming Gender in theEPM ProcessChapter 3

Gender Responsive EPM :Lessons Learnt and Challenges

12


13

Chapter 1

Environment, UrbanDevelopment andGenderHere we discuss the context and concepts necessaryfor understanding and discussing gender responsiveenvironmental planning and management, providingan overview of the environment-developmentrelationship, the framework of gender analysis,definitions of gender concepts, and outlining genderissues in Environmental Planning and Management(EPM). In order to efficiently plan and manage theurban environment, city managers and all stakeholdersmust have a common understanding and appreciationof how gender, environment and development arelinked and relate to each other.

The different ways in which women and men participatein and benefit from the management of cities aresignificantly shaped by prevailing constructions ofgender. This includes the construction of apparentnorms, expectations and institutional expressions.These constructions can facilitate or constrainequitable access to the social, economic and politicalresources of a city.

14


1.1 The Environment - DevelopmentRelationship

The environment and development are inextricablylinked to each other. Since the Brundtland Report of1987 and especially since the United NationsConference on Environment and Development in1992 (UNCED, the Earth Summit), environmentalissues have topped the social, economic and politicalagenda. The priority given to the environment isbased on the fact that well-managed environmentalresources are an essential prerequisite for humanhealth and well being. Equally, environmentaldeterioration and degradation directly impedes socio-economic development. Environmental hazards suchas flooding and landslides, and the inefficient useand depletion of natural resources leading to water,air and soil pollution not only raise input prices andoperating costs but also deter new investment andaffect well being (UNCHS/UNEP 1997). Both the 1992Earth Summit and the 1996 City Summit (Habitat II)acknowledged that social and economicadvancement is best served by productive andsustainable cities.

A sustainable city is a city where achievements insocial, economic and physical development are madeto last. A sustainable city has a lasting supply of thenatural resources on which its development depends,and it maintains a lasting security from environmentalhazards that threaten development achievements.

Agenda 21, agreed at UNCED ‘92, articulates thatefficient management of the urban environmentrequires cross-sectoral coordination, decentralisationof decision-making and broad-based participatoryapproaches. This idea of broad stakeholderparticipation has revolutionised thinking aboutenvironmental management and sustainability. Theactivities of city residents shape the city itself, andtherefore their active participation in theenvironmental planning and management process ofthe city is vital.

15

1.2 Understanding EnvironmentalPlanning and M anagement (EPM )

Achieving sustainable development requires all actorsto recognise the interconnectedness of environmentand development activities and to remember that eachof their activities interacts with several environmentalresources either positively or negatively. As thenumber of those living in urban areas continues torise, urban management efforts are increasinglychallenged by environmental deterioration.

Across the globe cities are struggling to improve theirenvironmental planning and management capacities.New approaches are evolving, and among these oneof the most successful is the new developmentparadigm jointly promoted by UNCHS (Habitat) andUNEP. This new paradigm, environmental planningand management (EPM), is based on the premise thatcities can enhance their environmental planning andmanagement capacities by:

� improving environmental information andtechnical expertise;

� improving environmental strategies and decisionmaking;

� improving effective implementation ofenvironmental strategies;

� institutionalising environmental planning andmanagement; and

� making more efficient use of resources foreffecting change.

1.3 Understanding Gender Concepts

The term gender refers to the relations between menand women and not simply to women’s issues. Genderrefers to the socially constructed roles ascribed towomen and men at a particular time and place. Genderroles are learnt and vary widely between cultures.Gender roles can change. They are categorisationsbased on social processes and are not necessarilyconnected to biological sexual differences. The“women in development” (WID) approach tended tomarginalise women’s issues by isolating them from

16


the broader social process of development. The“gender and development” (GAD) approach looks atwomen and men but recognises and targetsinequalities, which it aims to correct.

1.3.1 Gender roles and relations

Gender roles and relations describe all the sociallygiven attributes, roles and activities associated withbeing male or female in a given society. They arederived from concerns over relationships betweenmen and women in their social setting. Gender rolesand relations:

� focus on the socially constructed roleexpectations for men and women in diversesettings;

� focus on what women and men do and thedifferences in access to and control overincome and other resources;

� spell out power relations between women andmen in different activity settings;

� reveal the underprivileged status of women andtheir relative deprivation in various sectors oflivelihood compared to their male counterparts.

1.3.2 Gender sensitivity

This means being sensitive to the needs of womenand men, boys and girls. The ultimate goal is toachieve equity or equality. Gender sensitivity entailssearching, considering and accommodating socialrelations between women and men in their context,in any analysis of policy, planning and programming.

1.3.3 M ainstreaming gender

Mainstreaming gender makes gender a routineconcern in development processes in organisationsand policies. The United Nations defines GenderMainstreaming as the process of assessing theimplications for women and men of any plannedaction, including legislation, policies and

17

programmes, in any area and at all levels. Its ultimategoal is gender equality (access to resources,opportunities and rewards of labour) with the objectiveof ensuring a positive impact on women and men andbridging gender disparities.

1.3.4 Practical gender needs

Practical gender needs are issues addressed to assistwomen in their existing subordinate position in society.They do not challenge the rooted gender division oflabour or women’s subordinate position in society,which are instead addressed by strategic genderneeds. Practical gender needs respond to animmediate perceived necessity and often areconcerned with inadequate living conditions, such asprovision of housing and basic services such as water,health care, family food, and employment. Men alsohave practical gender needs, for example, where theyare expected to be breadwinners.

1.3.5 Strategic gender needs

Strategic gender needs challenge existing and unfairsubordinate relationships between women and menfor strategic reasons. They relate, for example, togendered division of labour, power and control, andmay include issues such as legal rights, propertycontrol/ownership, domestic violence, and women’scontrol over their bodies.

1.3.6 Gender analysis

Gender analysis is a critical examination of humanity,including women, men, girls, and boys in thedevelopment process. Gender analysis ensures thatconsideration is given to the different needs of womenand men at all levels of policy, planning andprogramming. Gender analysis:

� highlights the relationship between women andmen in society and the inequities in therelationships at each level of activities;

� presents activities and relationships using datato clarify: Who does what? Who owns, and/orcontrols what? Who decides what? Who gains

18


what and who loses what? Which women? Whichmen?

� examines economic relations between womenand men, how economic relations affect genderrelations in households, communities, markets,states and civil society and/or in projects,programmes, sectoral and macro policies;

� highlights the key differences between incentivesand constraints under which men and womenwork.

The insights gained through gender analysis are usedto tailor development processes in order to improveproductivity and ensure sustainability.

1.3.7 Indices: Gender-related DevelopmentIndex (GDI) and Gender EmpowermentM easure (GEM )

Traditionally, human development has been perceivedand measured in terms of Gross National Product (GNP)and per capita income. This method to a large extentexcluded the contribution of women, mostly withinhouseholds and in agriculture. The HumanDevelopment Index (HDI), introduced by the UnitedNations Development Programme (UNDP) measuresthe average achievement of a country in basic humancapabilities. It indicates whether people lead a long life,are educated and knowledgeable and enjoy a decentliving environment. It examines the average conditionof all people in a country, including distributionalinequalities for various groups within society.

The recent Gender-related Development Index (GDI)and Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) bring theissue of gender on board. GDI considers equality inachievement between women and men, whereasGEM examines whether women and men are able toactively participate in economic and political life andtake part in decision- making. In countries where theseinstruments have been applied, they have revealedthe position and performance of women and men,thereby enabling informed interventions. The genderresponsive EPM approach complements theseindexes.

19

A Gender Analysis of a Women’s Income GeneratingProject in Jordan.

A traditional activity: production of handmade rugs was used asthe basis for a cash income-generating project for low-incomewomen. The project was based in Madaba city in the south ofJordan. Project beneficiaries were 1600 low-income women inMadaba and surrounding suburbs. The women were wives andunmarried daughters still living with their families.

The project area normally suffers severe water shortages.Agricultural activities consist of farming: keeping small livestockand planting olive trees. Traditionally, men, who are also expectedto be the breadwinners for the family, carry out these activities.

One positive outcome of the project� Women’s incomes were significantly increased, thereby meeting

a strategic gender need of women.

Many negative outcomes of the project� The project failed to recognise a possible conflict between

women’s traditional reproductive role of providing the familywith food, water and general care and nurturing, and their newproductive role as income earners. This resulted, in increasedworkloads and stress for women, as well as marital conflict.

� The project almost totally ignored men’s traditional productiverole as the main or sole cash provider for the family’s upkeep,and the serious consequences on the “authority figure” role ofthe man, when men were unable to be the breadwinner.

� Further, attempts to address women’s productive (incomeearning) needs jeopardised men’s productive roles by pollutingthe land and water, needed for the men’s agricultural work.Here we observe the competing interests of two stakeholdergroups that are not only drawn along gender lines, but also leadto competing use of natural resources and gender-specificimpact of the environmental consequences of the project.

� The project was insensitive to traditional men-women powerrelations and the socially assigned priority roles of each. Bycatapulting women into cash earning activities withoutadequate preparation of women or men, women lost theiresteem as wives and mothers, and men theirs as fathers andmain providers for families

20


� By undermining men’s bread winner roles at a time whenwomen’s incomes were rising, the project undermined theauthority figure role of the men; which is re-enforced by theirincome earning ability. This led to household tensions andconflict, including wife beating, separations and divorce.

� Children suffered from the projects’ lack of support for women’schild caring role (this was addressed later in the project);

� Ironically, when women started earning more, a lot of pressurewas placed on them to buy luxury items (e.g. television sets)and to provide for even nonessential needs of unemployed men(cigarettes and trips to the cinema);

� Ironically, again, a belated attempt to address men’s “need” tobe authority figures was provided through the projectemploying men as accountants and administrators. Womenwere not offered these opportunities in the project.

If this project had been introduced as part of a comprehensiveSustainable Madaba Programme and Gender-aware EPM had beenapplied, low incomes would have been identified as one of theproblems affecting family well being. A gender analysis of thiswould have revealed that women and men have different culturallyassigned roles related to the family’s well being. Identification ofall stakeholders and recognition of where they needed to bedisaggregated by sex would have resulted in involvement andeffective participation of all relevant actors leading to reflectionof their needs in the project design. The project would have alsosupported women’s reproductive role by planning for child care andsensitising men to new demands on women’s time. Further aproper environment analysis (resources versus users) would haveidentified the general problem of water shortage and theconflicting interests between women’s new, and men’s existingdemands on natural resources (water and soil). Subsequently, thiswould have led to damage prevention measures at the outset,rather than control as an after thought. The gender analysiswould also have led the community to reflect on the social roles ofmen and women and their mutual obligations, laying the foundationfor cooperation as well as change to benefit both.

A Gender Analysis of a Women’s Income GeneratingProject in Jordan, cont’d

21

1.4 Gender ResponsiveEnvironmental Planning andM anagement (EPM )

1.4.1 Linking gender and environment

Most analyses on gender and environmentconcentrate on the situation of women. This has ahistorical context. In many societies, women have theresponsibility of ensuring, for example, that fuel andwater are available and that pollution levels are wellmanaged in their homes and around their settlements.This traditional burden on women is not reflected intheir participation in planning and decision-making.This bias is evident in the city experiences upon whichChapter Two is built.

Although both women and men are exposed toenvironmental degradation in cities, women andchildren have been observed to face greater adverseeffects, particularly in settlements which lackappropriate sanitary facilities, because they spendmore time in the home and neighbourhood. Theirhouseholds are exposed to health problems, therebyplacing an extra burden on the household.

As women tend to spend more time within and aroundthe households, they have constantly to deal withenvironmental issues around them. They are also theprimary providers for household necessities such asbuilding materials, food, domestic fuel and health care.As women undertake these tasks they come into directcontact with the state of the urban environment anddevelopment. While a number of basic necessitiesare assumed to be available within urban areas,experiences show the contrary. For example, energyand control of pollution which should be largelyprovided for in planning is frequently inadequatelyconsidered, especially within informal settlementswhere in many cases the majority of the populationare women. It is therefore important that women’sinterests be considered and integrated in all policies,plans and programmes relating to environmentalplanning and management.

22


City planning expects urban residents to live in properly planned residentialunits, with basic provision for fuel, water and sanitation facilities.Households are expected to be able to afford fuel in form of oil, gas orelectricity. However, this is rarely the case within both high density andinformal crowded settlements where women struggle to purchase food andlook for water and fuel. While women are often able to produce their own foodin rural areas, in urban informal settlements they rarely have access topieces of land to undertake kitchen gardening. In the case of fuel, mostfamilies use charcoal and fuel-wood which are still expensive for low incomefamilies, hard to get and often prohibited by urban planning regulations.

From a woman’s point of view the residential value of an area is based chieflyon the availability and accessibility of amenities and facilities. This includesthe scope and quality of services, shops, available jobs, day care for children,places for them to play, and public transport routes. In the area of safety,studies have shown that ‘safety’ has an influence on the choice of routes andtransport modes women use, particularly in the dark hours.

The participation of women has to be enabled byincorporating their different perspectives, needs,demands, ideas and visions in overall urban planningand management. It is essential that they beeffectively involved in decisions on all issues relatingto managing the urban environment for the purposesof achieving more sustainable development.

Gender responsive EPM calls for a critical review ofthe common trend whereby men tend to participatein planning and decision-making while women by andlarge are purely involved in implementation. Bothwomen and men know how their surroundingenvironment should be planned in order to meet therequirements of the household and the largercommunity. This knowledge must be integrated intourban environmental planning and management.Gender responsive EPM encourages the equalparticipation of women and men in the decision-making process. It accommodates their differentneeds and views in managing the environmentalresources on which they depend and the hazardsaffecting them.

23

1.4.2 Linking gender and sustainability

Equity, efficiency and productivity, the keycomponents of sustainability, are closely related andfeed into each other. Participatory processes, suchas EPM, lead to greater equity in terms of roles, andaccess to and control of resources and are conduciveto growth and sustainable development.

Efficiency and equity approaches have emerged asan issue because over the years women have beeneither side-lined or under-utilised. Their exclusionfrom mainstream development involvement has ledto reduced general productivity. Gender responsiveEPM corrects this situation by ensuring that womenand men effectively participate in addressing urbanenvironmental issues.

Gender responsive EPM equity advocates for thebalanced allocation, management and utilisation ofavailable resources. It promotes women’s access toequal opportunities, and the elimination of all barriersto socio-economic and political opportunities. Genderequity calls for a reorganisation of the gender divisionof labour and decision-making processes. Althoughwomen play a vital role in reproductive activities andmaintaining their families and households, they beara disproportionate share of poverty. They have beendisadvantaged in access to resources and effectivelyparticipating in development.

Efficient management of urban services has to moveaway from conventional over-reliance on central andlocal government as the main providers andmanagers: the state is increasingly ‘rolling back’ andreducing its role in provision of these services.Conventional urban services management tends tooverlook the mobilisation and involvement ofstakeholders and therefore sustainability of its resultsis debatable. It leaves potential resources, especiallythe skills and knowledge of women unutilised or under-utilised.

Income generation is a prerequisite for urban growth,efficient management, and general developmentbecause it provides revenue to support urbanservices and future development. An urban area with

24


a large population but without adequate sources ofincome can neither sustain its population nor itself.Productivity is therefore key to the goal ofsustainability and efficient management of urbanservices. All urban residents, women and men, shouldhave the opportunity to be engaged in activities whichboth generate and raise incomes. In comparativelyless developed regions such as Asia, Africa and LatinAmerica, a high percentage of urban residents areengaged in the informal sector. This sector has a highpercentage of women and provides substantialincomes and employment, albeit inadequate, to themajority. Most of those engaged in informal economicactivities do not make adequate income to sustainthemselves and their households. They have hardlyany surplus to support necessary urban services andinfrastructure. The constraints to their operationssuch as working environment, policies, regulationsand procedures and other issues such as availabilityof credit facilities, training and management skillsmust be addressed.

Sustainability means that access to opportunities mustbe ensured not only for the present generation butfor future generations as well. Resources - physical,human and environmental – are not unlimited, andtherefore must be managed carefully. Thepreconditions for achieving socially sustainabledevelopment are to recognise and support thedifferent roles, resources, needs and interests ofwomen and men.

1.4.3 Gender Responsive EnvironmentalPlanning and M anagement (EPM )

The overall goal of gender responsive EPM is theachievement of efficiency, equity, productivity andthus sustainability through the involvement of womenand men at all levels in addressing urbanenvironmental issues. Experiences from cities showthat woman and men are differently affected byenvironmental issues and therefore have differentperspectives, needs, demands and ideas. This makesgender a significant variable in dealing withenvironmental issues, and any planning and decisionmaking which aims to not only be equitable but also

25

efficient and productive must not remain in the handsof one gender.

Involving women and men through a genderresponsive EPM process is expected to lead to moreeffective urban environmental planning and areduction in the costs of environmental improvementinitiatives. Accommodating gender needs offers achance to target investments more precisely and toavoid planning mistakes and imperfections. Providingforums for gathering views and encouraging debateon gender responsive EPM also incorporates genderinterests into strategic planning and puts genderresponsive measures into practice.

The gender responsive EPM process recognises andaccommodates the differing access to, control anduse of resources by women and men. It recognisesthat women and men experience and react toenvironmental issues differently. Gender responsiveEPM helps cities to identify and describe ways thatcan effectively achieve sustainable developmentthrough taking gender issues into consideration. Agender responsive EPM process is characterised bythe following approaches:

� Improving environment information and technicalexpertise by collecting and using genderdisaggregated data;

� Improving environmental strategies and decisionmaking by involving all relevant stakeholders,with particular emphasis on gender balance inanalysing problems and policy options;

� Improving effective implementation ofenvironmental strategies through the applicationof a broad range of options, such as regulations,incentives, investment programmes and publicinformation campaigns;

� Enhancing institutional capacities by, forexample, adopting a firm legal framework thatpromotes broad-based and gender balancedparticipation in decision-making; and

26


� Making more efficient use of scarce resourcesfor changing the status quo by improvingcooperation and networking between existingprogrammes and projects, and by focusing onlocal and community based activities.

In introducing gender responsiveness to the EPMprocess it is helpful to cross-cut the EPM processelements (information and stakeholder involvement;strategy formulation and decision-making;implementation and action plans; and institution-alisation) with concrete environmental issues (airpollution, sanitation, transport) and the principles ofsustainability (social equity in the distribution ofdevelopment benefits and costs; economic efficiencyin the use of scarce development resources; andproductivity in the urban economy in the provision ofgoods and services).

Cross-cutting EPM elements with concrete issuesfacilitates the analysis of gender responsiveenvironmental planning and management fromvarious angles in order to ensure a multidimensionaldiscourse among participants. Efficiency ensures theoptimum utilisation of scarce resources, includinghuman resource - women and men; equity enablesthe fair sharing of the benefits and constraints ofurban development with a full participation of womenand men; and productivity optimises the provision ofgoods and services, particularly in the informal sectorwhere women play a major role. In turn, sustainabilityensures that the future needs of women and menare not compromised by present demands. Indeed,the underlying goals of sustainable urbandevelopment are equal access to social amenities;efficient management of urban services; and incomegenerating activities for urban productivity.

27

EPM ProcessElements

ConcreteEnvironmental

Issues

Principles ofSustainability

Introduction ofgender

responsiveEnvironmentalPlanning andM anagement

28


29

Chapter 2

M ainstreaming Genderin the EPM ProcessGender mainstreaming and institutionalisation in theEPM process is key to ensuring efficient use ofresources and sustainability. The process ensuresthat the gender dimension is fully considered and thatgender sensitivity and responsiveness are part of theprocess right from conceptualisation through torealisation of the final outcome of EPM activities.

This section draws information both from the casestudies, presented in short case examples (‘blips’),and from the outputs of the International Workshopon Gender Responsive EPM (Nairobi, 1998) on:

� Gender responsive stakeholder involvement;� Gender disaggregated data;� Facilitating gender responsive strategy

formulation and decision-making;� Gender responsive action planning and

resource mobilisation for effectiveimplementation; and

� Institutionalising gender responsive EPM andmeasuring progress.

30


2.1 Gender responsive stakeholderinvolvem ent

Gender responsive stakeholder involvement is keyin gender responsive EPM. It provides the opportunitythrough different forums for women and men toparticipate fully in environmental planning andmanagement. The forums create an opportunity forparticipants to identify the different needs andopinions of women and men, and to discuss,understand, clarify and resolve conflicts relating tourban environmental planning and management.

Gender responsive EPM ensures that women andmen drawn from public sector officials, community-based organisations (CBOs), non- governmentalorganisations (NGOs), and private organisationseffectively participate in environmental planning andmanagement. It also contributes to betterunderstanding of the roles and responsibilities of across section of potential actors and collaborators.In turn, planned tasks aimed at addressingenvironmental planning and management have ahigher chance of being ‘owned’ and addressed by allstakeholders.

Stakeholder forums take different forms dependingon the city and its context. They can be in form of cityconsultations, workshops, conferences, periodicmeetings between urban managers and other stake-holders, panel discussions and working committeesamong others. In organising forums for stakeholder

participation, women’sroles have to be consid-ered and appropriatemethods of participationdesigned.

The capacity of all stake-holders to participate indecision-making shouldnot be automatically as-sumed. Cities have ob-served that women’s par-ticipation in decision-mak-ing is hindered by inad-

31

equate employment opportunities, multiple responsi-bilities, low levels of education, cultural attitudes andinferiority complexes. These factors limit the partici-pation of women in environmental planning and mustbe addressed by cities and urban managers. In or-der to ensure the full participation of women in EPM,the timing, day and venue of meetings and/or train-ing have to be considered, as well as the language inwhich the meeting will be held and the provision ofrelevant services, such as childcare have to be takeninto consideration in order to ensure the full partici-pation of women.

Conventional approaches tend to set times andvenues for meetings, especially during the initialplanning stages without critical consideration of theroles, responsibilities and daily routines of women. Inmost cases this approach excludes women, who getinvolved mostly at the implementation stage. In genderresponsive EPM, gender involvement, includinggender expertise, should be fully considered right fromthe initial stage of policy development through toplanning and programme activities.

In cases where gender disaggregated data shows thatparticipatory capacity is lacking, especially amongwomen, city managers have to facilitate training andempowerment of stakeholders to enable theirparticipation in issues affecting them. In some citieswomen-centred discussions and demonstrations areheld to sensitise women on environmental issuesbefore any serious planning takes place, and in somecases where men dominate discussions, separatewomen’s and men’s workshops are conducted. Urbanmanagers should bear in mind that stakeholders donot only need to be identified and mobilised but alsotrained and empowered in cases where capacity islacking. In some cases legislation has to be reviewedto allow informed, constructive and effectiveparticipation.


32

Ibadan, Nigeria: In capacity building for urban povertyalleviation in Ibadan, the city consultation broughttogether 300 stakeholders drawn from the militaryadministration, members of the state executivecouncil, traditional rulers, government officials,industrialists, unionists, CBOs and UNDPrepresentatives to participate in identification andprioritisation of urban environmental issues. This forumprovided an opportunity for participants to gain abetter understanding of the roles and responsibilitiesof a cross section of potential actors.

The training on skills development enhanced women’scapacity to freely discuss and challenge genderinequality in access to resources, analysed genderconstraints, and suggested measures for addressingimbalances and constraints. The training has resultedin the formation of a market association that has andreflections on what has to be changed and why. Duringthe utopia phase they develop a new vision of an idealcity which clearly defines what they believe is neededto feel at home – to be safe, healthy and happy as acitizen. The realisation phase discusses how theseideals can be achieved. Expert skills are used during allthese stages.

Hamburg, Germany: An advisory council made up ofwomen invited women living in project areas to a roundtable discussion on a ‘women’s city’. Questions wereraised on how to improve the urban environment tomake it more compatible with women’s lifestyles andallow freedom of movement as far as the use of publicspaces is concerned. This round table provided adialogue forum for women and took into considerationthe fact that women’s gender-specific interests maybe as different as their patterns of life. The differentphases in the life of women were taken into account bydefining a typology of women’s patterns usingvariables like household and income. Once thisinformation was gathered, it was analysed by genderexperts and discussed again by women.

Patan City (Kathmandu), Nepal: A communitymeeting for stakeholders identified the major existingproblems in the community as well as the potential


33

actors to address the problems. Further consultations, using participatorymethodology, were held with a number of stakeholders: women’s groups, communityelders, and several other groups and individuals, both women and men. Theseconsultations revealed male dominance in leadership, which undermined the role ofwomen and “frustrated” the sanitation improvements. Consultation withstakeholders provided forums for airing views and resolving conflicts and resultedin the formation of a women’s saving group and separate training for women.

Kampala, Uganda: A programme on promoting household sanitation organised atwo-day participatory planning workshop which brought stakeholders together. Thestakeholders included local leaders, female council representatives, CBOs, opinionleaders, landlords and district environment and health workers. The stakeholdersidentified the major environmental problems by constructing a problem treeoutlining causes and effects. Sanitation was identified as the major problem, andstakeholders subsequently formulated objectives and activities, for addressingthe problem.

The gender division of labour for each activity was outlined taking intoconsideration gender patterns in work activities, the interrelationship betweenwomen and men, time allocation, activity locus, access to and control of resourcesrelevant for carrying out the activities and access and control over benefitsderived from mobilisation of resources.

Amman, Jordan: A programme for poverty alleviation demonstrated the effectsof the lack of relevant stakeholder involvement in environmental planning andmanagement. Planning income generation activities for women did not involve theirmale counterparts and this led to a clash of interests between what the projectachieved for women (it generated income from cottage industries) and its impacton the male members of the community. The men complained that the wastewaterfrom the industries run by women polluted the agricultural land cultivated by men.They also complained of women spending a large portion of their time on theindustries and ignoring them, their children and other household duties andresponsibilities. Effective stakeholder involvement during the planning phases ofthe project could have prevented such problems.

Green Towns Project, Kenya: The participants in the Training of Trainers (TOTs)are drawn from stakeholders including Government Ministries, Local Authorities,Universities and NGOs. Through the Ministry of Local Authorities’ Urban Planningand Environmental Unit, the TOT graduates act as agents of change as theyconduct Participatory Environmental Planning (PEP) workshops using videos andparticipatory ‘who suffers most’ exercises. Participants identify environmentalproblems, their causes, effects and solutions. The workshops emphasise enhancedactive participation of women.

34


2.2 Importance of genderdisaggregated information andqualitative data from women andm en

Gender disaggregated information provides thenecessary basis for gender analysis and genderresponsive EPM. This issue specific information iscollected and presented along gender lines, whereapplicable, making clear the impact of environmentalissues and development activities on women andmen. Gender disaggregated data is collected whereissues affect men and women differently, and is alsoimportant in assessing if issues affect men andwomen differently. Gender disaggregated data andqualitative data include diagnosis of roles, access toand control over resources, constraints and needs.It includes information on households, householdtypes and composition, and who does what within thehousehold. Gender considerations in EPM have tostart at the data collection stage, for example duringthe development of an environmental profile. Thecollected data has to be connective, well organisedand easily accessible. For efficient environmentalplanning, information has to be updated as newinformation becomes available.

Gender disaggregated information is important for plan-ning and greatly contributes to stakeholders identify-

ing with the projects andprogrammes. Throughgender disaggregated in-formation, different percep-tions regarding environ-mental resources and haz-ards versus developmentactivities, infrastructureneeds and facilities are re-corded, compiled, ana-lysed and used for genderresponsive planning.

Collecting gender disag-gregated information ena-bles the analysis of gen-

35

der issues through activity profiling exercises. Thismethod enables a diagnosis of how women and menaddress environmental issues. Historically, women donot expressed themselves openly. In gender respon-sive EPM, all family and community members are in-volved and are free to express themselves in pro-gramme activities. City experiences show that suchinvolvement reduces the likelihood of conflicts of in-terest and priorities among stakeholder groups.

Effective collection of gender disaggregated data usesmethodologies which capture the situation of women.While both quantitative and qualitative methods canbe used, the latter is more appropriate for ensuringthat women’s thinking and needs are integrated inenvironmental planning and management. Informationgathering and dissemination takes place through anumber of channels: participant observation;participatory rapid appraisals (PRA); bulletins;workshops; surveys and/or monitoring of particularlocal situations; exchange visits among cities; thepromotion of networks of users; and sharing cityexperiences, methodologies and training skills.

Experience has shown that research methods suchas observation and using unstructured interviewshelped in getting to know communities and theirproblems. Community-based collection of informationthrough appropriate management informationsystems is useful for gathering information fromwomen. Informal interaction with women, includingadvance visits before using participatorymethodologies such as Focus Group Discussions(FGDs), and extended interviews without formalsurvey instruments are also effective in gettinginformation from women.

It is important to be aware of how cities are addressingthe issue of information availability, its form and howit is shared. Experiences from cities show manydifferent levels of information availability and usage.In some cities information is available but is notdisaggregated nor made available from one unit toanother. In others, available information is not in aform which can be readily or effectively utilised, whilein other cities adequate information does not exist.


36

Appropriate planning requires that genderdisaggregated information be consistently gathered,synthesised, compiled and shared among all keyactors and participating institutions. Information whichis not disaggregated and is not compiled and storedin the right form may not be useful for efficient genderresponsive EPM. In such cases, further informationgathering has to be done with the support of genderresponsive technical experts and stakeholders. Theyhave to be conversant with the issues beingaddressed and a significant percentage must be ableto apply a gender analysis.

Lusaka, Zambia: In the Sustainable LusakaProgramme, in order to have first hand information onwomen, men, children and youth, the programmecollects gender disaggregated data usingparticipatory methodologies. Through residentdevelopment committees and zonal consultations,general problems are identified and environmentalissues prioritised. The programme produces a monthlybulletin which explains environmental issues and theprogramme process. The programme intends to have acolumn in the bulletin focusing on gender andenvironment. It will create awareness on theimportance of involving women and men in dealing withenvironmental issues.

Heidelberg, Germany: The Future Workshops hasinitiated a number of activities, including carrying outsurveys and using universities with women and youthassisting in gathering information on the urbanenvironment and women’s needs within theenvironment. The data gathered on women’sperspectives and visions (documented separately inthe report: “Women’s Perspective in UrbanDevelopment in Heidelberg”, to be obtained throughthe Heidelberg City Administration) served as usefulinformation in the planning process. It wasincorporated into the amendments for the citydevelopment plan and was used as a basic resource. Asa result the ‘City Development Plan 2010 - Goals and

37

Principles’ recognised women’s needs and visions andthe city managers are ensuring their implementation.

Kampala, Uganda: A programme on promotingimproved household sanitation used a number ofmethods (field interviews, informal dialogue, FocusGroup Discussions, observations and planningworkshops) to collect information on the attitudes,beliefs and values of women and men on theimportance of sanitation activities. They identifiedmajor environmental problems in the community, andopportunities and constraints for women’sinvolvement. A gender division of labour for eachactivity was outlined, taking into consideration genderroles, time allocation, location of activities, and accessto and control of programme benefits among others.This participatory process produced a clear picture ofthe gender division of labour and resources. Theconsensus-building between women and men alsohelped to develop a sense of ownership andcommitment leading to better implementation andsustainability.

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: A case study of MabiboEnvironmental Management Society shows the use ofparticipatory methodologies (observation andparticipatory techniques) in involving stakeholders inenvironmental planning and management. The MabiboEnvironmental Management Society collected data onthe consequences and extent of uncollected garbagein neighbourhoods and also determined whether andhow women and men were affected differently. TheMabibo Environmental Management Societysubsequently set up a pilot project. By employing bothwomen and men, the project has challenged theprevious notion that while the responsibility for thehousehold waste is relegated to women at thehousehold level, wherever it becomes an income earningopportunity with paid labour, it is strictly for men.

38


2.3 Facilitating gender sensitivestrategy formulation anddecision making

Once cities have identified their environmental issues,they must take a number of steps. They must clarifyissue-specific policy options, consider implementationoptions and resources, build broad-based consensuson issue-specific objectives and strategies, andcoordinate environmental and other developmentstrategies.

Facilitating gender responsive strategy formulationand decision-making entails making sure that bothwomen and men are effectively involved in identifyingthe major environmental problems, their causes,effects, and the selected action aimed at bringingchange. Since women and men are responsible fordifferent tasks, gender responsive strategyformulation and decision-making takes intoconsideration the social, economic and political needsof both women and men during the process.Education and exposure to gender issues andanalysis, including use of the media, has to beundertaken to enable the formulation of strategiesand informed decisions. Alternatively, external gendersensitive experts can be included in the strategyformulation and decision-making process.

Gender responsive EPM recognises that women aretraditionally not involved in the planning stage ofprojects. Instead women largely participate at the im-

plementation level of theproject cycle. Over theyears this lack of involve-ment at the planning stagehas meant that women’sinterests, especially theirmultiple roles and contribu-tions to development activi-ties, have not being ad-equately planned and ca-tered for. Such planningprocesses tend to ignorethat women, as producersand managers, are key

39

stakeholders in all aspects of urban development policyand practice.

To a large extent women and men have different viewson urban issues and on how to address these issues.For example, in most urban informal settlement, whilemen would suggest an extension of the water systems,women would be more concerned about the number oftaps and the number of households that would beserved by the water system. Indeed, if given a chance,women tend to highlight women- specific issues suchas the aforementioned or the effect of uncollectedgarbage on children.

In order to ensure equity, gender interests have tobe incorporated into the strategic planning andgender responsive measures put into practice.Gender responsive strategy formulation has toaddress urban deficiencies, especially time-consuming, household related urban activities whichlimit women’s effective participation in other economicareas. An effective strategy formulation should identifyand modify structures in order to enhance generalproductivity in the areas of income earning,reproductive activities, the organisation of thehousehold, and daily life. Overall, greater productivityis achieved in the urban planning process if itresponds to both women’s and men’s needs and ifthese needs are incorporated right from the beginningof the planning process. This also ensures theprocess leads to user-friendly areas and a moresustainable environment.

Responding to gender needs offers a chance to applyEPM more precisely and to avoid planning mistakesand imperfections. Separate and joint forums forwomen and men, as needed, have to be created forsuggestions and debates on gender responsive urbanplanning. Direct and representative inputs must beobtained from women and gender sensitive planningexperts during the planning process, and theperspectives, ideas and visions of women need to bean integral part of strategy formulation and decision-making.


40

Stuttgart, Germany: The Mothers’ Platform has created Mothers’ Centreswhich provide channels for grassroots participation in local governance. Theyprovide meeting venues that are accessible to women, where everydayexperiences, talents and expertise are tapped, consolidated and channelled intothe decision-making process. The centres are not intimidating and the focus is noton problems of women and their deficiencies but on their strengths and talents.The centres reach between 50 - 500 families in the neighbourhood and havemoved women from isolation to a central place in decision-making. ThroughMothers’ Platforms, women support each other, develop problem-solvingstrategies, exchange experiences in dealing with Local Authorities, and getclarification of issues and procedures they do not receive without being treatedas clients. In the Schrammberg Mothers’ Centre women have created a monthlypolitical forum within the Mothers’ Centre that is visited by politicians. Thisprovides an opportunity for women to reflect on issues of environmental concernand to contribute to decisions relating to them. In the Leinenfelden-EchterdingenMothers’ Centre, women meet once a year with the mayor and three times a yearwith local politicians from all parties to debate issues affecting families, childrenand women themselves. In Salem, the city council refers any inquiries or requeststhey are approached with that concern women, families and children to the localMothers’ Centre for review. If the issue is thought relevant by the Mother Centreit is taken on the city council agenda.

Ismailia, Egypt; Chennai, India: In the Sustainable Ismailia Governorate Project,women make up over 30% of issue specific working groups for the top priorityissues. The Sustainable Chennai Project has ensured gender responsive urbanplanning and management, by sensitising the Tamil Nadu Government. TheGovernment has now assured the programme of one-third representation in theAction Committees will be female. Inclusion of women in these cities is expectedto make women more involved in policy formulation and general decision-making.

Hamburg, Germany: During a strategy formulation phase in Hamburg, a series of‘city dialogues’ were held. One of these were a public ‘city dialogue’ of women, wherethe first draft concept on urban development was discussed by interested womenin working groups. Women’s participation in strategy formulation and decisionmaking has resulted in their recognition by the Planning Authority. Women’sprofessional expertise and participation as local experts has also beenacknowledged. Architects and urban planners have been trained through classesand workshops on gender responsive planning. People who have undergone thistraining organise conferences which discuss experiences with different forms ofinstitutionalised participation of women and gender experts. A strategy for amultidimensional model of institutionalisation of professional women’sparticipation in urban environmental planning emerged out of these forums.

Hue City, Vietnam: Women’s initiatives in environmental protection have put inplace structures for gender participation which include Municipalities assisted by

41

a steering committee and Community Management Units (CPMUs). At eachlevel of programme management, there is a representative of the Hue CityWomen’s Union. The woman representative is a permanent executive who ischiefly responsible for the management of the programme and also acts ascoordinator between beneficiaries, political leaders and professional experts.The management structure of the environmental protection programmefacilitates an interactive relationship between the Women’s Union, whichrepresents local women and political leaders as well as professional experts. Theinteractive relationship enhances gender responsive decision-making andwomen’s management capacity in planning and development.

Patan (Kathmandu), Nepal: The Lonhla Community has devised usercommittees with a fair representation of both women and men to addressenvironmental problems. The participation of women in the user committees hasimproved the situation of women and enhanced their capacity to participate indiscussions, raising issues and also making decisions. The user committeesmeet weekly to discuss various aspects of the project. Training on leadership,accounting, skill development and entrepreneurship is provided to women insavings groups. The training has equipped women with skills, improved theirworking relations with men in the user committees, and also helped in buildingtheir confidence in decision-making. Women have played a key role in resolvingconflicts between Patan and the neighbouring farming community over thelaying of water pipes and the threat of sewerage blockage. Women were at theforefront in calling for meetings for conflict resolution. They organised about 65formal and informal meetings during the planning, conflict resolution, andconstruction phases of the project. They consulted formally and informally withthe affected communities, calmed down the men to look at the matterspeacefully, and sought agreeable solutions for all stakeholders.

Conakry, Guinee: The Association of Women Engineers of Guinee (AFIG)formed partnerships with other Women’s Non-governmental Organisations.Together they carried out technical studies of construction projects forschools, fish smoking centres and godowns. The technical studies involvedmaking decisions on the choice of institutions or economic enterprises toput up in the areas, their planning, actual construction, management andfollow-up actions and services. Women were given the role of trainers in thedifferent women’s groups that had been formed. Their efforts were aimed atpopularising the production and use of earth bricks (BTS) in theconstruction of buildings. Through this process women were involved inmaking decisions on the type of training to be given to different groups, onthe choice of equipment to be used, and on the overall management of thetraining activities.

42


2.4 Gender responsive actionplanning and resourcemobilisation for effectiveim plem entation

Action planning and resource mobilisation for effectiveimplementation calls for the active participation andcoordination of all stakeholders. During the actionplanning stage the stakeholders are invited tocontribute and make commitments for providingnecessary resources such as time, finance andmaterials. During this stage stakeholders are alsoasked to clarify their environmental planning andmanagement goals and objectives. Working groupsare expected to lobby various identified stakeholdersto mobilise resources.

Women and men play a role in identifying the rightstructures for planning and implementation and haveto be well represented in such structures. Oncestructures are in place, tasks and roles have to besynchronised with time plans. These must suit

women. In doing this, the interests ofactors have to be defined in order toavoid duplication and also resolveand/or manage conflict. In effectivegender responsive EPM actionplanning and resource mobilisation,women take an active role.

Gender responsiveness in actionplanning and resource mobilisationaims to reverse the trend of passivegender participation and ensure thatwomen have inputs in establishingstructures for planning andimplementation, and that theycontribute and participate directly indesigning action plans, mobilisingresources and implementation. Themere inclusion of some women inplanning and implementationstructures does not amount togender responsive EPM. It is theactual contribution and participationwhich counts and which results in the

43

interests of both sexes being addressed in planningand implementation. In some societies, it is better forwomen and men to develop separate action plansbased on their priorities and then negotiate to mergethem in a common forum. Otherwise women’s prioritiescan be suppressed.

Diverse implementation capabilities are consideredand mobilised best when applying a genderresponsive approach. Once resources are identifiedthere has to be an institutional framework formobilising them, right from the grassroots to top policylevel. In some cases training and capacity building isrequired; whereas in others the integration of publicand private concerns is necessary in order to avoidduplication and to enhance the cost sharing ofactivities.

Today, cities are beginning to develop partnershipswith private sector actors and communities in servicedelivery and environmental planning andmanagement. However, both central and localgovernments still have roles to play. They have totake a lead role in facilitating environmental planningand management activities. Although all stakeholdershave to make a critical analysis of how the issuesbeing addressed affect women and men and of theirappropriateness to women, most stakeholders cannotfully deal with policies and regulations governingenvironmental planning and management. They haveto collaborate and work with municipal and centralgovernments.


44

Ismailia, Egypt: The non-governmental Associationfor Development and Environment has established aWomen’s Committee to ensure that issues andsubjects concerning women are adequatelyaddressed within the Sustainable IsmailiaGovernorate Project. Through working groups thecommittee mobilises stakeholders and residents tofind solutions to environmental problems and todesign implementation strategies. The sense ofempowerment created has resulted in women takinga lead role in collaborating with the districtauthorities and the Suez Canal University to addressenvironmental issues. Through the working groups agarbage dump has been transformed into a gardenwith trees, plants and flowers; children have beenkept busy and away from interfering withstakeholders’ property by the establishment of alibrary and the organisation of activities such as adrawing competition. Free private lessons for childrenof different age groups are held and adult lessons,such as training women to saw are also operational.

Recife, Brazil: The combined efforts of women andmen through the Communal Selective CollectionProject has resulted in environmental recovery, byimproving waste collection methods. Through theproject stakeholders have learnt the potential ofrecycling. Based on identification of the abilities andpotentials of both women and men, different genderissues and interests have been integrated in theproject. Women’s participation has resulted inimproved quality of materials. Operationally, theproject has utilised untapped human resourcesthrough its Integrated Action on Health, Educationand Environment. The project undertakes anenvironmental education programme in a gendersensitive way for a total of 1,226 health carepromoters, and it also conducts the training of 330trainers. In addition, the programme initiated aparticipatory programme involving 320 stakeholders.This process uses community-based meetings wherestakeholders discuss local environmental problems,especially addressing on how to select recyclablematerials and their storage before sale.

45

Kampala, Uganda: Both women and men were involved inthe identification of a project management committeewith a good representation of women and men. It is arequirement that two women representing each of thefive zones be co-opted into the project managementcommittee, in addition to the vice-chairperson and atreasurer who are women. The project has mobilisedpreviously untapped human resources through Training ofTrainers (TOT) programme. TOTs are assigned theresponsibility of training Environmental Educators (EE) -four women and six men in every zone. In turn EEsconduct village seminars on environmental awareness.Each zone forms a village committee responsible forhome visits, supervising sanitation conditions inhouseholds, and construction of latrines. Public meetingsare also used to inform stakeholders about the projectand to get their views on the project.

Heidelberg, Germany: The active participation ofwomen and the identification of their specific needs hasresulted in the city continuing to provide a service called‘Women’s Night Taxi’, the conversion of a large parking lotin the city centre into a children’s play ground, the stopsof the weekly city library buses being shifted to placesmore convenient for mothers and children, theestablishment of new market areas and weekly marketsdesignated to operate conveniently for women, andcommunity blackboards being put in public spaces toshare information and ask for, or offer, help.

Guntur, India: The Municipal Cooperation supported aradical change in urban policy formulation andimplementation that has resulted in people-centreddevelopment. Stakeholder groups who have been outsideformal planning and management, such as women, privatesector groups and marginalised and disadvantaged groups,are now involved in environmental planning and management.Through this effort, the Municipal Council and the privateIndian Tobacco Company have been protecting theenvironment by planting trees and plants alongside mainroads and residential areas. This is done in close cooperationwith women who are concerned with, and keenly participatein environmental issues and programmes.

46


2.5 Institutionalising genderresponsive EPM and measuringprogress

Institutionalising gender responsive EPM meansbuilding long-term, system-wide EPM capacities thatare intrinsically gender responsive. It involvesmainstreaming gender in all issues relating to genderresponsive EPM: gathering gender disaggregatedinformation, involving stakeholders, genderresponsive strategy formulation and decision making,as well as gender responsive action planning andresource mobilisation for effective planning andimplementation. Institutionalisation needs political willfor putting in place good policies, regulations andprocedures which are relevant for effective genderresponsive EPM. The process is best incorporatedinto all the organisations and institutions of a city andinto its daily activities and routines.

Community structures and a legislative frameworkwhich encourages gender participation have to be putin place to ensure the efficient handling of genderresponsive EPM issues. In addition, stakeholders haveto be mobilised, and personnel handling genderissues trained in gender responsive EPM.Conventional methods of planning and managementhave been observed to marginalise women.Institutionalisation of gender responsive EPM ensuresthat both women and men are given equal consideration

in EPM and relatedprogrammes and projects.

Experiences from citiesaround the world reveal dif-ferent approaches to insti-tutionalisation. Differentstructures have been es-tablished which facilitateparticipation and ensure in-stitutionalisation. These in-clude community-basedstructures such as neigh-bourhood groups, commit-tees, community develop-ment societies, and work-

47

ing groups or cells addressing specific issues.Through community organisations and training work-shops, Training of Trainers (TOTs) programmes havebeen conducted to build capacities of environmen-talists, educators and environmental committees atthe community level. After such workshops, groupsand networks continue the work, often on a voluntarybasis.

In some cities, city dialogues on environmental issues,which include gender responsive EPM, havesupported community-based organisations and cityauthorities. This has created a pool of peopleequipped with the necessary skills to work acrossinstitutions and stakeholder groups, and to carry outtraining workshops both within communities andrelated organisations. In turn, the skills acquiredcontribute to a clear understanding and build cross-sectoral capacities for gender responsive EPM.


48

Heidelberg, Germany: The Future Workshops havebuilt long-term gender responsive capacities andhelped to institutionalise the workshop mechanism atvarious levels, especially the grassroots level. This isreflected in the ongoing networking and continuedawareness. Women have improved theircommunication in their neighbourhoods andcommunities significantly. They enjoy larger and closenetworks of cooperation. This has made them identifymore with their local environment and created anawareness of existing opportunities andresponsibilities regarding the environment. Womennow have a stronger urban identity and a greatermotivation to contribute and participate. Theoutputs which represent the thinking, vision, anddemands of Heidelberg women feed into the MunicipalGender Department for use in political debate. This isindeed a powerful political tool.

Hamburg, Germany: Structural and administrativereforms have been undertaken to ensure gendersensitive urban planning and development. An Officeof Urban Development was established in 1991, andcollaborates with the Women’s Advisory Council, theSenate Office for Equal Opportunities, and women’sorganisations and gender experts in incorporating thegender dimension into the long-term city planningprocess. This multidimensional model forinstitutionalised participation of gender experts hasbrought in new forms of cooperation and partnershipfor gender responsive urban development. It links theexpertise of women working in and outside thedifferent planning institutions and hears their viewsbefore making decisions relating to environmentalurban planning and management. The process hasplayed a key role in three strategic plans: the UrbanDevelopment Concept, the Regional DevelopmentConcept, and the Zoning Plan. Of particular importanceis the inclusion of a gender-specific guiding principlewithin the urban development concept, concerning thefreedom residence, mobility, living and housingconditions, and the safety and user-friendliness ofpublic spaces. A public statement on improving publicspaces for children has also been made.

49

Kathmandu, Nepal: An attempt to institutionaliseconsumer education and community participation forurban water supply and sanitation improvementservices had mixed results. The Ward UsersCommittees (WUC) were founded on the principle ofcommunity organising and community participationand are used for training in communication skills,strategy formulation and community action planning.They have ensured that both women and men areinvolved in implementing environmental activities.Although the WUC are independent institutionsapproved by government, the inclusion of politicallyappointed ward chairpersons creates a bottleneck.

Guntur, India; Lusaka, Zambia; Hue City, Vietnam:Gender responsive environmental planning andmanagement has been institutionalised by buildingcommunity structures.

In the case of Guntur Neighbourhood Group, aNeighbourhood Committee and CommunityDevelopment Society has been formed. An exclusiveforum for women, Stree Shakti (power of women),where democratic participatory approaches areencouraged, is also in place. Stree Shakti has localunits working at community level. They hold regularmeetings to discuss issues facing women at the locallevel and how these can be solved in order to enhancethe implementation of projects and programmes. TheMunicipal Corporation has also created an UrbanPoverty Eradication (UPE) Cell. The cell promoteslinkages and uniformity of purpose within all sectoraldepartments and projects. The cell also allocatesfunds to undertake environmental and povertyalleviation activities with the three community-basedstructures on priority basis.

Similar structures are also reported from Lusaka andHue City which provide supporting and facilitatingmechanisms for environmental planning andmanagement. Through these structures, communitiesparticipate in vital decision-making right from theplanning stages, through all phases of implementation,monitoring and evaluation.


50

Institutionalising gender responsive EPM has replacedthe conventional method of top-down planning andimplementation. They are facilitated by a variety ofmeasures such as the consistent sharing anddissemination of information, documentation in non-technical (and where appropriate local) language,capacity-building programmes designed by NGOs andCBOs, grassroots training on environmentalimprovement, and sensitivity training for the publicsector institutions to enhance their understanding ofpublic needs and perspectives of development.

Green Towns Project, Kenya: The ParticipatoryEnvironmental Planning PEP workshops result in GreenTowns Action Groups (GTAG), which have genderresponsive representation. Members are drawn fromlocal authorities, provincial administration, councillorsand community representatives. So far there arefourteen GTAGs. These have registered themselves asan association called the Kenya Green TownsPartnership Association (KGTPA). The associationpromotes gender responsive representation inenvironmental planning and management and alsonetworks with women groups. The project conductsgender and environment sensitisation training forstakeholders through the Government TrainingInstitute (GTI).

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: The Mabibo EnvironmentalManagement Society employs 28 women and 21 men.The society is run by 5 women and 3 men, which hasfurther proved women’s ability to participate inenvironmental management. The society has been ableto mobilise residents in the pilot project area to paytheir service levies - a task which City Authority hadmuch difficulty in undertaking. This has earned thesociety and the women the respect of LocalGovernment Leaders.

Kampala, Uganda: The project on householdsanitation has made sure that structures andactivities for ensuring gender responsive sanitationupkeep are in place. Both women and men are includedin the project management committee which meetsregularly to direct the actions of the project manager.

51

A Trainer of Trainers (TOT) programme, including both,women and men, trained committed and gendersensitive community level environmentalist educators(CLEE) in each zone covered by the project. In order tosupport active operations at the grassroots level,each zone or village has formed a committee whosemembers are responsible for home visits andsupervision of sanitation conditions in both thehouseholds and the village in general. The CLEEconduct village seminars at appropriate times andvenues, while the TOTs continue with refresher-trainingcourses for the environmentalists.

Ibadan, Nigeria: A capacity building project for urbanpoverty works through the non-governmental Centrefor Enterprise Development and Research (CEDAR).This NGO acts as resource institution and facilitatorfor other organisations on gender and environmentalissues. Training is conducted in the areas of humanrights, education, mobilisation, economic rights,gender roles and differentiated access to and controlover resources and decision-making processes.Participants share practical experiences in workinggroups which are later discussed in plenary. Groups areexpected to apply their newly acquired skills toorganisational action plans. This process has enhancednetworking among various groups and trade guilds. Thestaff of CEDAR have been trained in gender analysisand special efforts are made to mobilise women whenunequal representation is observed in any programme.Overall, the programme seeks equity in the distributionof resources, benefits, and costs, and to optimise theprovision of facilities and services.

52


53

Chapter 3

Gender ResponsiveEPM : Lessons Learntand ChallengesAs cities introduce and begin to apply genderresponsiveness in environmental planning andmanagement, different experiences come to light,depending on the particular settings of cities, projectsand programmes. Some cities are making progress,others just beginning to apply gender responsive EPM,while others are still to begin. The preceding sectionsof this Source Book have highlighted a variety ofexperiences in gender responsive EPM, which citiesshould reflect on with reference to their own context.This section reviews lessons learned and challengesfacing the implementation of gender responsive EPM.

Experience from cities shows that programmes andinitiatives addressing urban environmental problemsmay differ in their focus and their approach. Sincegender responsive EPM cuts across all developmentand environmental issues, programmes, projects andcity governments have to design their ownmethodologies on working together in order to ensuregender responsive EPM.

54


3.1 Gender responsive EPMactivities today

Today, networking and collaboration is increasingwithin and among cities. Gender disaggregated datais helping to identify and clarify environmental issues.It is also changing the way such issues are beingaddressed, and is informing and strengthening theEPM process. Furthermore, gender disaggregateddata assists in establishing appropriate participationstructures which ensure efficient urban environmental

planning and management.

The involvement of a diverseand gender-balanced rangeof stakeholders in mobilising

resources, and in planning and implementationensures that the location, timing and day ofparticipation, as well as the language ofcommunication are appropriate for all stakeholders,including women. It contributes to developing andtapping local capacities for addressing environmentalissues. In cities where gender responsive EPM is usedeffectively, it contributes to utilising previouslyuntapped human resources, especially the skills andknowledge of women. Women’s involvement in EPMis increasing their confidence and strengthening theirskills in handling public environment-developmentissues.

As reflected in the case studies, cities have differentmethods of involving stakeholders in environmentalplanning and management. Women and menparticipate both directly and through representationin working groups, round table consultations, plenarydiscussions and public debates. Such involvementis resulting in women becoming active members oftheir respective communities. Such forums ensurethat conflicts of interest are resolved as they arise,and at the same time impart a sense of ownership toall stakeholders and contribute to successfulimplementation of action plans.

City experiences show that training, communityeducation, participation and exposure to genderresponsive planning is resulting in improvement of

55

implementation of the EPM process at the city level.Linkage and access to information, training and otherforms of support are contributing to development oflocal capacities to address environmental issues. Theprocess has resulted in more balanced participationand has contributed to more women participating indecisions relating to management of urban areas ingeneral.

3.2 Factors affecting theimplementation of genderresponsive EPM

As cities adapt and apply the concepts of genderresponsive EPM there are various implementationfactors which need to be noted and addressed. Thefactors can be analysed at two levels: those externalto, but affecting the process, and those directly

relating to the gender responsive EPM processitself. External factors include political will foradministrative change among urban managersand within the general political system. Theimpact of other collaborators who are not

applying gender responsive EPM methodologies butare focusing on environmental management alsoneed to be taken into consideration. Internal factorsrelate to elements within the gender responsive EPMprocess.

3.2.1 External factors

As cities go through the urban planning andmanagement process, they have to remember thatgender responsive EPM is not an end in itself, but ameans of ensuring that the needs, interests and ideasof both women and men are integrated at all levels ofurban environmental planning and management.Further, the concept of gender has different meaningsfor different stakeholders. To most people, the conceptof gender is seen as women’s issues and assomething designed by gender activists to changethe status quo for the benefit of women. This makesmen distance themselves from programmes andprojects that use a gender perspective.

56


Gender does not mean women nor does it refer tobiological sexual differences. If gender responsiveEPM is to be effective, each city has to ensure thatstakeholders have a common understanding ofgender as the socially constructed roles ascribed towomen and men in social processes, as outlined inChapter One, Section One of this Source Book. It isonly when women and men - together - examine howthey can adapt and change these roles that betterurban environmental management and developmentcan be achieved. Women and men need to planconsciously how to share work and responsibilities.

Political will on the part of urban managers and otherleaders is key to realising gender responsive EPM. Inorder to realise the benefits of genuinely genderresponsive EPM, both central and local governmenthave to be positively involved in the process.Municipalities, supported by central government, haveto play a leading role in ensuring that suitable policies,regulations, procedures and collaborationmechanisms for stakeholders are in place. They mustalso ensure that gender issues are taken on boardand facilitate the creation of forums for genderbalanced participation.

In any planning and management process, supportfrom senior management dedicated to ensuring thatthe goals are realised, is vital. It is through suchpolitical will that the required legislative instruments,procedures and regulations for environmentalplanning and management are put in place. Apartfrom “developing” gender sensitive policy-makers andplanners, cities must ensure that women are part ofthe policy, planning and implementation structureswhich run cities. Specific mechanisms for ensuringwomen’s participation, especially in cases wheredisaggregated data show their exclusion from existingenvironmental planning and management structures,have to be put in place.

3.2.2 Internal factors

Implementing gender responsive EPM can be affectedby limited knowledge and expertise. For example,gender disaggregated data collection is an expensiveendeavour requiring special skills which most urban

57

authorities do not have. This capacity gap isexacerbated by conservatism among urban managerswho may not acknowledge the need to allocate asignificant percentage of the scarce council budgetto information gathering. Also, the gathering of genderdisaggregated information is not a one-off event; ithas to be continuous, responding to needs and priorityissues being dealt with. In cases where urbanmanagers do not appreciate the importance ofinformation gathering, and where internal expertiseis lacking, there is a high probability that genderdisaggregated data may not be collected.

Stakeholder involvement in gender responsive EPMis based on the assumption that stakeholders havethe capacity necessary to take part in the decision-

making process. However, thereare a number of factors which limitfull participation of stakeholders,and especially the participation ofwomen: low literacy rates, and a

subordinate attitude which limits their input in formaladministrative arrangements; low or nonexistentincomes; cultural barriers; limited time and lack ofinterest and incentives for volunteering withincommunities.

In applying the gender responsive EPM process,possession of the abilities relevant for participationof women and men should not be assumed. The levelof capacity available for participation has to beassessed through gender disaggregated data. Incases where capacity is wanting, those directing theenvironmental planning and management processhave to include and organise for capacity building.This can be done, for example, by creating multi-disciplinary, gender-aware teams, which includeplanners, administrators, economists, sociologists,community development assistants and genderexperts, depending on the need.

Building capacities, especially in women, enables allstakeholders to articulate urban concerns from anenvironmental perspective, and contributes to theprioritisation of issues to be addressed in urban planningand development. Gender experts have suggested thatgender training should be a standard element within

58


the EPM process. The experiences of cities show thatalthough gender responsive EPM is being put in place,there is still a need for gender training and the inclusionof women in the policy, planning and implementationstructures of urban management.

3.3 Challenges of implementinggender responsive EPM

The challenges of implementing gender responsiveEPM were extensively discussed in the InternationalWorkshop on Gender Responsive EnvironmentalPlanning and Management (Nairobi, September1998). The Workshop Statement resolved that:

� gender is one of the social categories relevantfor human behaviour and structuring ofsocieties, e.g. age, ethnic group, religion.Therefore, addressing gender issues isfundamental to readdressing issues of equity,justice and peace in society;

� all urban environmental issues are gendersensitive, but some are strategically moreimportant, such as environmental education,improved sanitation, the urban economy,employment, transportation, safety and securityissues. Strategic issues are context specific andthe challenge is to collect more experiences inorder to make available and expand knowledgein this specific field;

� research in gender responsive environmentalplanning and management, including gatheringand sharing further lessons of experience, isfundamental to practical applications, such asthe development of training tools and curricula;

� indicators are important to measure progresstowards achieving gender responsiveenvironmental planning and management;

� sufficient allocation of resources is necessaryfor ensuring gender responsive environmentalplanning and management;

59

� the Urban Environmental Forum is a suitableplatform to facilitate a continuous exchange ingender responsive environmental planning andmanagement through topic clusters relating togender; and

� that the Urban Environment Forum will facilitatenetworking among partners through list serversand an interactive web-page.

The workshop was central to the development of thisSource Book and the participants noted that the futureof gender responsive EPM lies in concentrating onissues such as research and collection of information,the development of appropriate indicators formeasuring progress, administrative support, andcollaboration and networks. In response to thesechallenges, the Nairobi Workshop participantsmandated the Urban Environment Forum to follow-upthe workshop by mobilising additional support fromprogrammes and institutions at the local, regional andglobal levels.

3.3.1 Research in city experiences

While city experiences and collaboration andnetworking are increasing in the area of genderresponsive EPM, research on gender responsive EPMneeds to be pursued. Areas relating to indicators, theimpact of different cultural contexts, and the practicalapplication of environmental planning andmanagement need particular research attention. Thiscalls for the collection and analysis of more examplesof city experiences, documented in case studies.

3.3.2 M easuring progress in gender responsiveEPM

When applying gender responsive EPM to deeplyrooted environmental issues, it is important to be ableto assess whether change is occurring in the way thatthe environment is managed. Experience from citiesshow that most cities are applying gender responsiveEPM without any clear indicators for measuringprogress. In efficient gender responsive EPM, bothqualitative and quantitative indicators for measuringprogress have to be discussed and agreed on by

60


stakeholders, right at the planning stage of a certainproject. Gender is about attitudes, emotionalresponses to power relations and about power

sharing, efficient utilisation of resources,good planning and programming. Inassessing these variables, qualitativeindicators are more relevant since theydeal with changes of behaviour ratherthan numbers, but at the same timequalitative indicators should not be

ignored. Indicators are an important tool in subsequentdecision-making.

An increase in the number of women participating inthe various stages of the gender responsive EPMprocess could be viewed as one important quantitativeindicator of progress. Other useful indicators could,for example, include: who comes to talk about theirproblems with urban authorities and otherstakeholders; quality of involvement and discussions;the level of community satisfaction; trends over time;change in productivity ratio; and the percentage ofbenefits accruing to men and women.

Although there are many types of indicators, the mostcommon is the one developed by the CanadianInternational Development Agency (CIDA, 1997).These consider risk/enabling, input, process, outputand outcome (see box on facing page).

Indicators for measuring progress are important inrealising gender responsive EPM, but city experiencesshow that few initiatives have been undertaken toidentify gender responsive EPM indicators. Someinternational programmes have developed tools butvery few cities have started to apply them. Thus, thereis additional need to develop methodologies andindicators that assist cities in measuring progress inachieving gender responsive environmental planningand management goals.

The Sustainable Cities Programme (SCP) hasdeveloped indicators for measuring progress inenvironmental planning and management in generalwhich address the issue of gender responsiveindicators, where applicable. It is recommended thatinterested cities, especially those that are participating

61

particularly in the Urban Environment Forum (UEF)will adopt these indicators, fine-tune them to the localcontext, and test their effectiveness in measuringperformance in gender responsive EPM.

3.3.3 Administrative support

Gender responsive EPM depends on politicalunderstanding, acceptance and will. City experiencesshow that where there is political will, urban managerssupport gender responsive EPM and activelyparticipate in the process. They are able to promotenew multi-sectoral mechanisms and put the right legalinstruments in place, and to take lead in mobilisingresources and the active involvement of all stakeholdergroups. For gender responsive EPM to succeed, therelevant authorities and the professional must supportgender responsive ideals which are not only promotedthrough existing projects and programmes but whichare also translated into new initiatives which over timeinstitutionalise gender responsive EPM as a routineway of addressing urban growth and development.

Therisk indicators describe factors which are external to a programme butwhich contribute to the project’s success or failure. They can include majorpolitical or environmental disruption, such as elections, floods or drought.

Input or resource indicators measure resources devoted to the programme,for example funding, human resources, infrastructure, institution building, andother means whereby a programme is put into effect.

Process or activity indicators show how resources devoted to the programmeare delivered on an ongoing basis. They measure the level of implementationand are used for programme monitoring. A process may be successful at thesame time as the outcome is a failure.

Output indicators measure immediate results concerning products andservices that are delivered when a programme is completed but not longer-term results.

Outcome or impact indicators measure the long-term effectiveness of aprogramme as judged by the measurable change achieved in improving thequality of life of the beneficiaries.

Canadian International Development Agency

62


3.3.4 Collaboration and networks

In order to address the challenges facing genderresponsive EPM, there has to be effectivecollaboration and networking among programmesoperating in different cities. The Nairobi workshopacknowledged the importance of facilitating acontinuous exchange of information and experiencesin ‘gender responsive environmental planning andmanagement’. The UNCHS/UNEP Sustainable CitiesProgramme (SCP) was suggested as an appropriatelink in facilitating the process among collaborators andpartners. The SCP took an important initiative byestablishing a Web page to facilitate the organisationof the gender responsive EPM workshop. Furthermore,the programme plans to establish an interactive website where any gender responsive EPM incomingdocuments and information will be posted andexchanged.

3.4 Supporting and adapting genderresponsive EPM locally

The Nairobi workshop underlined that the task ofcoordinating city activities for effective genderresponsive EPM can not be undertaken by cities alone.While the workshop recognised that the initiative andresponsibilities for gender responsive environmentalplanning and management must come from the citiesthemselves, it acknowledged the important role ofspecialised expertise and international support. Citiesneed support to implement gender responsive EPM.Such support can be provided through locallyadaptable tools and the inclusion of gender elementsin local curricula. Adapting gender responsive EPMlocally requires innovative approaches at variouslevels.

Adopting gender responsive EPM locally requires citiesto consider a number of prerequisites. Politicalcommitment involving change agents at the level ofpolicies, regulations, practice, structure and use ofresources is a key element in preparing ground for agender responsive EPM.

63

In Uganda, the government’s affirmative action oninclusion of women is resulting in a positive politicalenvironment. This has contributed to localauthorities having gender sensitive politicalstructures, including Women’s Local Councils. TheseCouncils provide opportunities for women toparticipate in decision-making processes and so farare contributing to the success of environmentalplanning and management projects. This isreflected in the case of promotion of householdsanitation in Luzira parish.

Political commitment must be backed by capacitybuilding involving demand-driven sensitisation andtraining of individuals, communities and organisations.As a first step, city managers, both administrative andpolitical, need to be sensitised to the concept ofgender, and to be exposed to its application in relationto environment and development. In these casesgender specialists may have to be brought in specially.

Professionals operating within conventionallyestablished planning and related disciplines have tobe sensitised to look for ways to incorporate genderenvironmental issues into their practice. In some casescities will need to hire full time gender specialists, whilein others they will be able to use consultants and/orvolunteers drawn from among the stakeholders.

Gender competence in conceptualising, policymaking, planning and management of environmentalurban issues is key for successfully implementinggender responsive EPM. While gender competenceis required at all levels of city management, includingat the grassroots, cities may not have adequateresources for acquiring it. In such cases, cities mustexploit the skills of existing staff, and collaborate andwork with other organisations already applying genderresponsive techniques. This should be backed upwith information sharing, education, consultation, andcontinuous monitoring and reviewing of genderresponsive EPM indicators.

64


3.5.1 How support programmes respond

City experiences reveal that a number of agencies,aside from the city authorities, are working in the areaof gender and development. City managers need tofirstly tap existing skills and resources of theseagencies, as they continue to put in place measuresfor full incorporation of gender responsive EPM intheir environmental planning and managementprocesses. Indeed gender responsive EPM shouldnot be viewed as an approach in isolation or‘something extra’ for professionals but must beregarded as an essential element in ‘good’ planningpractice, contextualised within existing planning andmanagement systems. This calls for committedchange agents, identified by stakeholders, with othersspecifically being hired to undertake the assignment.

There are many national and international agencieswho are already promoting gender responsivenessthrough research, development of toolkits, andcapacity building, but only few are operating at thecity management level. On the other hand, there area large number of NGOs and CBOs operating atgrassroots level but they do not have sufficientcapacities for promoting gender responsive EPM.Such organisations need further training andfacilitation in order to be able to apply genderresponsive EPM. Included in this should be thetranslation of this Source Book into the locallanguages the communities they work with willunderstand.

International support programmes usually play a keyrole in bringing together major stakeholders,facilitating consensus and forging alliances. Oncestakeholders have a common understanding,relevant organisations, such as local authorities,NGOs, or CBOs focusing on gender and developmentshould be supported to act as change agents. Thisis done best through a training of trainers (TOT)approach, drawn from stakeholders who are alreadyaddressing environmental urban issues.

City experiences show that some programmes arealready responding to gender issues.

65

CEDAR, Nigeria: CEDAR, an NGO mobilises humanresources and builds capacities by conductingworkshops on gender and environmental issues forother NGOs and CBOs.

W om en’s Unions, Vietnam: Involving administratorsand professionals has helped to ensure adequatepolitical commitment and professional expertise forprogrammes on environmental protection. Aprofessional from the Women’s Union coordinatesbetween beneficiaries, political leaders and otherprofessional experts.

Kathmandu, Nepal: Staff with diversifiedprofessional backgrounds and experiences on watersupply have formed teams, including one onCommunity Development and Women’s involvement.Such efforts, once equipped with gender responsiveEPM skills, can act as change agents in influencingindividuals and organisations to adopt and ensuregender responsive EPM applicability in planning andmanaging environmental urban issues.

Sustainable Lusaka Programme, Zambia: TheSustainable Lusaka Programme addressesenvironmental issues using the EPM process at thecommunity level. Through Resident DevelopmentCommittees and Zonal consultation, general problemsare identified and environmental issues isolated. Theprogramme facilitates the participation of bothwomen and men, including the incorporation of genderissues into decision making structures.

Hamburg, Germany: The Urban Development Officehas acknowledged women as local experts who cancontribute to urban and regional development withtheir daily life experiences. In exploiting this potential,women organisations and gender experts worked withthe Urban Development Office on three strategicplans: Urban Development Regional Development andZoning concepts.


66

Heidelberg, Germany: The Future Workshopmethodology uses trained moderators to involvewomen and men in each borough in developing the CityDevelopment Plan. The methodology also usesprofessional researchers from the University tocollect information on women’s perspectives andvisions.

Green Towns Project, Kenya: The project trainstrainers drawn from Central Government Ministries,Local Authorities, Universities and NGOs on gendersensitive Participatory Environmental Planning (PEP).

Environmental Liaison Centre International(ELCI): As an international network of environmentalNGOs and CBOs, ELCI supports local capacity buildingby encouraging the informed participation of allstakeholders in environmental activities throughinformation exchange. ELCI also promotes theincorporation of gender issues in the agenda of targetgroups within its programme.

67

Concluding RemarksThe task of integrating gender responsiveness inenvironmental planning and management is still in itsinfancy. Building on the participatory culture ofefficient urban environmental planning andmanagement, the implementation of genderresponsive EPM concentrates largely on the practicalbenefits of facilitating the inclusion of as wide andcomplete a stakeholder base as possible. Genderresponsive EPM recognises that, by virtue of theirtraditional social roles, men and women face differentenvironmental issues, and are also custodians ofdifferent environmental resources. The entire EPMprocess – gathering information, consultingstakeholders, strategising and action planning, andimplementation – is greatly enriched by thecontributions of all parties. Institutionalising genderresponsive EPM works hand in hand with the task ofinstitutionalising the EPM process – an ongoingprocess of acceptance, assimilation, andimplementation.

As the case studies show, however, making EPM moregender responsive is not simply a question of ensuringan even gender balance in meetings. Genderresponsive EPM needs committed political support inits early stages if it is to be accepted andoperationalised. Simple physical changes – times atwhich meetings are held, availability of childcare,location – have a large impact on participation. Othercapacity-building changes – training, workshops,NGO and CBO support – take longer but also resultin more longterm effects, empowering all stakeholdersto participate fully and confidently in the decision-making process.

Gender responsive EPM cuts across all stages andall levels of the EPM process, and as such, is not tobe regarded as a stage in the cycle. Rather, it is anelement underpinning the cycle, a fundamentalprinciple upon which sustainable and efficientenvironmental planning and management is based.This Source Book has been designed to providepeople and programmes working in the urban

68


environment with an overview of the rationale for, andbenefits of, gender responsive EPM. The challengewhich now faces urban planners and managers, andsupport programmes, is how best to go aboutincorporating the lessons of experience in genderresponsive EPM described in this book into daily citypractice. It is expected that individual programmes andcities will adapt these lessons to suit their own needs,drafting training materials, developing curricula anddocumenting their own activities to build a globalrepository of gender responsive EPM experiences tosupport urban planners and managers everywhere.

69

Part 2Case Study Summaries

70


71

Case Study SummariesThis section presents summaries of the case studyexperiences which form the basis of this book. Thecase studies have been drawn from twenty countriesacross the globe. The Source Book was developedusing a three stage methodology: (1) writing andgathering city experiences with gender responsiveEPM; (2) an International Workshop discussing cityexperiences with gender responsive EPM; and (3) thedevelopment of a Source Book on gender responsiveEPM.

These summaries aim to provide short, easily readablecase material, which can be used by city managersand practitioners as a reference in their dailyoperations. The summaries capture the experiencesof cities at every stage of implementing the genderresponsive EPM process.

The summaries highlight the key features of genderresponsive EPM in the case studies. All the summariesfollow the same pattern of presentation: Introduction;Urban/Environment Context; Experiences with aGender Responsive Environmental Planning andManagement (G-EPM) Process; and Lessons for theFuture.

The contacts of authors and cities which participatedin the process are provided at the end of each

72


summary. This is expected to facilitate access to fulltexts of case studies to interested readers.

The summaries indicate that integrating genderexpertise and participation into the environmentalplanning and management process leads toincreased efficiency in urban environmental planningand reduces cost. City experiences show that bothwomen and men should participate in environmentalplanning and management if sustainability is to beensured. The historical situation where women onlyconcentrate on the implementation of environmentalmanagement, with hardly any role in planning, isviewed as retrogressive to environmental planningand management. A G-EPM process has the goal ofensuring that both women and men effectivelyparticipate in both the planning and management ofthe environment.

Addressing gender needs offers a chance to placeinvestments more precisely and to avoid the planningmistakes and imperfections which have beenperpetuated over the years. Effective G-EPM involvescreating forums for debate and suggestions ongender responsive urban environmental planning andmanagement, incorporating gender needs intostrategic planning, and putting gender responsivemeasures into practice.

Involving stakeholder groups such as women’sorganisations and gender experts in the planningprocess mobilises specific expertise and attention.Through this process new partnerships between andamong different actors such as NGOs, CBOs andMunicipal institutions relevant for sustainable urbandevelopment are established. This leads to a more user-friendly environment and therefore more sustainableurban environmental planning and management asreflected in the summaries provided in this section.

73

Al Naseryah Urban Improvem entProject, Aswan, Egypt

IntroductionAl Naseryan Urban Improvement Project began as apilot project in Naseyan District of Aswan in Egypt. Itwas an initiative of the General Organization ofPhysical Planning (GOPP) of the Arab Republic ofEgypt and the Germany Development Agency (GTZ)of the Federal Republic of Germany. Since 1983 GTZhas cooperated in a consulting capacity with thegovernment of Egypt in urban planning for mediumsize Egyptian cities.

During the Naseryah cooperation, the activeinvolvement of all stakeholder groups in improvinginfrastructure and services within low income‘unplanned’ areas was identified as a priority. In thisparticular case, the project had the task of findingfinancially and socially acceptable means of workingwith the communities to improve their living conditions.

Assessment had indicated that the housing conditionswere poor, infrastructure was run down and serviceswere hardly provided. To respond to this situation, theprogramme had the goal of mobilising, creatingawareness and training communities in technical andadministrative skills relevant for addressing theirhousing, infrastructure and service needs.

74


In 1986 a decision to start working with the Al Naseryan community was reachedand later in 1987, the Al Naseryah Urban Improvement Project was started atNasriya. The latter was chosen as a pilot site because the residents had alreadystarted addressing the environmental problems facing the community.

Urban environmentNasriya is the most populated urban district of Aswan. With a population of 50,000it forms a quarter of the total population of Aswan. The housing situation is poorin terms of building materials, infrastructure, services and maintenance. Thissituation has affected the quality of life and general economic production. Beforethe project started, Nasriya was connected to the main Municipal water systemby an eight inch pipe and there were only 15 public water points for the wholepopulation. The water pressure was low and only the lower parts of Nasriya couldget sufficient water, other community members had to laboriously carry their waterup the mountain for household use.

Only four per cent of houses were provisionally connected with waste waterdisposal, sewerage flowed into the canal, while cesspits used for disposing humanwaste were small, resulting in the need for frequent emptying. Domestic refusewas either stored on roofs, if it was useful for recycling by the households, or wasdumped along streets, open pits or in the flood water canal which was alreadypolluted by a fertilizer factory and the Municipal hospital. Thus large quantities ofrefuse had piled up along the walls of the canal near all major access roads.

Apart from the poor water and sanitary situation, the area also lacked socialservices and amenities such as recreational facilities. There was no localcommunity organisation to address the problems facing the area. The projectthus came up with three objectives aimed at changing the environmental situation:

� general urban improvement for the whole area with particular emphasis oninfrastructure, especially sewerage and sanitation;

� improving awareness among women and improving their living conditions;and

� strengthening community organisations and close collaboration withMunicipal and related agencies.

Experience with a gender responsive EPM processA wide number of community organisations, including women’s societies with thesupport of technical experts, collected information and set project priorities usinga participatory and consultative methodology. The women’s societies transformedthe traditionally dominated male society into a much more equally balanced one.An increasing number of women played a role in decision making, with someplaying conventional men’s roles, for example, cutting and filling the ground forinstalling a sewerage and sanitation network.

75

In order to address the problems facing Al Naseryahcommunity the project came up with the followingstrategies:

� through community organisation and support ofexternal experts, the Nasriya community drew theattention of the Municipality to recognise thearea’s problems and the need for improvementof the settlement;

� clarification and identification of issues affectingwomen and men, in order to reach anappropriate environmental strategy for thesettlement;

� the grouping of the communities according totheir origin resulted in strong communityorganisations. The organisations maximisedpeople’s participation and ensured efficient useof all available resources.

The original implementation period of the project wasthree years, this was extended for an additional ninemonths due to technical and financial considerations.The specific areas addressed by the project includedland buying and development of infrastructure,including a waste water network, water supply network,and garbage collection. Other activities undertakenincluded services such as development andimprovement of service centres such as schools,youth centres, recreational areas and kindergartensas well as the promotion of social programmes. Thelatter included enhancing community participation, thisresulted in the formation of Community DevelopmentAssociations (CDA).

The involvement of the people in the project wasensured by the formation of ‘Public OrganisationCouncil’. With the support of the GTZ and Aswangovernorate, the community prioritised their problemsand designed strategies for addressing them. Thefirst priority was water and solid waste disposal. Thecommunity undertook the digging of lines for layingpipes, while GTZ provided tools and technical advice.

To implement the project, a working team consistingof a project director and specialists from differentMunicipal Departments were attached to the project.

76


The representatives of each quarter of the Nasriya community were responsiblefor mobilising the community to support the project team in their task. To achieveits objectives, the project adopted a gender responsive EPM process whichendeavoured to ensure the inclusion of all stakeholder groups and expertise incollecting environmental information, designing environmental strategies,implementation and institutionalisation of the process.

A concerted effort of the community, experts and the project team realised thelaying down of the main water lines, followed by household connections tointerested members of the community, and the construction of septic tanks forsolid waste disposal. In addition, the project constructed a new water supplynetwork adequate for the whole area. In order to guarantee permanent watersupply with adequate pressure in the upper part of Nasriya, a pumping stationwas built on the main line. Most of these activities were carried out by the residentsof Nasriya.

The project also addressed garbage collection. The Federal Republic of Germanyfinanced the purchase of five vehicles, which the residents were to maintain. TheCDAs submitted a detailed plan outlining the role of the community in refusecollection. The existence of strong community organisations based on theinhabitants’ origins resulted in long term commitment with women playing a majorrole. The participatory methodology was used throughout the gender responsiveEPM process

LessonsThe Al Naseryah experience is unique both in Aswan and Egypt. The participatoryapproach ensured the involvement of a range of stakeholder groups and actorsin addressing environmental issues. The methods and procedures for publicparticipation were based on the CBOs representing residents of Nasriya withdifferent cultural backgrounds. This integration resulted in their needs beingaddressed by the project.

The active involvement of women and men has shown that through genderresponsive EPM even a traditional, conservative society can facilitate theparticipation of women. Further, the involvement of all stakeholder groups hasensured the provision of the infrastructure and essential services needed by thecommunity. The project has also acknowledged the need for continuous capacitybuilding for various groups, instead of focusing only on specific programmes.Further, the participatory approach should be institutionalised throughout thegender responsive EPM process while research on gender responsive EPMshould continue.

77

Promotion of Sanitation amongHouseholds in Luzira, Kampala

IntroductionLuzira is located in Nakawa Division, East of KampalaDistrict. It has a population of about 50,000 and atthe point of project initiation, critical urbanenvironmental concerns included mainlyovercrowding and poor housing. Most of the houseswere poorly constructed, lacked windows and wereon the verge of collapse. Most of the houses are builton land unsuitable for residential development. Thearea is prone to flooding and related health hazardsassociated with poor sanitation, including theoutbreak of water borne diseases.

Urban environmentThe unplanned development coupled with bad terrainresulted in blocked drains. There was inadequatecollection and disposal of refuse by the KampalaMunicipal Council; resulting in uncontrolled volumesof refuse, mostly generated from a local brew (malwa)which is an economic activity largely undertaken bywomen.

The majority of households (77%) use communaltoilets, 2.5 per cent did not have toilets, while 12.5per cent do not have bathroom facilities. Since thetoilets are shared by large numbers withoutappropriate care and control, there is overuse and

78


general deterioration. Apart from congestion and unsanitary conditions, most ofthe toilets are improvised structures built on soggy ground and located too nearthe houses. They are dilapidated, some do not have doors while others have noroofs.

In response to the poor environmental situation, Luzira Parish Anglican Churchinitiated a pilot project to promote sanitation among households in Luzira. Thiswas done with the gender responsive EPM process in mind. The church realisedthat there were distinct differences between women and men in their roles,responsibilities, constraints and opportunities; especially in respect to women’sproduction and reproduction responsibilities.

The project came up with a number of objectives:

� construction of improved latrines;

� identifying grounds for refuse disposal;

� improving the drainage system;

� training households on provision of safe drinking water and its storage; and

� improvement of household hygienic practices.

Experience with a gender responsive EPM processThe project was conceived after a situational analysis of the area through bothformal and informal consultations with a broad spectrum of community members.These included local leaders, opinion leaders, CBOs and landlords. A survey ofthe community was also undertaken. The objectives of the survey included:

� getting an insight into the community understanding of the importance ofsanitation, including their attitudes, values and beliefs;

� identification of major environmental problems in the community; and

� identifying opportunities and constraints for women’s involvement in theproject.

The project used field interviews, informal dialogue, focus group discussionsand participant observation methods in gathering information. This was followedby a participatory planning workshop organised for all stakeholder groups. Aconstruction of the problem tree for the community was done, causes and effectsoutlined, strategies identified and objectives formulated. This was done with thegeneral agreement of stakeholder groups on the issues affecting the lives ofLuzira community.

With the survey results, the stakeholder reached a consensus on the generalproblems within the community. These were poor sanitation, lack of immunizationfacilities, inadequate family planning services, and low levels of AIDs awareness

79

and counselling services. Out of these problems, poorsanitation was identified as the priority problemneeding immediate attention. Once this was agreedthe pilot areas were mapped and five out of 23 zoneswere selected. This was followed by an identificationof activities for achieving specific objectives.

The suggested activities included mobilisation andsensitisation of the community, training of trainers(TOT) and community environmental educators,selection of village committees, and service deliverywhich included evening health education classes,home visits, construction of model latrines, properdisposal of household wastes, improvement of thedrainage system, provision of safe drinking water,monitoring and supervision of activities and reporting.

In order to ensure effective gender participation, thegender division of labour for each activity wasdelineated, taking into consideration gender, age,gender patterns of work, the interrelationship betweenwomen and men, time allocation, activity locus, accessand control of resources for carrying out activities,and access and control over the benefits derived fromthe mobilisation of resources. This process allowedthe development of strategies and action plans forimplementation of the project. Both women and menwere well distributed in formulating action plans,assigning responsibilities, making budgets, workplans, and strategies for monitoring projectperformance and evaluation.

During implementation the project ensured that bothwomen and men were represented in the projectmanagement committee. It was a requirement of theproject that the community identified two womenrepresenting the five zones to be co-opted in theproject management committee in addition to the vice-chairperson and a treasurer who were women. Theproject had a goal of ensuring women’s representationin every zone.

Apart from the management committee, the projectalso ensured that the training of TOTs included womenwho were to hold environmental awareness seminarsin the community, and to train the communityenvironmental educators in each zone. In total, four

80


women and six men were trained as TOTs. The location of the training wasappropriate for women, it was carried out within the village; while meetings andseminars on health education were organised on weekends and conducted inthe evenings - this proved very convenient for women.

Women were educated as users of services. This contributed to positive attitudeson hygienic use of facilities. During the construction of toilets, women providedlabour, food, water and supervised general hygiene.

The project put in place a number of measures aimed at ensuring sustainability.Home environment competitions were organised every six months, monthly clean-ups were initiated by local councils, the project provided material support, includingthe purchase of motorcycles and bicycles to facilitate transportation of projectmanager and TOTs. The TOTs are given a little monthly incentive of US$ 50. Theproject also provides financial support for training seminars and otheradministrative costs.

LessonsThe inclusion of women and men in the project right from the information gatheringstage to implementation and management was a recognition of the contributionof both women and men. Both genders took part in identifying the majorenvironmental problems - the causes, effects, and alternative actions. Theconsensus building among both gender and stakeholder groups helped developa sense of ownership and commitment resulting in efficient implementation withhigh chances of sustainability. The project has proved different from itspredecessors due to its gender sensitivity and effective stakeholder groupsparticipation.

81

W om en’s Com m ittees in theSustainable Ismailia GovernorateProject, Egypt

IntroductionThe Sustainable Ismailia Governorate Project (SIGP)is located in Egypt. The project addressesenvironmental issues using the EnvironmentalPlanning and Management model and encouragesand facilitates the participation of all stakeholdergroups. Both women and men define prevailingenvironmental problems and strategies aimed ataddressing the problems. Women’s participation atboth the management and implementation level isprominent. The project national director is a womanand out of nine technical field staff, five are women.

The Environmental Planning and Managementprocess within SIGP has integrated gender responsiveEPM in improving environmental and technicalexpertise by collecting gender disaggregated data,and improving environmental strategies and decision-making by involving all stakeholder groups. Inparticular, the project enhances the capacity of womenby offering training courses.

SIGP has developed structures to ensure genderresponsive EPM. One of these bodies is a Non-governmental Organisation called ‘Association forDevelopment and Environment’. The association wasestablished in 1993 with the aim of promoting

82


sustainable environmental management and development. The association drawsits membership from the youth, women and specialists drawn from differentbackgrounds. After a few years in operation, the association realised the needto integrate women in the planning and management process.

The social problems facing the Ismailia community was mainly brought about by economicinequalities. The area, which had been upgraded in 1989, was inhabited by peoplebelonging to two social classes: the original dwellers who are of low income statusand high income groups who bought land in the area and built comparatively betterstructures, demonstrating their different class status. There was conflict between thetwo groups created by their children. The children from the low income status group wereidle with a number not attending school. This contributed to their being a nuisance tothe high income group by causing damages to their cars.

Urban environmentThe Association for Development and Environment is faced with various physical andsocial environmental problems. The physical deterioration of land within Ismailia is reflectedin the areas surrounding residential houses. Areas meant to be green had beenturned into refuse dumping grounds. This provided breeding ground for rodentsand insects and was also a source of serious pollution and an offensive smell. Otherareas were full of neglected plants which also attracted flies and mosquitos.

The project had the responsibility of upgrading one informal settlement within Ismailia, AlHaloos. The area had about 4,000 people and lacked the necessary infrastructureand services such as portable water, electricity, sanitary facilities, drainage androads. A survey conducted by the Women’s Committee found that 60 per cent ofthe dwellers were women. Illiteracy among women was very high with that of elderwomen reaching 70 per cent. 25 per cent of girls did not have a chance to go to school.Thus, the project had the major goal of changing the pathetic environmentalconditions and related social problems using gender responsive EPM.

The Association for Development is the main organ charged with developmentof Ismailia. It had six key objectives:

� improving and developing the environment;

� preparing studies, consulting and cooperating with government and otheractors regarding support and implementation of environmental projects;

� searching for different national and international financing sources forproject implementation;

� providing loans to individuals for environmental projects under thesupervision of the association;

� holding symposiums and training courses aimed at increasing publicenvironmental awareness and

� encouraging and facilitating participation of women in environmentalplanning and management.

83

Experience with a gender responsive EPMprocessAfter several meetings the Association realised theimportance of involving women as a stakeholdergroup, in order to facilitate their participation in projectplanning and decision making. This resulted in theestablishment of a ‘Women’s Committee’ in 1995. Thecommittee had three key objectives:

� gender sensitive improvement of environmentalinformation and expertise;

� involving women in decision making, and

� building institutional capacity for integration ofgender in environmental planning andmanagement.

The association with the support of the Women’sCommittee has succeeded in gathering information onboth women and men and implementation of a numberof projects. The committee comprises of womenmembers of the association, who live within the projectarea where the associations office is located. TheWomen’s Committee also has women members drawnfrom professional groups, such as teachers and doctorsworking in the Ministry of Health. The Women’sCommittee holds regular meetings to discussenvironmental and development issues and problemsconcerning women living within the area raised.

In a bid to improve environmental strategies anddecision making by involving all stakeholder groups,the project formulated issue specific working groupsfor prioritised issues. The project also offered trainingcourses for the community. One course on leadershipis offered only for women, while others are attendedlargely by women and a few men.

The strategies adopted by the project ensures thatwomen are included in the working groups, in anymeeting the numbers are more than 30 per cent. Ofthe six issue working groups, three had women astheir coordinators. Through these strategies womenand men participate in discussing priorityenvironmental and developmental issues in order tocome up with alternative strategies for addressingissues relating to the environment.

84


In a bid to rehabilitate the waste lands, the Women’s Committee formed workinggroups with a goal of discussing and coming up with solutions to the problemsfacing them. With the help of the authorities of the district and technical adviceand expertise from Suez Canal University Faculty of Agriculture, the Women’sCommittee, together with the working groups, managed to transform the landsurrounding the Al Sheik Zafed estimated at 300 square meters from a refusedump into a beautiful public garden filled with trees, flowers and grass. The districtauthorities provided trucks for removing garbage, the experts from Suez CanalUniversity gave advice on the most suitable types of plants and soil. To avoid adecrease in water supply to households, underground water was dug for wateringthe garden. This was done with the support of the University, who analysed theground water and approved its suitability. Seats were provided within the park andthe Women’s Committee was able to use the area as its meeting place.

The project also used the same method to rehabilitate another waste land, AlSafa. The working group mobilised dwellers for discussion and agreement onhow to turn a wild neglected area full of flies and mosquitos into a beautifulgarden full of plants and flowers. Again, with the support of the University, districtauthority and Global Environment Facility (GEF) Programme, the project boughtsuitable trees, built a fence, walking paths and fixed pipes for watering the garden.

Apart from the rehabilitation programmes, the women’s committee also organisedmobile clinics which offered medical advice on birth control and preventivemedicine; and dispensed basic medicines and treatment at no cost. The problemof children being a nuisance factor was solved by keeping the children busy. A library forchildren was started in the associations main office. A working group comprising mainlyof school teachers was formed and entrusted with the library. To supplement the library,and also bring children together, a drawing competition for children was held and prizesgiven. Further, through the efforts of the women’s committee, tuition on different subjectswas offered to older children. The project also supported women in improving their livingstandards by offering training in tailoring.

LessonsThis project clearly demonstrates the usefulness of involving stakeholder groups.The combined effort of two public authorities (the university and the districtauthority), the community (through the Women’s Committee) and an internationalagency (the Global Environment Facility Programme) has changed a refuse dumpand a wild neglected area into beautiful public gardens. It has provided relevantactivities to children who were previously a nuisance, making them responsiblecitizens, offered medical advice on birth control and preventive medicine as wellas necessary medicines and treatment at no cost to the community.

The project also demonstrates that when right structures are established, both womenand men are able to effectively participate in project planning, implementation andmanagement. The ‘Women’s Committee’ has managed to spearhead the environmentalactivities within the project area and its approaches can be replicated elsewhere.

85

Selective Solid Waste Collection andRecycling in Recife, Brazil

IntroductionRecife is the capital city of the state of Pernambucoin North East Brazil. Commerce and service provisionare the most important economic activities within thecity. The Municipal Council largely relies on communityapproaches for service provision as opposed to publicservices.

An integrated sanitation programme encompassingdrainage, sewerage, refuse removal and healthpromotion is implemented by a decentralisedadministration. This approach involves using local andregional structures in addressing health andenvironmental problems. It has resulted in theMunicipal structures working closely with differentactors, including NGOs and CBOs. The approach isexpected to improve environmental management andenhance sustainability.

Urban environmentDrainage was one of the most serious problems facingthe city of Recife. The absence of a sewerage systemand the lack of community awareness on efficientwaste management resulted in flooding caused bywaste disposal. This degraded the environmentthrough surface water pollution and contributed towater borne diseases.

86


Before the solid waste collection project, waste was mainly handled by men, inform of trade on recyclable materials. The waste recycling industry employed1,100 workers, 94.1 per cent of whom were men. The project aimed to changethis trend by promoting women’s involvement in waste management. Throughthe programme both women and men participated in the informal selection andtrade of recyclable materials. This was done not only for economic purposes, butalso with the goal of reducing environmental hazards.

The objectives of the project included:

� promoting environmental improvement;

� reducing extra cost on public services;

� improving hygiene and environmental education; and

� meeting gender needs on income generation.

These goals were to be achieved through various planning and action strategiesincluding:

� mobilising public support and participation;

� improving policy intervention;

� strengthening service delivery; and

� building institutional capacity.

Experience with a gender responsive EPM processThe project adopted a participatory process by bringing together all stakeholdergroups. The abilities, potential and interest of women and men were identified.This was aimed at understanding and overcoming some cultural and socialconstraints which affect women and men. Subsequently, gender specific aspectswere worked out and different tasks and responsibilities distributed.

The selective solid waste collection programme adopted gender responsive EPMprocess which encouraged strong linkages among stakeholder groups andencouraged participation. The identification of capacity, needs and subsequenttraining offered increased women’s participation in decision making.

The project has resulted in two major initiatives: the pilot project on IntegratedActions on Health, Education and Environment which have been implemented bythe Ministry of Health, and the pilot plan for Municipal Capacity Building onEnvironmental Education by Ministry of Water Resources, Environment and LegalAmazon.

The participatory approach encouraged by the Community Health Care Promotion(CHCP), which the Municipal Authorities started in 1994 within its Urban Cleaningand Maintenance Unit (EMLURB), has brought changes in the area. The

87

programme is linked to the Municipal HealthSecretariat and involves 1,256 community health careactors, 85 per cent of whom are women.

The Communal Selective Collection Project (CSCP)is implemented in middle, lower and low incomeneighbourhoods. Priority is given to neighbourhoodswith difficult access to conventional garbagecollection. To encourage the separation of materialsby households, they are offered the possibility ofexchanging the separated materials for food, mealtickets or construction materials for group building.The exchange is made by each household individuallyor collectively depending on community decisions.

The support to selective collection by the informalsector is meant for the groups active in informal wastetrading. They include street pickers, cart pullers andrag pickers at the main city dump. All three groupshave low education and can only offer unskilledlabour. This method eventually proved so effectivethat it attracted established commercial agents,including middle and higher income groups toregularly participate in the process.

The Voluntary Delivery Spots operate specialcontainers for segregated collection of recyclablematerials. Besides providing a means for appropriatedisposal of recyclable wastes, they also educate thecommunity. Although the project was initiated by theLocal Authority, it is being gradually handed over tocommunity based organizations or informal groups.However equipment maintenance and socialmonitoring remains a public task.

EMLURB organises training of trainers (TOT), whichprovides a forum for discussing the competing andconflicting interests of women and men in projectparticipation. During this forum, a general consensuson how to achieve the objectives are discussed andagreed upon. This approach makes it possible formulti disciplinary teams to work together on research,planning, implementing, monitoring and managingenvironmental projects.

Playing a multiple role in the maintenance of the urbaninfrastructure, EMLURB contributes a deeper

88


integration within the different services. This is relevant in a city where drainageproblems can be solved or easily reduced by regular waste collection achievedthrough behavioural change.

Through EMLURB, the active involvement of the informal sector, which was largelymale dominated, and CBOs which are mostly composed of women’s groups, hasbeen ensured. This has contributed to the exchange of information and skills onrecyclable materials and trading.

LessonsIn spite of the progress made in actively involving stakeholder groups, the lack ofan efficient institutional framework affected project activities whenever there wasan administrative transition. There is therefore a need to build an institutionalframework in order to ensure continuity, especially during administrative transitions.The project should not rely only on heads of departments and programmecoordination for continuity. The project has pointed out the need for effectiveuse of the media in educating the communities on issues related to genderimbalance in order to break the social and cultural barriers existing betweenwomen and men.

Apart from the above achievements, the project has provided good lessons fordesigning a good marketing strategy for recyclable materials. This can bothpromote well being and also ensure good environmental planning andmanagement.

The project has improved environmental management. Under its umbrella, severalcomplementary and integrated projects have been initiated. The programme hasa number of components, including voluntary delivery spots, communal selectivecollection and support to informal selective collection.

Social control has been improved through regional work and involvement of theHealth Care Promoters. All the carts are now licensed and special areas forinspection have been defined where there was visible concentration of pollutionof waste. Finally, the promotion of interaction among social and inspection teams,community and institutional control, adding new points of view by gender analysishas made the implementation of environmental strategies in general moreeffective.

89

Future Workshops - From Vision intoAction: Women’s Role in City Planning inHeidelberg, Germany

IntroductionHeidelberg is located on both sides of the river Neckerin the South of Germany. It is an old well known city,visited by millions of tourists every year. It has apopulation of 131,837 people of which 53.2 and 46.8per cent are women and men respectively. About onefifth of the population are students enrolled at theUniversity of Heidelberg, University of PedagogicalSciences, Jewish University and the University ofMusic. The US Army’s European headquarters andNATO headquarters are also located in Heidelberg.Most people live in flats, altogether there are 66,135houses and flats which provide an average of 37.5square meters of space per person.

Public transport includes trams and buses coveringall boroughs of the city and connecting to other areas.The city has one main and several peripheral trainstations. The city provides 80 kilometres of cyclingpaths to encourage the use of bicycles. Traffic hasbeen a major issue of concern and has been a targetof many efforts towards reduction of C02 emissions.In response to the situation, the public transportsystem has improved during the last fifteen years.

90


There is a little industrial activity in the areas of printing, specialised car supplies,small chemical industry, sanitary ceramics, biotechnology, surgery instrumentsand several publishing trusts.

Urban environmentThe Heidelberg project was concerned with contributing to the City DevelopmentPlan of 2010. The project identified areas of concern in preparing the plan:preservation of resources, social justice, environmental protection and publicparticipation. In addressing these issues the project considered the generalorientation, built environment, regional cooperation, work and employment, mobilityand transport, social life and culture.

Preparing the City Development Plan 2010 involved setting up a special committeewhich managed public participation and discussions. The Committee gathered360 proposals and amendments stemming from participatory processes, includingeffective participation from women.

The project realised that the participatory approaches that were in use did notsufficiently encourage women to participate effectively. This meant that women’sperspectives, needs, demands, ideas and visions were not being accommodatedin the planning. Participation was mainly coming from male representatives ofrelevant stakeholder groups. Subsequently, the planning process was foundinadequate and strategies to change it were designed. In response to this situation,the city’s gender department used gender responsive EPM to address the problem.An effective methodology for enhancing women’s participation in each of thecity’s 14 boroughs was designed: the Future Workshops Methodology.

Experience with a gender responsive EPM processThe Future Workshops Methodology was developed to ensure that planning isnot left solely in the hands of male experts, politicians and business-persons.The methodology is based on the fact that any planning process has to take intoaccount the perspectives of all those being planned for. It is a participatory andconsultative mechanism which identifies needs as well as searching for consensuson action plans for implementation.

The methodology is designed to facilitate the involvement of stakeholder groups,and in particular assist them in developing their vision. The dates of FutureWorkshops are chosen in accordance with women’s needs, they are held withinthe boroughs convenient to women, and professional child care is providedthroughout the workshops.

The methodology consists of a one day seminar made up of three major phases:Critique, Utopia and Realisation. These three phases are facilitated by a trainedmoderator, equipped with group work techniques and equipment. The process ismeant to raise the level of brain storming, creativity, vision and decision making.

91

The Critique component provides a forum fordiscussing problems, identifying critical issues,expressing opinions and discussion. The forum isorganised in small groups and issues and opinionscollected are gathered in order to identify key areasof focus.

The Utopia stage encourages participants to developa new vision of an ideal city and borough which clearlydefines what they feel is needed for citizens to feel athome, safe, healthy and happy. In this stage themoderator encourages participants not to discuss butpurely to gather ideas before considering theiradvantages and disadvantages. The moderatorgathers ideas and visions visibly on a big board andenhances the visualization as much as possible withdrawings, symbols and pictures.

In the Realisation stage, the ideas are discussed inregard to how they can be put into practice. Tostructure the discussion, the different ideas are ratedroughly and the most promising ones discussed first.Participants are asked to gather examples of wherethe ideas have been implemented and consider theresults and experiences to discuss possibilities oftransferring specific measures to their own boroughs.If there are no examples at hand, participants areencouraged to discuss the advantages anddisadvantages on the basis of their knowledge andexperience. The key aspect of this phase is to planthe implementation of the idea to the utmost possibledetail in order to realise the plans. A successful FutureWorkshop ends with putting together a detailed planof action including assigning tasks and roles toparticipants.

Effecting the Future Workshops methodology entailedworking very closely with women’s groups andorganisations in preparing and organising womenwithin the 14 boroughs. In total, 177 womenparticipated in the 14 workshops held in 14 boroughsin Heidelberg. The participants included women of allage ranging between 25 to 50. A large proportionwere mothers with children who worked either ashousewives but intended to get back to workingoutside the home, or mothers engaged in otheractivities.

92


Gender research conducted at the University’s faculty for Social Sciences supportthe Future Workshops process. Such research has included safety and securitywithin the city, needs and interests of young mothers in the city and the futureworkshop itself. In some cases, gathering the data has involved women who areactive members of the future workshops. The results of such research is madeavailable to the gender department and the city council, who in turn use thefindings as appropriate. The Faculty also keeps in touch with the groups in theboroughs and individual women on a regular basis in order to provide supportand consultation where necessary. Overall, the data collected serve as a usefulresource in the planning process. The gender department provided a report on‘Women’s Perspective on Urban Development in Heidelberg’ which wasincorporated into the amendments for city development plan and used as a basicresource in the City Development Plan 2010 - Guidelines and Goals.

The future workshops methodology mobilised women and resulted in women’sneeds and ideas within the boroughs being accommodated. It has improvedcommunication within the boroughs leading to large networks of cooperationand exchange of information, identification with local environment, and motivationto participate and contribute to issues affecting the respective boroughs. Womenfeel encouraged and empowered to contribute to community life and politics.They are aware of the opportunities and responsibilities and can transfer theirskills elsewhere. The positive outcome of involving women is reflected in a numberof concrete actions and ongoing projects which gender involvement has yieldedwithin the 14 boroughs. Some of the actions and ongoing projects include:

� creating safety and security for women by having new routes for cyclists;

� changing the stop of the weekly city library bus to a more convenient place;

� converting a large parking lot in the city centre into a children’s playground;

� improving street lights;

� planting trees and bushes along streets;

� carrying out surveys with local children and youth to gather information ontheir needs and suggestions regarding their urban environment; and

� lobbying for green areas, parks and meadows of church or private propertyto be opened to the public.

The actions integrated in the gender responsive EPM process have beeninstitutionalised. Groups have been created in the boroughs to continue thework long after the workshops. These groups continue to build long term genderresponsive capacities and helps to institutionalise the workshop mechanism,through continuous networking and awareness. Further, their direct link with thegender department of the council provides continuity in institutionalising thegender responsive EPM process.

93

LessonsThe participation of women has provided numerousconstructive and indispensable contributions toimproving the physical and cultural environment, andis expected to result in sustainable urbandevelopment. The participation of women has not onlyresulted in their views and ideas being incorporatedin the Development Plan but has also given birth to anumber of actions and ongoing projects by thewomen’s groups formed in the boroughs. Maintainingwomen’s groups in the boroughs is important forbuilding long-term gender responsive capacities andhelps to institutionalise the G-EPM process.

The Future Workshop Methodology has madeparticipatory processes better known and appreciatedby the Local Authority, other stakeholder groups andthe general public. Individuals have developednumerous and detailed visions of the future of theircity. Many problems have been addressed effectivelythrough communication and networking in theboroughs, which has encouraged identification andsharing problems.

The project recommended several measures whichneed to be taken to improve and sustain women’sparticipation in decision making. They include;capacity building as it relates to developing visions,ideas and practical strategies for implementation;ensuring that women’s inputs are used by LocalAuthorities, adequate resources for participatoryprocesses, broad participation by other stakeholdergroups and the general public, especially the media.The media was recommended because of its abilityto publicise the ongoing activities and contributionsof stakeholder groups.

94


Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana Program m e,Guntur, India

IntroductionSwarna Jayanti programme is located in the Municipal Corporation of Guntur inIndia. The Municipal has a population of 470,051 with a total of 103,991households, population density of 10,265 persons per square kilometre and anurban growth rate of 1.8%. The per capita income is $300 with an unemploymentrate of seven per cent. The sources of employment include; agricultural basedindustries of tobacco, chillies, jute, cotton and granite products.

The city is well connected with all the major towns in the country by both roadand rail. There are a number of tourist attractions: Buddhist centres in Amaravathi,and Nagarjuna Sagar, woodlands, boating facilities and deer parks add to thenumber of tourist attractions.

Among the priority concerns of the city are urban poverty alleviation, environmentalprotection, primary education and primary health care.

Urban environmentThe Municipal Corporation of Guntur faces a number of problems. A total of 15 percent of the population have no access to safe drinking water, while 50 per cent haveno appropriate sanitation facilities. While it is estimated that by 2025, 50 per cent ofthe Indian population will reside in cities and towns, the Municipal Corporation ofGuntur has 40 per cent of its population living below the poverty line.

The city suffers from traffic congestion, housing shortages and increasing numbersof poor housing, infrastructure and services such as education, health, roads,electricity and garbage disposal. There is also degradation of the ecologicalenvironment, unemployment and increase in crime. The city lacks adequateresources, and skills for coping with the demand of urban life as well as awarenessregarding various environmental issues.

95

The Swarna Integrated Programme aims ataddressing these urban problems by mobilising,organising and empowering communities, especiallywomen, to address environmental issues. Theprogramme realised that women constitute half of thepopulation in India but they are not well integrated inaccessing and controlling resources, includingplanning and managing the environment. There arethree main factors which make women’s integrationnecessary: women are more involved in bringing upchildren, women form some of the poorest of the poorat the family level and are subjected to exploitationby men due to their lack of education. This is in spiteof the fact that women are considered bettereducators on personal and domestic hygiene,sanitation and tree planting among others.

Experience with a gender responsive EPMprocessThrough the gender responsive EPM process theprogramme carried out a survey aimed atunderstanding the environmental conditions of thecommunities. The survey instrument was designed ina way so as to get adequate and essential informationon women in each household. Women’s perceptionregarding the environmental conditions,infrastructure, services and interest in group activitieswere recorded.

Through the gender responsive EPM process the cityof Guntur has mobilised and accommodated groupswhich have often been outside the formal planningand management such as women, private sectorgroups and other marginalised and disadvantagedgroups. In addition to bringing in women, the Gunturprogramme has brought in private sector participationthrough Green Guntur Committee, a forum with theobjective of making Guntur clean and green. Throughthe committee, the Indian Tobacco Company (ITC), aprivate sector organisation, has taken upenvironmental protection by planting nearly 10,000trees along the avenues, main roads and residentialareas of Guntur.

The programme considers that neighbourhood groupshave a better understanding of the environmentalconditions around them. Thus, during the process all

96


stakeholder groups: women, men and children are involved through a three-tierparticipatory community structure. The structure include neighbourhood groups(NHG), neighbourhood committees (NHC) and community development Societies(CDS). These structures are further facilitated by Resident Community Volunteers(RCV), and a Community Organiser (CO) who is a functionary from the MunicipalCorporation. The latter ensures that the priorities and needs of the communitiesare integrated in broader strategies set up by the Municipal Corporation.

The structures, with the support of external technical expertise, mobilise andorganise communities and further facilitate understanding of the environmentalconditions. Specifically, women centred discussions and demonstrations are heldto sensitise women to environmental hazards which affect them and their families.Through these structures, both local and external expertise is tapped - residentshold meetings, pass resolutions through consensus and design strategies. Forexample, residents suggest which plants should be planted, methods ofprocurement of plant seedlings, space for planting and watering methods.

The actual implementation of strategies include women and men. They participatein construction of drains, roads, tree planting and provision and maintenance ofsanitation. The programme was designed also to provide employment to thepoor, and pays wages for the poorest of the poor who participate in the programmeactivities.

To ensure the effective participation of women, an exclusive women forum named‘Stree Shakti’ (power of women) was formed in the city of Guntur. The objectivesof the society were:

� elimination of all types of discrimination against women;

� improvement of health conditions;

� creation and utilization of resources for health, education, development andequality of status of women in socio-economic, political and cultural fields;and

� environmental upkeep through women’s participation.

‘Stree Shakti’ has its local units working at the community level and headed bywomen. Apart from focusing on overall economic development, these women’sorgans are involved in environmental planning and management. They hold regularconsultative meetings to discuss problems facing women and come up with strategiesfor addressing the situation. Gender responsive EPM has been institutionalised bybuilding community structures which actively involve women and men.

Through gender responsive EPM Guntur Municipal Corporation has moved awayfrom its previous planning and management methods, which did not consider theinputs of local people. The active involvement of a wide range of stakeholdergroups has been put in place due to efficient coordination among the administrativeMunicipal officers, private sector and the local people. This approach has brought

97

a change of attitude in stakeholder groups who arenow able to appreciate collective action.

Women groups are taking up entrepreneurial activitiesto have better income and improved living standards.Saving societies consisting of 10 - 15 women havebeen started and women are able to save. Thecombined effort of women and men has improved theenvironment, a number of drains were repaired andnew drains built and sanitation facilities provided.

LessonsThe project has provided a number of lessons:

� traditional approaches to town planning areinadequate, and an integrated approach isnecessary for achieving long termenvironmentally sustainable development;

� reaching consensus on priority environmentalissues while time consuming, is a worth whileinvestment, and ensures a gender responsiveEPM process;

� although lack of financial resources andinfrastructural facilities can be a hindrance,much can be achieved with the activecooperation of beneficiaries and otherstakeholder groups;

� in order to realise success in the genderresponsive EPM process, the city’s stakeholdergroups not only need to be identified andmobilised but also empowered throughlegislation;

� programmes should establish measurable andtime bound indicators for monitoring andevaluating the gender responsive EPM process;and

� consensus-building across stakeholder groupsincluding politicians assists in building a sense ofownership and commitment among stakeholdergroups - this leads to better implementation ofmanagement of environmental programmes.

98


W om en’s Initiative in Environmental Protection, Hue City,Vietnam

IntroductionHue is the capital of Thua Thien Province in Central Vietnam, located on fluvialislands in a river delta. It has a population of 230,000, and is exposed to frequentflooding. Hue is mainly a city for tourism and culture. It has a small industrialsector, most of the industries are either small or medium in size. In this regard thecity is spared environmental pollution threats since most of its productive activitiesare largely in environment friendly fields, such as tourism and services.

Urban environmentHue city generates a total of 3,000 cubic meters of refuse per day, of which about55 per cent is collected by the Centre for Municipal Environment and SanitationManagement. This is the only government agency charged with refuse collection.Part of the waste not collected by the agency is disposed of through burning, buryingwhile some is dumped illegally on open spaces, drainage and rivers.

The sewerage and drainage system is in poor condition and discharges wasteinto surface water (ponds, canals and Huong river). Sewers were largely blockedand had unfitted joints, with high chances of polluting ground water. The septictanks used by 63 per cent of the population are not connected to the drainagesystem. In most cases the effluent from the septic tanks drains into the ground orflows directly to the water ways. The remaining percentage of the population donot have adequate sanitary facilities, and use either pit latrines, or other methods.Those without sanitary facilities dispose their human and other waste into therivers, ponds and both public and private open spaces and plots. The worst hitwith city environmental problems are about 800 families living in barges andboats without any access to public utilities and services.

The Hue Municipal council is responsible for the overall supervision ofimplementation of the environment project. It is assisted by a Steering Committee

99

(SC) and a Community Programme Management Unit(CPMU) which heads the executing units establishedwithin each community. The units include GreenVolunteers (GV) and basically most local women withinthe community participate.

The project formulation team identified women as keyactors, because women are more vulnerable topollution, use more water, handle garbage, areexposed to a high rate of obstetric and skin diseasesand other pollution related diseases, and are chargedwith children’s education. Thus, the need to focus onwomen justified the formulation of a project on ‘WomenInitiative on Environmental Protection’. The projectwas started in 1997 with Hue City’s Women’s Unionas the coordinating agency. The project aimed atprotecting the urban environment and landscape bypromoting local people’s awareness, improving thelocal community living environment and facilitatingmore gender responsive environmental planning andmanagement.

Experience with a gender responsive EPMprocessIn response to the City of Hue’s neglectedenvironmental issues, an environmental project wasstarted. This involved bringing all stakeholder groups,including experts from Departments of Environmentand Health Care, City Women Union, CommuneAuthorities and local women together in a workshop.Through the workshops, the participants, especiallywomen are introduced to the concepts ofenvironmental protection. With the guidance of theexperts, women actively participate in discussions andfinding out for themselves the problems, both existingand potential, and the solutions for the problems.

The workshops play a key role in raising awarenessand preparing communities to participate inenvironmental protection activities. It also secures thecommitment of the municipality and relatedprofessional departments to the improvement of thelocal living environment; and contributes to womenbeing recognised not only as beneficiaries but as themain actors. Once communities are sensitisedthrough workshops, gender sensitive action plansbased on data gathered from surveys and field visits

100


are developed. The plans clearly outline the priority issues, the responsibilitiesand participation of each partner, schedule and method of implementation.

Through the project, women have participated in environmental educationcampaigns, improvement of living environment and the general facilitation ofgender oriented environmental planning and management. Houses as well asroads, lanes and other public places have been kept clean through clearingexisting uncollected garbage dumps, bringing garbage to collection pointsaccessible to the Centre’s collection vehicles, and preventing illegal burning anddumping of garbage.

The project has further contributed to the proper maintenance of sewers and thedrainage system by frequent examination of drainage/sewerage subsystems andby preventing the discharge of solid waste into the subsystems. Public and privatesanitary facilities have also been improved by constructing household toilets,providing dust bins within communities, and constructing community sewerage/drainage subsystems. Overall, the frequent meetings between local women’sunions and local authorities on environmental issues and replication of theprogramme in new areas has facilitated gender oriented environmental planningand management.

LessonsThe programme has managed to bring diversified stakeholder groups to workwith women in order to realise efficient environmental planning and management.Government agencies, Non Governmental agencies and Community Basedorganisations have worked from the onset, beginning with the workshops. Thisprocess has encouraged women to use their abilities, participating more activelyin problem identification and programme implementation.

Technical information and expertise was also used effectively by tailoring it to theneeds of women and the community at large. This allowed the community to fullyuse information for improving the environment.

Overall, the success of the programme is attributed to strong political support,education and gender awareness among all stakeholder groups. The active andeffective involvement of the Women’s Union has contributed to the programmebeing responsive to women’s needs. It has also changed the views of politiciansas well as other actors on the capacity of women in development. The programmeclearly shows that when women are given a chance through participatoryapproaches, they can significantly contribute to improving the environment.

101

Consumer Education and CommunityParticipation Project, Kathmandu,Nepal

IntroductionThe Nepal Water Supply Corporation (NWSC) is aquasi independent entity accountable to the Ministryof Housing and Physical Planning (MHPP). It isresponsible for providing treated water and ensuringhygienic sanitation services to 14 urban centres inthe Kingdom of Nepal. As of 1985, 70 per cent ofNepal’s urban population had access to safe drinkingwater, while 17 per cent had access to adequatesanitation facilities. The accelerated urban growthwhich is higher than the national population growthhas resulted in a deterioration of services, includingwater supply and sanitation.

The NWSC suffers from severe financial andoperational weaknesses, and is in need ofimprovement. A total of 80 per cent of the operationalcosts are budgeted during planning. However, thebudget deficit has forced the corporation to make shortterm savings at the expense of the quantity and qualityof water and much needed maintenance. This hasresulted in the dissatisfaction of consumers, which isreflected in illegal connections, tampering with watermeters, direct pumping and evasion of water tariffpayments.

102


Urban environmentThe consumer education and community participation project in Nepal respondsto a number of environmental problems: contamination of the supply, adjacentseptic tanks, latrines and polluted surfaces. Further, sewerage and drainagesystems developed over the last 100 years can not meet the growing needs. Atthe same time, many of them are clogged with solid waste; while the majority ofhouses are not connected due to the unwillingness of consumers to incurexpenses. Latrines in areas without sewer are poorly constructed, contribute toground water contamination, and result in the spread of water related diseases.

In responding to the water and environmental problems, Nepal has embarked ona 15 year Comprehensive Development Programme (CDP) aimed at rehabilitatingand expanding urban water supply and sanitation systems. The strategies forimplementing the programme include two levels of Community Education andCommunity Participation (CECP). The first level included establishing a ConsumerRelations Unit (CRU) in each branch operation unit of NWSC and formation ofWard User’s Committee (WUC) in each ward at community level. Women areactive in WUC, just as they are in Ward Development committees which aregrassroots political units for local government. Country wide, a total of 36,000women are members of the WUC.

The CECP programme accommodates women and informs them about theavailability and accessibility of water supply and sanitation. Women’s primaryrole as resource managers of households and key water users is a strongmotivating factor for enhancing active participation in the programme. Theprogramme has the ultimate goal of providing safe and adequate water andsanitation services to all main urban centres of the Kingdom by the year 2005.

In addition to being a signatory to most United Nations conventions relating toequal opportunities for women and men, Nepal has a Ministry of Housing andPhysical Planning directive which states that women should be actively involvedin planning, designing and implementing water and sewerage projects. This hasmade it mandatory to have the equal participation of women and men. In eachWater and Sanitation Users Committees (WUCs) operational throughout thecountry, at least two women are required to be members.

The CDP relies on working with communities and other stakeholder groups inensuring the availability of clean water and functional sewerage systems. Therole of communities is important in ensuring that the systems are not damagedor destroyed once they are in place. This requires improving relationships withconsumers, including enlisting their support in the delivery of water supply andsanitation systems. The consumer education project address this through thefollowing objectives:

� improve and maintain the quantity and quality of water supply andsanitation services with coordination and cooperation of consumers andcommunity groups;

103

� create and enhance the awareness level andeducate community members on rational use ofwater; and

� mobilise and motivate community participation.

Experience with a gender responsive EPMprocessA first step in gender responsive EPM was datacollection, using a community based approach.Information on wards relating to water supply issueswas gathered, and community problems wereidentified. Informal contact with women was made byfemale staff before a door-to-door campaign andother information gathering was undertaken. Wardoffices acted as grassroots administration and mainentry points.

Once information was gathered a series of strategicplanning workshops were conducted with all staffmembers and CECP branch level public relations staff,branch operational managers, line managers andmanagers separately. At community level, the schoolteachers, community leaders and youth participatedin strategic planning workshops. These workshopsgave communities a mandate from the NWSCoperational management and also mobilisedcommunities. With all stakeholder groups, includingcommunity, the project identified three priority areas:establishing a full scale customer relations unit withinNWSC with the capacity to keep managementinformed of consumer needs; dealing promptly withcomplaints; and developing and launching effectiveconsumer education programmes and mass mediacampaigns among communities served by NWSC.

In order to ensure gender responsive planning,additional NWSC staff including women were hiredand trained to educate and inform consumers onwater, sanitation and health issues. Further, NGOsand community leaders in selected Municipalities wereidentified, indoctrinated and mobilised. There werealso mass media campaigns designed to improve therelationship between NWSC and its consumers. Inturn, the community leaders and NGOs organisedUser Groups and community participation.

104


The efforts of ensuring gender responsiveness resulted in the implementation ofprograms which consumers identified with, as reflected in an improved awarenesson how community actions affect delivery of water and sanitation systems, howhealth is affected and how the city environment can be improved. The programresulted in the proper use and care of facilities and timely payment of servicecharges, a measurable increases in NWSC revenue, and a reduced incidence ofmeter tampering, illegal connections and general abuse of facilities. Furthermore,replication of the program to other municipalities and wards is being realised.

The programme has established a number of structures and sensitised allstakeholder groups to environmental issues. This has contributed toinstitutionalisation of the gender responsive EPM process. There is emphasis onequal participation of women and men - in most decision-making structures thereare at least two women representatives. The training being conducted is expectedto enhance community participation in all NWSC activities. This will foster and actas a medium through which all kinds of environmental programmes can belaunched.

LessonsThere are both positive and negative lessons from the programme. On the positiveaspects, awareness created by the programme through mass media andcommunity talk is having an impact on the community. Women who haveparticipated in courses in adult literacy are adopting steps in conserving water,while national agencies are replicating the programme elsewhere. These aspectshave the potential to institutionalise the project and ensure its sustainability.

The fact that WUCs’ presidents are Ward Chairpersons, who are also politicalleaders, has not been positive to the programme. It has created a gap betweencommunities having a different ideology and interpretation of the CECPprogramme. Other negative experiences with the programme include women notparticipating in community talk programmes due to social factors, includingnegative attitudes. This leaves men to participate in the programmes, makingthem more aware of issues relating to their environment and how to relate withNWSC. Due to the close links that the programme has with government, somepolicies and strategies have failed to be effectively implemented due to frequentchanges in the government.

105

Good Governance: New Forms ofCooperation and Partnership for aM ore Gender Responsive UrbanDevelopment in Hamburg, Germ any

IntroductionHamburg is located in unique setting, surrounded bywater. The city has the obligation to keep the socialfabric of the city intact. The city is undergoing changesand new challenges have to be met throughcomprehensive planning policies. The economy of thecity has been transformed from dependence on thesea port to being a major centre for service industries.Since the re-unification of Germany the population ofHamburg has been increasing by 20,000 peopleannually.

Urban environmentThe process of urban transformation is characterisedby new demands for land and housing, growingenvironmental problems, socio-economic and socio-regional polarisation. In order to manage the changesand ensure sustainable development, the Senatedecided in 1991 to set up an Urban DevelopmentOffice and work out a policy framework for Urban andRegional Development.

The first head of the Urban Development office was afemale politician, Senator Muller, who at the same timebecame the head of the Senate Office for EqualOpportunities. The appointment of a woman Senator

106


marked a landmark for the advancement of gender issues. It facilitated themobilisation of both local and external resources and enabled the immediatebeginning of gender responsive urban planning and management. Genderplanners share ideas at conferences and national meetings. They also publishand exchange experiences on gender planning with other cities.

Such gender sensitive activities offered a chance to combine women’s interestswith urban environmental planning. Through the female Senator’s leadership,several ideas arising from both authorities led to changes in structures andopening up the possibilities for work on gender aspects of urban development.This has further contributed to each head of the Urban Development Officeacknowledging the participation of women at all levels of planning and managingurban and regional development. The incorporation of women’s interests intourban planning and management has resulted in new ideas and innovativeapproaches to planning as demonstrated in this case study.

The ongoing economic deregulation and globalisation have a negative impacton women’s lives, they can hardly cope with their daily tasks. In order to respondto this situation, women must participate effectively in planning and managingthe city. This was realised through an analysis of mobility, district functions andresidential buildings by a gender sensitive specialised group of women planners.Their analysis showed that the creation of safety has an influence on the choiceof routes and transport modes, particularly during the night. The analysis revealedthat working mothers are harder hit by the demands of synchronising differenturban time patterns than other working people. With a gender focused approachthe authority stimulated public debate on the need to change urban time structuresin order to accommodate women within the city. Subsequently the project cameup with the following objectives:

� develop visions and approaches for a women’s city;

� creating institutional framework for participation of women;

� incorporating gender interests into urban environmental planning;

� increasing efficiency of urban environmental planning and reducing costs;and

� responding to women’s needs and incorporating them right from the initialstages of environmental planning in order to enhance productivity andensure sustainability.

Experience with a gender responsive EPM processThe first step undertaken by the project in ensuring gender responsiveenvironmental planning and management was to develop a dialogue-orientedapproach. A council made up of women who figured in public life of the city andwomen within the three districts covered by the project effectively participated ingathering information. Women representatives of the areas being covered wereinvited to round table discussions and major questions relating to their lives within

107

the city were raised: how to improve urban environmentand make it more compatible with women’s daily lives;how to allow the freedom of movement which allowswomen to use public spaces in a more suitable way;and the protection of natural resources. The outputof the round table discussions were again discussedwith local women within the project areas.

The recognition and accommodation of women’sprofessional expertise, women’s organisations andgender expertise resulted in the cooperation andactive participation of women. Local women andfemale architects initiated and monitored severalpublic housing projects; a working group of womenemployed by a building authority was set up; a womansecretary in the Senate Office for Equal Opportunitieswas appointed and she initiated several projectspromoting gender responsive action. A series of ‘City-dialogues’ were conducted in which the UrbanDevelopment Concept was discussed in workinggroups with interested women; women had a chanceto make their comments during formal participationon the zoning plan and the Women’s Advisory Councilsuggested including a gender specific guidingprinciple in the Zoning Plan.

The implementation of the project was ensuredthrough close collaboration among the three keyactors: the Office of Urban Development; theWomen’s Advisory Council; and the Senate Office forEqual Opportunities. The Urban Development Officeis able to intervene if no woman is included in cityplanning processes, the same office has a list ofcompetent women professionals, which they engagewhenever required. The office of Urban Developmentset up a multidimensional model of institutionalisedparticipation of women professionals, organisationsand groups in planning processes. A planningauthority linked to the Authority for Equal Opportunitieswas also set up.

Through the institutional framework created by theproject, the Working Group on Women’s Concern inRegional Planning produced a position paper whichwas incorporated in the framework for implementationof the Regional Development Concept; and publicdebate over the need for change in urban time

108


structures has been stimulated and implemented. Additionally, numerous activitiesin housing, neighbourhood planning and community development, including thedevelopment of planning theory and methodology, are being realised.

LessonsThe project has developed relevant structures which enhance women’sparticipation in environmental planning and management. The establishment ofa gender sensitive new planning authority has resulted in the city developing anup-to-date urban development approach and process. The identification andinvolvement of active gender planners, experts and women’s organisations hasfacilitated the mobilisation and tapping of resources relevant for ensuring genderresponsive EPM.

109

Establishing a Women-OrientedCottage Industry in M adaba, Amman,Jordan

IntroductionMadaba City and its surrounding suburbs are situatedin the southern part of Jordan. The area lacks propertransport and communication services, drainagesystems, housing, hospitals, schools and recreationalfacilities among others. The area also suffers fromsevere water shortage, which is further intensified bythe effect of a poorly managed cottage industry. Thearea largely relies on cottage industries which hashad an impact on the environment. The activities ofthe cottage industries produce contaminated wastewater which has caused pollution in the area for overten years. Subsequently, the area experiences severeair, water and soil pollution.

The cottage industries were started with an aim ofenabling underprivileged housewives generateincome by reviving traditional crafts. Most productionunits are located within residential areas in houseswhich lack facilities relevant for supporting suchproduction. The location of industries within residentialareas has made it easy for women to commute towork given that the area suffers from transportproblems.

110


Urban environmentThe project uses low quality wool which requires a lot of water and chemicals forcleaning. Given the poor drainage system, the industries have had a negativeimpact on the environment, due to pollution. As opposed to the gender responsiveEPM process, the project right from its initiation lacked coordination between theproject initiators, local organisations and other stakeholder groups. The projectdid not make any attempt to facilitate dialogue among the stakeholder groupswho were mostly directly affected.

Experience with a gender responsive EPM processThe lack of involvement of stakeholder groups created tension and problems,especially between spouses. The project empowered women with income in amale dominated community without involving the male gender. The shift ofeconomic power from men to women generated family squabbles with some endingin separation and divorce. The inability to put gender responsive EPM in placeproduced a negative end result which could not be sustained. Although the projectenabled women to generate income from the cottage industries and receivedinternational acclaim for reviving cottage industries; the lack of involvement ofstakeholder groups has made the project not realise its objective of economicsustainability.

Most unemployed men earn their economic livelihood by cultivating land. Theemissions of contaminated waste water used by women polluted the soil andjeopardised the men’s economic opportunities. Men were left with no opportunitiesand tried to stop the women’s cottage industries by filing complaints to the HealthDepartment in a bid to close the industries. Stopping the industries implies noincome for women, while continuing the project also has a negative implicationfor men, who were largely spouses of the women. This conflict of interests hascontributed to tension between women and men, resulting in depression, due toverbal and psychological torture.

Apart from the conflict, the project has also put pressure on women. Dividingtheir time between their household chores and going to work in the factory hasbeen over-strenuous. There is also increase in mortality rate of infants,miscarriages and stillborn births. The factory work is very demanding and partlycontributes to physical disorders such as backaches, headaches and dizziness.

Although the project did not put in place a gender responsive EPM right from theonset, gathering information revealed how the project affected differentstakeholder groups. It also revealed the poor working environment. Most of thefacilities required were lacking, and the use of unsuitable houses as productionunits posed health hazards to the workers and the general surrounding populace.The emission of foul smell from acetic acid and the prevalence of contaminatedwaste water had polluted the air, water and soil. The lack of involvement ofstakeholder groups has affected the creation of awareness which was attemptedfor over ten years. Further, the little efforts made are not institutionalised due tolack of environmental planning and management.

111

The project has witnessed isolated individual initiativesthrough informal discussions. For example, a few elitewomen from Amman started some initiatives throughCBOs and NGOs with a bid to improve environmentalmanagement, but failed due to poor coordination andcommitment from relevant stakeholder groups. Someof these efforts include:

� addressing pollution problem by recycling waterfor further use;

� creating green areas by planting trees andencouraging communities to plant trees;

� relocating dye centres from residential areasand equipping them with fume-hoods and properventilation;

� centralising wool washing; and

� increasing the volume of water in order toincrease production by liaising with the waterauthorities.

The above was done by encouraging and supportingwomen to join local committees. Through thecommittees women would be mobilised and alsoparticipate in information gathering, strategyformulation and decisions relating to environmentalmanagement.

LessonsThe lack of involvement of all stakeholder groups,especially male spouses of women contributed to thefailure of the project. There was little consultationduring project planning and implementation. Thisresulted in resistance from various stakeholdergroups due to conflict of interests, which at the sametime contributed to the negative effect on theenvironment. Future development of the project hasto give gender responsive EPM as a process a highpriority in order to ensure participation and goodworking relationships among the stakeholder groups.

112


Capacity Building for Urban Poverty Alleviation in Ibadan,Nigeria

IntroductionThe majority of the population in Ibadan is poor and is mostly engaged in informaleconomic activities. Some of these economic activities have a negative impacton the environment. For example, women who are largely responsible for ensuringhousehold livelihoods are also engaged in different types of petty trade, includingfood processing, which negatively affect the environment - cassava processing,both for subsistence and for commercial purposes, discharges wasteindiscriminately. Women also fetch firewood, queue for water and kerosine andsell seasonal crops which all generate waste.

Urban environmentIn combining their production and reproduction roles, women are faced with a lotof constraints including lack of access to portable water, energy and disposal ofwaste. The poor including women have formed support networks to assist inaddressing common concerns. In view of the fact that poverty reduction oftenleads to improved environmental quality and vice versa, adequate knowledge ofenvironmental issues as well as the link to gender is viewed as essential forprogrammes attempting to facilitate community based development.

The degradation of natural resources around Ibadan has reduced the productivityof the poor and made them even more vulnerable. The level of poverty of most ofthe informal sector operators contributes to environmental degradation, and at thesame time exposes them to environmental hazards. The poor lack a safe watersupply and are not able to efficiently manage waste. On the other hand, the betteroff have alternative arrangements to both problems when public utilities fail. Mosthigh income homes have their own bore-holes and waste disposal facilities.

113

Experience with a gender responsive EPMprocessRecognising the prevalence of poverty in Ibadan, theCentre for Enterprise Development and ActionResearch (CEDAR) initiated the Urban PovertyAlleviation Programme with the aim of addressingsocial and economic problems associated with povertyand unemployment. The project has the key objectiveof facilitating development activities of women andmen through their different economic activities. Inparticular, the project seeks to empower groupsinvolved in Urban Poverty Alleviation programmes tounderstand poverty, gender and environmentinteractions. The latter three are known to be closelyrelated and are an integral part of realisingsustainable development.

Specifically, the project has the objectives of equippingNGOs, CBOs and trade guides involved in povertyalleviation programmes with information,organisational and strategic skills for genderresponsive EPM. The project has the followingobjectives: training; provision of information andgender disaggregated data; counselling; research;and mobilisation.

Through CEDAR, women and men have been involvedin programmes, they have been trained in genderdiagnosis and special efforts made to mobilise women,especially when unequal representation is observedin CEDAR programmes. The Sustainable Ibadan CityProgramme (SIP) held a series of awareness andsensitisation programmes among stakeholder groupsincluding public sector officials, CBOs, NGOs andprivate organisations.

This was backed up with a city consultation forumaimed at identification and prioritisation of urbanenvironmental issues. The consultation broughttogether over 300 participants drawn from allstakeholder groups, including military administration,members of the state executive council, traditionalrulers, government officials, industrialists, CBOs,NGOs and UNDP representatives.

The consultation created an opportunity forparticipants to understand the roles and responsibilities

114


of a cross-section of actors in Ibadan. This process resulted in the creation ofcross-sectoral working groups charged with addressing environmental issues,including urban poverty and gathering gender disaggregated information onNGOs. Information gathered included:

� organisation and management capacity of NGOs;

� incorporation of gender perspective into NGO work;

� involvement of NGOs in environmental issues, understanding of genderenvironment interactions;

� linkage of NGOs with CBOs;

� nature of poverty alleviation programmes among NGOs; and

� needs of NGOs for effective operation.

The analysis of findings revealed that a number of NGOs actually have links withCBOs. Further, the participatory nature of the research created an opportunityfor stakeholder groups to network and identify problems. It revealed that therewas an increasing emergence of female-headed NGOs in Ibadan in response tothe disadvantaged position of women, their inequitable access to resources andthe constraints they face in meeting the challenges posed by urbanisation.

Based on the findings, a consultative workshop among representative NGOswas held. The workshop identified and prioritised the needs of NGOs in addressingpoverty alleviation, identifying gender roles, access and control over resources,constraints and needs as well as ways of mainstreaming gender in urban povertyalleviation. This resulted in the development of a series of skills relevant for theprogramme.

The participatory learner-centred methodology adopted in the training programmesallowed both women and men to participate in analysing gender issues throughactivity profiling exercises for women and men. They were able to design survivalstrategies among low income female and male urban dwellers and the implicationsfor sustainable urban development. In addition, training included economic rights,gender roles and differentiated access to and control of resources.

The training has improved environmental strategies. Stakeholder groups havegained confidence in addressing strategic gender needs such as equal rights todecision-making. Further, CEDAR staff are often requested to act as resourcepersons and facilitators in other NGO programmes. Overall, organisations whichhave participated in the training programmes have been able to apply the skillsgained to their action plans and to implement programmes.

LessonsThe programme has enabled NGOs, CBOs and other stakeholder groups toconsider the interrelationships of poverty, environment and gender. This isreflected in their action plans and programmes. Their efforts are also backed by

115

government efforts on Family Economic AchievementProgrammes which emphasise women’sempowerment.

CEDAR has become a focal point for community basedNGOs. Gender training requests are on the increaseand networking activities have been enhanced.Although the culture of data collection is quiterudimentary among NGOs, gender disaggregatedenvironmental data is continuously being gatheredby NGOs.

The project has had to face some limitations onwomen’s participation and coordination. Low literacyrates among women has limited their participation informal and administrative arrangements. This hasresulted in men taking up most secretarialassignments in mixed group organisations. Externalsupport has not been well coordinated and theconcept of ‘environment’ is not well understood. Moststakeholder groups view environment as relating tosanitation issues. There is also limited access toinformation and understanding of gender andenvironment as a cross-cutting issue in developmentamong development practitioners. This calls forfurther capacity building among NGOs that have alink with CBOs in the area of gender responsive EPMin order to have a multiplier effect.

116


Gender Responsive EPM : An Experience from LonhlaCommunity, Patan, Kathmandu, Nepal

IntroductionLonhla is one of ten small poor communities with a total of 35 families, belongingto the butcher caste - a lower caste which faces discrimination. Most of them aremigrants, daily wage labourers and generally deprived of the basic necessitiesof life. The community is located within the Kathmandu valley that consists ofthree major cities - Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur. Lonhla community consistsof households with low socio-economic status and poor physical facilities andamenities. Before the project, their views were generally not taken intoconsideration when designing and planning development.

Urban environmentThe major problems the Lonhla community are facing are inadequate basicfacilities, poor quality of dwellings, poor hygiene, health and sanitation, the generalsocial and gender discrimination. These problems affect women more than mensince they are the ones who mostly stay at home and around the home, wherethe environment has been degraded. The inadequate water supply means womenare spending more time fetching water. At the same time, lack of sanitation facilitiesis a mental anguish, especially because they have to care for its impact both onthemselves and on children as well.

Lumanti, a group formed in 1993 in memory of Ramesh Manandhar who had initiatedprogrammes aimed at supporting the less fortunate, has the vision of improving theliving conditions of the urban poor, with a major focus on shelter. Among the manyactivities Lumanti is facilitating in Patan is the drainage construction project carriedout within Lonhla community with a high participation of women.

Experience with a gender responsive EPM processThe drainage construction project was started after a preliminary householdsurvey in Lonhla revealed that the greatest problem the community was facing

117

was the lack of toilets. Toilets could not be constructedbecause there was no drainage system and no spacefor building pit latrines. Other problems identifiedthrough the gender responsive EPM process includedlack of unity among women and men, and a lack ofeducation, skills and income for women.

Following the participatory analysis of the findings ofthe survey, a user committee was formed consistingof five females and six males. The women were drawnfrom the Savings group, while the men generally werethe senior elites within the community. While thepresident of the community was a man, both thesecretary and treasurer were women. The committeewas responsible for the project and met from time totime to discuss its various aspects.

Lumanti provided training in leadership, accounting,skills development, and entrepreneurship, andorganised exchange visits for women in the savingsgroup. The weekly savings group also enabled womento build up confidence in working with men in thecommittee.

During the construction of the drainage system thecommunity had to contribute cash and also solve aconflict situation with the neighbouring community whowere against the project. They were not willing to havethe Lonhla community sewerage system connectedto theirs. They argued that the butcher castecommunity would throw animal waste that might blockthe sewerage line. The project would also affect theelectricity cables and telephone lines.

Through the gender responsive EPM process, severalmeetings of stakeholder groups were held and theLonhla community agreed to the following:

� some amount of money be collected and setaside for maintenance in case of blockage;

� the neighbouring Khadgi community must beinvolved and participate in case of blockage;

� the existing manholes would be repaired duringconstruction of drainage; in case the old pipewas damaged it would be repaired immediatelyand compensation paid; and

118


� the Khadgi community must never throw slaughter waste in the drainage.

These decisions were amicably arrived at after discussions with all stakeholdergroups. It allowed the drainage construction work to begin and within 39 days ofhard work the work was complete, with women managing construction work.Women purchased the necessary materials, organised meetings to discuss andreview work; while male members of the User Committees supported them inkeeping accounts, bills and vouchers. Overall, it was estimated that womenorganised about 65 formal and informal meetings during the planning, conflictresolution and construction phases of the project.

The impact of the project was assessed using participatory methodology. Womenand men discussed and expressed the danger to their lives before and after theformation of the group construction project. Significant changes were realisedboth at an individual and the community level. There was increased collaborationand unity among women and men within the community.

LessonsThe project has resulted in women engaging in activities which they had neverbeen engaged in before, especially participating in planning and decision-makingrelating to their environment. Women have been empowered, their situation withintheir households has improved. They participate in discussions, raise issues andalso make decisions. In the area of economics, they have increased the number ofwomen’s groups to two and each household is represented in at least one.

The women’s strong desire and continuous attempts to bring change to theirlives and that of their community is viewed as a major achievement of the project.Whereas women are able to participate in household discussions, raise issuesand contribute to decisions making, their ability to undertake many householdroles is curtailed. Their engagement in community work, especially during theinitial project work when men were contemptuous of their efforts, reduced theirefficiency at home. However, their community work was subsequentlyacknowledged and appreciated. This contributed to some male spouses sharinghousehold responsibilities, while women are engaged in community work.

119

M abibo Environmental M anagementSociety: A Case Study of Solid WasteM anagement in M abibo Ward, Dar esSalaam, Tanzania

IntroductionMabibo is in one of the 18 wards of Kiondoni Districtin Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. More than 80 per centof the ward is squatter settlements characterised bypoor drainage system, poor management of solidwaste, pollution and floods. The rapid growth of thesettlements has resulted in pressure on services. Thefew existing social facilities are expensive and sparselyscattered. This makes them difficult to access in termsof the time it takes to reach them and the moneynecessary for paying for the services. Women haveto travel long distances looking for water forhousehold use. Further, this is made worse by basicservices such as hospitals and dispensaries beinglocated far away.

Urban environmentSolid waste disposal is one of the major environmentalproblem facing Mabibo community. Piles ofuncollected refuse in the form of hypodermic needles,smouldering refuse heaps, animals roaming andscavenging on garbage is evident. All these causeserious health hazards to the general public throughexposing them to infection from all sorts ofmicroorganisms, and physical injuries through contactwith sharp and dangerous objects.

120


The physical environment has also been put at risk due to the microbiologicaland chemical contamination of the soil and ground water. Poisonous emissionsfrom the incomplete burning of wastes such as plastic materials, pollute the air. Inorder to avoid or minimize health risks related to solid wastes, sound wastehandling, treatment and disposal methods should be practised by both womenand men.

Both women and men have different roles to play given their biological and culturaldifferences. In order to accommodate both women and men in environmentalplanning and management a gender responsive EPM process has to be put inplace. The reproductive and community level roles are played by women whilemen mostly engage in productive formal activities outside the home. Women andchildren are exposed to infectious diseases and other environmental problemslocated around their home.

Due to poverty in the area, households cannot afford protective gadgets necessaryin refuse collection and general environmental cleaning. Given the fact that wastemanagement is viewed as a women’s affair, women suffer more from physicalinjuries and infections picked up as they collect garbage. On the other hand,men only feel the pinch of environmental management when paying for the costof treatment of diseases related to poor environmental conditions.

The Mabibo Environmental Management Society came up with a goal of establishinga system which ensures sustainable poverty reduction. This goal underlies theWard’s development objectives with regard to environmental protection. Specificallythe project aims at achieving the goal by:

� organising women’s groups to undertake deliberate effort to promoteproductive activities;

� organising and providing backward and forward linkages, including trainingas required; and

� encouraging and introducing gender development approaches whichrecognise that both women and men are equal partners in development andmust therefore have equal opportunities at all levels of planning,implementation and management.

Experience with a gender responsive EPM processThe society used participatory methodologies involving relevant stakeholdergroups to gather information on the consequences and extent of uncollectedgarbage in their neighbourhoods, and to determine both how and in what differentways women and men are affected by environmental problems. The selection ofsolid waste as a priority problem evolved from data analysis and the activeinvolvement of stakeholder groups.

The analysis revealed that most people whose activities were dangerous to theenvironment were not quite conscious of the environmental implications. The

121

society thus decided to involve people who destroy theenvironment deliberately, those who do it unconsciouslyand those who suffer the consequences ofenvironmental degradation. The gender responsiveEPM process brought stakeholder groups togetherirrespective of their positive or negative contributionto environmental planning and management.

The project has adopted the national policy ofincluding gender in project planning, and the cityauthority has acknowledged the efforts of the societyin initiating G-EPM in its project. The projectadministrative structure is gender sensitive. Themanagement of the society is composed of 5 womenand 3 men at the top. They are backed by supportstaff of 28 women and 21 men, all of whom wereunemployed before the initiation of the project. Theemployees are drawn from the community, haveexperience in working with people within their areasand are trained to become change agents within theircommunities.

The involvement of most stakeholder groups hasenhanced public participation. Communities arepaying service charges, ensuring the security ofinfrastructure and community property, and theadoption of new local technology. This includes thecollection of waste using local bags and wheel cartspulled by women and men. The society managed tomobilise and encourage the people of Jitegemee,Azimio and Kanuni streets to take part in themanagement of their waste through paid levy activities.

The City Commission has supported the activities ofthe society. They provided a total of 300,000Tanzanian shillings under the special programme ofimproving the informal sector. The Commission alsogave the society a tender to collect solid waste andmanagement of liquid waste in Jitegemee, Azimio andKanuni streets in Mabibo Ward. Apart from bringingstakeholder groups together, this approach providesincome for the society.

LessonsThe involvement of relevant stakeholder groupsthrough a participatory methodology has resulted inacceptance of the project and a willingness to pay

122


service levies which the community never used to pay. The approach has madea difference, the previous government projects were centrally planned and hadno proper details of those being planned for. The project has created equalopportunities for women and men in undertaking activities of the community,including decision making. The City Commission has acknowledged the projectand awarded them a tender for managing both solid and liquid waste within thecommunity.

In spite of the above positive results, there is still need for further collaboration,information gathering and training. Collaboration with other partners is importantand efforts need to be made to strengthen existing relations and also forge newones. There is also need to keep updating information and gathering newinformation, to build local expertise in order to enhance capacity within thecommunity, and to link women groups with those of men in order to promotegender responsive environmental activities.

123

Gender Responsive Approaches in theSustainable Lusaka Program m e,Zam bia

IntroductionLusaka is the capital city of Zambia, located in theSouth-Eastern part of the country. It has a populationof 1.8 million, with the majority of the populationengaged in manufacturing and construction economicactivities. The city faces problems of deforestation,environmental degradation, air and water pollution aswell as unplanned growth.

Sustainable Lusaka Programme (SLP) is mandatedto address the environmental problems facing Lusakausing the EPM process at community level. Theprogramme faces the challenge of providingopportunities for communities with high poverty levelsto initiate activities for poverty alleviation throughsustainable activities of environmental improvement.To achieve this, the programme uses legallyestablished community development structures,referred to as Residents Development Committees(RDC). These structures have been used as focalpoints for rallying and articulating communitydevelopment needs since the community participationprogramme spearheaded by the United NationsCentre for Human Settlements (UNCHS) during theeighties. The focus of SLP has been Ngombe andMandevu settlements. These areas have low incomeand high population densities. The programme has

124


designed issue specific Community Committees (IPCCs) to deal with specificprioritised issues.

Urban environmentNgombe and Mandevu settlements faces environmental problems of inadequatewater supply, lack of proper toilets, garbage collection, blocked sewerage, poorroads, unemployment and lack of residential plots among others. Among theseproblems the project is only addressing solid waste management, water supply,sanitation and decongestion of the Central Business District as well as access tosocial economic services.

Water and sanitation pose serious problems to the settlements. In Ngombe forinstance, there are only 11 stand pipes of water, confined in one section of thesettlement for a population of 27,000 people. The community suggested that thewater system be extended in order to increase the number of stand pipes, inorder to reduce the distance women cover collecting water. As women look forwater they leave their children without proper care. This is intensified by poorsanitation, including piles of garbage which put young children at risk. Womenalso spend time looking for water at the expense of other duties andresponsibilities. The option available for women is to purchase water from youthswho have taken advantage and are selling water to those who can not get to thewater points. This is expensive for most households.

The main problem associated with solid waste at community level is uncollectedwaste, and the lack of dumping sites and equipment for collecting waste. Pitlatrines were also an area of concern, since there was hardly any space forconstructing toilets, and in cases where they were provided, several householdshad to share. In cases where pit latrines are not well constructed and maintainedthey pose serious health hazards and a risk to children, who can easily fall insidethem. There are also chances of the pits contaminating underground water ifthey are dug too deep.

The SLP supports measures aimed at poverty reduction by promotingenvironmentally sustainable socio-economic development within communities withhigh poverty levels. This goal is to be fulfilled through the institutionalisation ofthe environmental planning and management process. This is expected to resultin environmental improvement, building sufficient capacity for communities andLusaka City Council (LCC) to enable them to plan, implement and managesustainable environmental programmes.

Experience with a gender responsive EPM processIn order to have first hand information on women, men, children and youth, theprogramme collected gender disaggregated data using participatorymethodologies. Through RDCs and zonal consultations, general problems wereidentified and environmental issues isolated. The implementation of theprogramme ensured labour based designs which allowed both women and menin the community to participate in the process. Community members were given

125

the opportunity to analyse the effects of technology,maintenance requirements and the obligation ofpaying for the services.

The programme has proved more effective thanprevious ones through incorporating gender issuesthroughout the process, including decision-makingthrough RDCs. Participants for the programme arerecruited with extensive community consultations. Thishas made people aware of the importance ofconsideration at all stages of the project planning,implementation and management.

During community profiling and consultations, datawas gender disaggregated and analysed. Participatorymethodology was used to allow free discussions byall stakeholder groups. The discussions revealed thatgender consideration is important right from the initialstages of the project, if the maximum participation ofwomen and men is to be realised. Both women andmen have different perceptions due to the differentways in which they are affected by environmentalproblems.

In conducting community consultation, communityleaders mobilised the community, designed theprogramme and decided on the times and venue forthe meetings. In order to allow participation andgender specific information three groups, women, menand a mixed groups were formed. Once groups havehad their discussions they are given an opportunityto share their findings with other groups in a plenaryforum. The female and male participants were drawnfrom a cross-section of institutions of public, private,NGOs and Community Based Organisations (CBOs).The project ensured that gender based NGOs wereinvited, and this ensured about 29 per centparticipation of women during the City Consultation.

The desire to ensure gender participation has resultedin the recognition of gender imbalance in the RDCs.In response, the Local Authority and otherdevelopment agencies have designed differentmethods of increasing gender representation andparticipation. Almost equal numbers of women andmen have been included in Zonal and RegionalDevelopment Committees. These committees work

126


closely with government departments which provide technical inputs in planning,implementation and management of the project.

By ensuring the gender balance in Zonal and Regional Development Committees,the gender responsive EPM process is inculcated in the communities. Thisensures that the interests of both women and men are discussed and incorporatedin the overall plan. Some of the positive results of this model include cooperativeactivities between women and men in Ngombe where the water system is managedby a committee composed of four women and four men. The project also employsa female and a male water pump attendant.

LessonsThe SLP has proved different from previous programmes addressingenvironmental issues. It has strengthened existing RDCs and operated throughextensive community consultations. During the process the SLP has designedtraining programmes in community management, leadership and genderawareness programmes. The process has therefore sensitised communities tothe significance of involving women and men in planning, implementing andmanaging environmental programmes.

One challenge the programme faces is to link established community structuresto other national, regional and local institutions. The gender desks beingestablished in all line ministries, which are also to be extended to Local Authorities,are expected to facilitate the process. The other challenge is for SLP to promotecoordinated development in the city. In its institutional framework SLP is advocatingfor a project and programme coordinating unit. This is expected to provide afocal point for addressing urban environmental issues, including ensuring genderresponsive EPM.

Although the LSP has not operated long enough to share its lessons, reflectionson a similar programme, Food for Work, show a negative outcome. Food forWork had the objective of alleviating poverty by assisting the urban poor throughprovision of food as they improve solid waste management and construction ofroads. The programme had only women aged between 15 and 65 years doingthe work. This associated solid waste management only with women, while theexercise should be a joint female and male exercise. Such situations have to bereversed in order to have all stakeholder groups, including women and men,play an effective role in environmental management.

127

Gender Responsive EPM in theSustainable Chennai Project, India

IntroductionThe city of Chennai is located in Tamil Nadu State inIndia. The Chennai Metropolitan area covers an areaof 1,170 sq km. In 1991 the urban agglomeration whichincludes Chennai City and outer urban areas had apopulation of 5.4 million, while Chennai city alone hada population of 3.8 million. One third of this populationlives in informal settlements. The population of thecity has continued to increase as economic growthstagnates. This has put pressure on provision andmanagement of services, resulting in poor sanitation,lack of adequate water supply, poor drainage, pollutedwater ways and congested roads.

Urban environmentSanitation conditions in the city of Chennai aregenerally poor. The sewerage and drainage systemsare under stress due to an increasing city population.The city also suffers from traffic congestion, poor airquality and dirty water ways. The Sustainable ChennaiProject had a goal of working with communities in orderto promote the environmentally sustainable socio-economic development of Chennai.

Although environmental issues impact more onwomen, gender discrimination against women in Indiahas contributed to the lack of effective participationof women in projects which affect their daily livelihoods.

128


Zoning legislation, provision of child care facilities, and planning for a safe andclean environment has not integrated the views of women. In practice, womentake the main role of educating the family members, providing and maintaining asafe and clean environment for their households. Degradation of the environmenthas implications for women, especially as it relates to health, nutrition and income.

The Sustainable Chennai Project (SChP) was started in 1995 with the support ofUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Habitat and Chennai MetropolitanDevelopment Authority (CMDP). SChP has broad objectives which include:

� promotion of environmentally sustainable socio-economic development ofChennai;

� identifying priority environmental issues;

� establishing an institutional strategy for strengthening and institutionalisingdevelopment strategy; and

� developing action plans into capital investment and technical cooperationprojects.

These objectives are translated into action plans by involving all stakeholdergroups, and reserving one third representation for women.

Experience with a gender responsive EPM processSChP begun with Consultation Meetings, proceeded to Strategic Planning andresulted in the preparation of Action Plans. The latter identified both investmentsand necessary policy and institutional mechanisms. Workshops, ConsultationForums, Focus Group Discussions (FGD) and opinion surveys were conductedby SChP with a wide representation from various stakeholder groups, includinggovernment officials and technical experts. A good representation of womenworking both within and outside their homes was evident in the process.

The process identified three priority environmental issues in Chennai:

� improved liquid management and improved water ways;

� reduction of traffic congestion and improving air quality; and

� improving solid waste management within poor peri-urban areas.

In order to address these issues, the project set up Working Groups Mechanismswhich included the formation of Action Committees. Through the process it wasidentified that the major source of waste was households, and that it was womenwho largely managed the waste. Subsequently, there was a need to educatewomen on orderly collection and disposal methods. There efforts would becombined with those of civic authorities and NGOs involved in solid wastemanagement within the city. In turn, systematic and proper disposal of waste fromneighbourhoods would be ensured.

129

In order to realise the project goal, the Working Groupinvited NGOs to work with women in the planning,implementation and management of the sewerage anddrainage system. The training and incorporation ofwomen into the project was expected to ensure thesustainability of the services, since women are largelyavailable and continuously deal with the issues beingaddressed. Through this approach, the constructionof community drainage in an informal settlement calledAmbedker Nagar was undertaken. On the other hand,Working Groups comprising stakeholder groups,technical experts and women organisations wereformed after several workshops and consultationprogrammes on ways and means to relieve trafficcongestion within the city. The Madras ChristianCouncil of Social Services (MCCSS), with theassistance of SChP, organised and educated thecommunity in the process of construction of thecommunity storm water drainage system. Thus, theSCP also addressed the issue of traffic congestionand air quality, identified during the workshop.

The Working Groups, composed of governmentofficials, technical experts and NGOs with womenrepresentatives, have formulated programmes suchas staggering weekly holidays in the market placesof Chennai and staggering the beginning of schooltime in the busy areas of Chennai. A Traffic ActionPlan for Chennai has also been developed. Theprogramme has computerised programmes ofimprovements to road intersections, arterial roads,construction of mini flyovers and improvement in publictransport system. An action plan for cleaning thewater ways is still in the pipeline

LessonsThe SChP has moved away from previous methods ofimplementing projects which affect many stakeholdergroups without involving them. The project had theblessing of the State Government of Tamil Nadu and allother stakeholder groups including women. The projectis process oriented and ensures gender responsivenessthroughout all the stages of the EPM process. It hasimproved the ability of individuals and organisations toconvert agreed strategies into Action Plans. Otherareas who have not benefited from the project admireits output and there are high chances of replication.

130


In spite of its success, there is need to strengthen and equip the key stakeholdergroups with skills in project planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.There is also a need to increase the capacity of government and NGOs involved inprovision, operation and maintenance of essential urban services through informationexchange and appropriate information systems. Continuous research should alsobe conducted to assess the specific policy issues which affect women and men, thechanging needs of women and their participation and contribution to urbanenvironmental planning and management.

131

M others’ Centres in Baden-W ürttem berg, Germ any

IntroductionThe Mothers’ Platform (Mütterforum) is a network ofMothers’ Centres in the region of Baden-Wurttemberg,Germany. The project addresses the marginalisationof housewives and women operating within thecommunity. The project facilitates their re-entry intopublic life by creating direct channels for participationin community and local politics. Through the centres,women are able to contribute to community planningand development with special focus on the needs ofhouseholds, based on their everyday experiences.

The Mothers’ Platform as a movement has a long historydating back as early as 1976. The idea was born aftera research project of the German Youth Institute (DJI).Between 1980 and 1981 three model Mothers’ Centreswere funded by the Federal Family Ministry. This wasfollowed by the publication of a book Mothers’ Centreswritten by mothers involved in the first three centres.This resulted in the spread of Mothers’ Centres as agrassroots movement all across the country and acrossthe borders of Germany in 1985. In 1986 the firstMothers’ Centre in Baden-Württemberg in Reutlingenwas opened. Many others followed.

The Mothers’ Platform in Baden-Württemberg wasfounded in 1993 by the Family Ministry of Baden-Württemberg. By 1998 there were 42 Mothers’Centres and 22 initiatives of the Centres under the

132


Mothers’ Platform on Baden-Württemberg. The numbers keep increasing, asper need.

Through the Mothers’ Centres, women organise themselves and hold discussions,in their full capacity as decision-makers, and not as clients, as was previouslythe case. They view themselves as experts on family and community life, supportingeach other as peers, designing strategies for solving their problems and thoserelating to their environment. Specifically, they challenge the exclusion of childrenfrom public life which is one of the greatest factors contributing to the exclusionof women from public leadership and decision-making. The centres havemainstreamed gender in decision making and local governance - through themwomen have access to family and Youth Welfare Councils and municipal decision-making structures.

Urban environmentStuttgart is a rich, highly industrialised area in Germany. Like any otherindustrialised area, there are groups which are excluded and viewed as‘unproductive’ within the city. The group mainly include children, the frail, theelderly and their caretakers who are mostly women. The Mothers’ Centresidentified that city structures (roads, public utilities, buildings and other facilities)hardly cater for the excluded group. The unfriendly public environment isolatesthis group from the rest of the society. Mothers and children experience decreasingaccess to peer contacts and public space due to an increasingly dangerousenvironment, and the inability of public facilities to adequately serve their interests.In response to this, the project recognised the importance of integrating theexperiences and knowledge of women in the overall planning and managementof the city.

Due to gender specific divisions of labour, women take on the majority of carework, reproductive tasks and other household responsibilities. They spend moretime within their households and neighbourhoods. They use the environmentnot only as a recreational space but also as a work place, resulting in a wealth ofknowledge about how urban infrastructure and housing should look in order tomeet the requirements of users, especially themselves and their children.

Women know what it feels like to go through dark underpasses to get home,prepare meals for families in small kitchens or stow away a bicycle in the basementwhile a waiting toddler spills the contents of a shopping bag into the hall - theyunderstand the effects of a society not welcoming and incorporating childreninto the overall public life.

Since these tasks are not well recognised as work, women are often not includedin local decision-making. They are not able to participate effectively in politics atthe grassroots level due to their engagement within the households and itssurroundings. Instead, ‘experts’ with formal qualification and professionalpositions, who neither know nor understand the needs of women and theirchildren, are relied upon.

133

The Mothers’ Platform aims to change the trend ofwomen not participating in urban environmentalplanning and management by providing participationforums for the marginalised women who work eitherat home or in its immediate surroundings, or outsidethe home. The Centres support women’s re-entry intopublic life, not primarily through the traditional feministroutes of profession and labour market participation,but by creating direct channels for increasingparticipation in politics, community planning anddevelopment; with special focus on the needs andviews of women based on their everyday experiences.

Experience with a gender responsive EPMprocessMothers’ Centres are sources of information for womengroups and those interested in pursuing genderissues in urban environmental planning andmanagement. The Mothers’ Platform assists ininitiating the start of Mothers’ Centres. The Mothers’Platform provides interested Mothers’ Centres with a‘starters package’, which contains guidelines on howto go about starting a Mothers’ Centre in a community.Once Mothers’ Platform approves the starting of aCentre, the Centre members mobilise local fundingand political support. Both the Mothers’ Centres andMothers’ Platforms have been recognised asgrassroots political voice and partner in urbanplanning and development. Through them womenhave won access to Family and Youth WelfareCouncils, and district and municipal decision bodies.

Once a Mothers’ Centre has operated for a period ofone year the Centre can apply for regional fundsprovided by the Social Ministry of Baden-Württemberg. The Mothers’ Platform oversees theactivities of Mothers’ Centres, and builds their capacitythrough training, consultation services, coordination,technical assistance and political advocacy.

Overall the Mothers’ Platform and Mothers’ Centreshave created forums where women discuss theirissues with policy makers. In Schrammberg forinstance, the monthly political forum in the Mothers’Centre is visited by local politicians, in LeinfeldenEchterchingen, women meet once a year with themayor to debate community issues; and three times

134


a year with local politicians from all parties to debate issues affecting women,children, households and community in general; while in Salem, the City Councilrefers inquiries or requests concerning women, children and households to thelocal Mothers’ Centre for review.

Through the Mothers’ Centres women have also developed confidence and areinitiating measures for improving the environment. In areas where they havebeen established, the Centres are active in initiating and designing play-streetsfor children and children’s adventure playgrounds. They have also created a lotof room for children to encounter nature, invent their own toys and design theirown games. They have also influenced municipal childcare programmes to bemore flexible and responsive to the needs of families. Other initiatives are in theareas of planning and construction of residential areas in Esslingen and Stuttgart;improving neighbourhoods; improving safety and quality of living environmentand relevant services around households.

LessonsMothers’ Centres have been institutionalised through the support of Mothers’Platform and other relevant institutional structures. The Platform coordinatescommunity based planning activities of Mothers’ Centres and represents them inPlanning and Development Councils and Programmes. This has created channelsfor grassroots participation in planning and development for local women, whopreviously were not included in local governance processes. This has furtherresulted in new platforms for gender lobbying and participation in support ofurban environmental planning and management.

The Mothers’ Platform and Mothers’ Centres act as a grassroots political voiceand partner in urban environmental planning and management. They haveempowered women so that they are able to take part effectively in decision making,including coming up with initiatives aimed at improving the environment. Asopposed to the previous situation, women’s issues are addressed in terms oftheir strengths and talents, capacities, resources and visions, rather than theirproblems and deficiencies.

Mothers’ Centres remunerate women working at the Centres, and this botheconomically empowers women, and also builds their confidence and motivation.They are therefore not looked upon as unproductive caretakers but workingwomen earning an income. Subsequently, they have become role models to otherwomen working within their households, its surrounding and outside the two areas.The Centres have also promoted provision for child care in meeting venues. Forthis reason children accompany their mothers and child care is provided onrequest inside administrative buildings during political meetings. Within the publicarena Mothers’ Centres are increasingly called on by companies and publicagencies to provide child care for public events and festivals. This is not onlycreating new business for Mothers’ Centres, but also facilitating women’sparticipation in public life.

135

Mothers’ Centres have faced some difficulties fromofficial bureaucratic circles. Inclusion of women indecision making and remuneration for their labour hasagitated opposition from professionals in public welfareand social work organisations who fear losing influenceand contingent potential funding. The middlemanagement of Local Authorities are reluctant tochange their bureaucratic non-participatoryapproaches. At the same time, public policy tends tolook for voluntary workers, while women at Mothers’Centres are interested in their work beingacknowledged and remunerated. This has createdconstant tension and debate in the negotiations anddealings with Local Authorities. The tensions andreluctance is not expressed openly and is thereforedifficult to address.

Overall, the concept of Mothers’ Centres has provedsuccessful and replicable beyond Baden-Württemberg. By the end of 1998 there were 400Mothers’ Centres throughout Germany. They havealso spread out in Holland, Austria, Italy, Switzerland,the Czech Republic, Hungary and Ukraine.

136


The Latin American View of Gender ResponsiveEnvironmental Planning, Chile

The Latin American urbanisation process is characterised by a strongconcentration of population and economic activities in the metropolitan areasand by an urban development pattern which has had a negative effect on theenvironment and therefore on the quality of life of the residents of cities. Althoughcities are the main centres for promoting economic development, the failure ofmanaging the impacts of an explosive urbanisation threatens, amongst otherthings, environmental quality, human health, equity and urban productivity andthus the quality of life of its residents. Such a situation affects men and women,girls and boys in different ways.

Because men and women generally have different roles, access to, and controlof resources and differences upon decision-making, they thus have differentneeds. However, it is seldom recognised that the urban space is not neutral andthat the “community” which is being targeted is not homogeneous and its membersdo not have similar interests, needs or ways of satisfying them.

As mentioned in the International Workshop Gender Responsive EnvironmentalPlanning and Management, in urban environmental planning and managementall environmental issues are gender sensitive and therefore genderresponsiveness is a prerequisite for sustainable development. However, someissues are of particular strategic importance depending on the social, cultural,economic and environmental context which takes place. It is thus necessary toconsider the differences between the Latin American reality and the African,Asian or European one. Even between cities and within countries the situationsvary considerably, making the recognition of these differences crucial to theenvironmental planning and management process and to the experiences whichcan be learned from them.

137

Over the past few years, there have been significantefforts from Latin-American academics, practitionersand activists to incorporate a gender perspective tothe planning, management and study of humansettlements. Despite the difficulties and resistancewhich can be analysed through the institutionalisation“elements”, it can be considered that this dimensionis now recognised as relevant and important in theurban field, although the conceptual and practicaldoubts regarding its implementation still prevail.

The experience from training workshops, discussionsand interviews carried out throughout the Region atdifferent levels reveals a positive disposition andattitude towards the subject matter on the part oftechnical staff from municipalities, ministries,universities, and NGOs, amongst others. However, aconsistent lack of support is detected from the higherlevel authorities. It is an utmost necessity to receivesuch support at the decision making level with theaim of institutionalising a gender perspective.

Following numerous attempts to incorporate thisperspective in a parallel manner, it is now recognisedthat most of the planning manuals, programmes andprojects which have been designed in this mannerhave been filed and rarely consulted, lack mainstreamfinancing, and are still seen as “women’s projects”.This is generally due to a partial understanding ofthe subject, or to the idea that gender aware projectsare more costly, time consuming and difficult toimplement. In many cases, the notion that gendercaters only to women still exists, without a fullcomprehension that it deals with the relations betweenmen and women, and among men and among women.

In the cases where this perspective has beenincorporated into existing, important or concreteprogrammes within ministries, municipalities orinstitutions, for instance, processes of modernisationof the State, preparation of ministerial goals, nationalor municipal planning or evaluation forms, the resultshave been more favourable. This requires a constantand iterative promotion, monitoring and follow up,whereby an internal team carries this processthrough. This does not inhibit the hiring of externalconsultants, however, it highlights the importance of

138


internal staff and identifies the possibilities and opportunities of synergies withoutnecessarily increasing costs.

This aspect is quite significant, as it has been difficult to understand thatincorporating a gender perspective does not necessarily require additionalresources, but new and improved methodologies. This is why the attempt torefine Gender EMP as a cross cutting methodology is so important, for whichenvironmental and gender bifocals are required to perceive reality.

Another issue that has attracted the attention of many urban researchers andpractitioners relates to indicators, where the need to disaggregate data accordingto sex has been revealed as extremely important. Although much information isalready available and it can often be found in a disaggregated form, sometimesthere is lack of capacity to process, analyse, disseminate and use it. This requirescapacity building within institutions.

“Engendering” existing indicators is also relevant. This entails having genderindicators as well as descriptive indicators with qualitative information. For this,new methodologies for data gathering are important. Over the last few years,methodologies such as participatory research, which uses didactic materials,have helped to reach this aim.

Apart from disaggregating data according to sex, the questions being askedneed on issues relevant to the needs and interests of men and women. Thesequestions could include: Who and how are things controlled? Which conflicts ofinterests exist? Who takes care of ...? How much time do men and women investin .... who is in charge of ... ? Which activities are carried out by whom? Whattype of work is assumed by whom as an “obligation”? Whose responsibility is toperform certain activity and whose decision is it to carry it through?

The use of participation within environmental planning and management is stillat a precarious state, as environmental policies only consider its use in terms ofpublic consultation and rarely contemplate a gender perspective in this process.This leads to action planning and decision-making which still does not considerthe articulation of different actors or a gender-responsive approach.

Despite the effort and steps achieved up to now, gender aware environmentalplanning and management is still deficient in Latin America. Although in Chile,as in the rest of the Region, the opportunities arising from international co-operation and local initiatives tend to increase the awareness of urban-environmental problems, the incorporation of a gender dimension is still limited.It is important to note that often the diverse perspectives from the internationalco-operation have tended to overlap and confuse the attempts to improve theplanning and management strategies. It is important to consider continuity in theapplication of gender to environmental planning and management as well asmore than just will to work towards a sustainable development. The suggestionsmade in the Nairobi Workshop are an important input towards this direction.

139

Projet Integre de Dalifort,Environnement et Amelioration duCadre de Vie, Dakar, Senegal

Dalifort est un quartier qui fait partie de la communede Pikine, il est situé à la limite des communes dePikine à l’Est et de Dakar à l’Ouest dans la presqu’îledu Cap-Vert. Le gouvernement du Sénégal appliquedans ses villes depuis 1991, une nouvelle politique derestructuration de l’habitat spontané basé sur les principessuivants: amélioration de l’environnement; accés à lasécurité foncière; recouvrement des coûts d’aménagement;intervention minimale dans l’aménagement des quartiers.

Cette politique est le résultat de longuesconcertations entre populations de Dalifort etAdministration engagées depuis 1987. L’Urbanisationaccélérée et incontrôlée a provoqué une détériorationrapide de l’environnement et l’occupation des zonesimpropres à l’habitat. Les dépôts sauvages d’ordures,l’absence d’équipement en assainissement collectifou individuel adapté ont accé1éré la pollution de lanappe phréatique et a augmenté les risques dedestruction de 1'équilibre d’un milieu naturelparticulièrement fragile.

Cette pollution menace surtout les quartiersdépourvus d’adduction d’eau et qui de ce faits’alimente directement dans la nappe à partir despuits. Dalifort à servi de champs d’expérimentation àcertaines contributions permettant une améliorationde l’environnement.

140


La protection de l’environnement devient dès lors, la priorité, notamment dansles aspects santé et assainissement. Une contribution à 1'échelle du quartierrestructuré est recherchée à travers les activités suivantes:

� fourniture d’eau potable aux populations;

� ramassage et traitement local des ordures ménagères;

� déplacement et relogement des populations installées dans les zonesimpropres à l’habitat;

� aménagement d’espaces verts;

� éducation nutritionnelle en collaboration avec le ministère de la santé;

l.E.C. (Information, Education, Communication) sur les maladies liées auxproblèmes

d’environnement;

� assainissement individuel;

� édicules publics.

Etant donné que l’assainissement individuel représente parmi les solutionsétudiées, la moins coûteuse et la mieux adaptée aux moyens des habitants desquartiers populaires, l’intervention du projet peut consister à une assistancetechnique et financière. Le programme d’assainissement individuel vise à limiterles risques de pollution de la nappe, tout en tenant compte de la capacitéfinancière des populations. Toujours dans le cadre de la restructuration et larégularisation foncière, le projet avait comme principe de faire participer lespopulation. Elles participent impérativement à toutes les étapes du processusd’amélioration du cadre de vie: la planification; l’exécution; et le financement.

Dans l’esprit comme dans la mise en oeuvre de cette nouvelle politique derestructuration de I’habitat spontané, la planification cesse d’être un secret. Mêmeles populations non scolarisées parviennent à planifier grâce aux instrumentsdidactiques conçus avec elles et testés avec succès. Toutes les décisions sontprises en commun, elles tiennent compte des moyens financiers des populations.Celles-ci s’engagent à participer au financement et à l’exécution des options choisies.

Le Projet DUA/GTZ avait aussi la priorité d’améliorer les conditions économiquesdes populations et particulièrement celles des femmes. C’est ainsi qu’un projetd’atelier de teinture, de promotion des activités économiques (P.A.E.) et le projetenvironnement et amélioration du cadre de vie concernant les ordures ménagèresqui constitue notre étude sont réalisés dans ie cadre des projets intégrés. Parmiles projets intégrés nous avons essentiellement le P.A.E. qui est une mesure deconfiance qui assure un appui financier aux microentreprises installés, dans lequartiers à structurer (commerçants, artisans, etc.) pour système de crédit rotatifremboursable de courte durée, autogéré par un comité des habitants.

Les crédits s’adressent aussi bien aux propriétaires d’impenses qu’aux locataires(toute la population) sans distinction de sexe.

141

A côté de la restructuration de Dalifort il restaitbeaucoup de choses à refaire. S’agissant des orduresménagères la situation était dramatique dans toutel’agglomération dakaroise, du fait de la situation decrise généralisée des services qui géraient cesordures vers les années 1992-1994.

Certains problèmes du quartier de Dalifortconnaissent un début de solution, cependant lasituation des ordures demeure toujours préoccupanteet à plutôt tendance à se détériorer. La productiond’ordures peut être estimée à 12 m3 par jour maisaucun ramassage de ces ordures n’est assuré. Lestas d’ordures grossissaient à proximité des maisonsceinturant totalement le quartier, dégageant desodeurs nauséabondes et participant ainsi à lapollution de l’environnement du quartier et à ladétérioration de la santé des habitants.

Après le recensement et la vérification des ayants-droit, un G.I.E. (groupement d’intérêt économique)est mis sur pied. ll faut souligner que l’essentiel despropriétaires de parcelles, c’est à dire des habitantsdevant avoir des titres de propriété sont les hommes.L’objectif du projet DUA/GTZ, bien qu’étant larégularisation foncière, a senti qu’ignorer les diversespositions et besoins sociaux des femmes voire ne pasles prendre en considération dans de nombreux caspeut conduire à la détérioration de la situation. C’estdans ce contexte qu’il failait introduire les activitésintégrées dont le projet “intégré de Dalifort,environnement et amélioration du cadre de vie” quiconstitue notre étude de cas. Le projet intégré apermis à la DUA/GTZ de faire participer un grandnombre de femmes et de jeunes.

Dans ce cadre, le potentiel de femmes a été utilisé, àsavoir la prise en considération de leur grandemotivation pour être active dans l’amélioration duquartier.

Le présent projet se propose d’agir en vue d’améliorerl’environnement, le cadre de vie et la santé dans lequartier de Dalifort à travers le ramassage desordures ménagères, grâce à la production decompost, ce qui jumelé activités de maraîchage etde floriculture permet par ailleurs de créer des emplois

142


pour les jeunes charretiers, jardiniers, composteurs, les femmes surtoutvendeuses de légumes et de fleurs. ll faut y ajouter les emplois ponctuels lorsdes investissements initiaux: maçons, menuisiers, puisatiers, plombiers,manoeuvres...

Dans les quartiers spontanés, et en particulier, à Dalifort, il était important dechoisir la cible en ce qui concerne les besoins prioritaires, sur le plan social etgénéralement dans ces quartiers, il faut travailler avec les jeunes et les femmesqui constituent un groupe très dynamique dans les domaines d’activitésgénératrices de revenus, et liées à l’amélioration de l’environnement.

II est important de souligner que les membres du G.I.E. sont constituésessentiellement de personnes d’un certain âge, qui ne se préoccupe que de laquestion foncière bien que confronté à des difficultés pour payer le prix de leurparcelles. II serait donc intéressant de chercher dans les autres composantesde la population une ressource potentielle capable de renforcer l’effort despropriétaires d’impenses. Ce qu’on pourrait trouver chez les femmes (épouses)ou la jeunesse.

L’information sur les questions liées à l’environnement et les connaissancestechniques sont améliorées grâce à la participation des femmes du quartier et àl’appuis du projet de restructuration DUA/GTZ. Les femmes, principalesgestionnaires des foyers, se sont rendues compte qu’elles avaient des problèmesliés à la détérioration de leur environnement. C’est dans cette perspective qu’ellesont tenté de se réorganiser: à côté du bureau de leur comité il existait danschacun des dix sous-quartiers que compte Dalifort, deux représentantes femmesà côté des deux représentants hommes.

Ainsi, des séances d’I.E.C. (information, éducation, communication) se tenaientdans les sous-quartiers périodiquement avec l’appui d’un ONG et du Ministèrede la Santé par le Canal du Service de l’Education pour la Santé, sous la Directiondu Projet de Restructuration de l’habitat spontané DUA/GTZ. Il s’agissait pourles femmes de s’informer et d’informer les habitants sur ce que peut entraînerun environnement malsain. Quand la sensibilisation se poursuivait dans le sous-quartier, les ordures continuaient à envahir les constructions. A partir de cemoment tout le quartier réuni, hommes, femmes sensibles à la questions desordures ont demandé un assistance du projet DUA/GTZ qui dans le but d’atteindreses objectifs dans l’amélioration du cadre de vie des populations, arenforcé les activités du comité femmes santé environnement.

Des premières études ont été menées par des experts et une proposition a étéfait, cependant dans l’application du projet on s’est heurté à des difficultés. Ainsi,un système de dialogue s’est établi avec toutes les composantes de la populationhommes, femmes. Ces populations commencent à voir plus clair sur les méfaitsd’un environnement pollué et les causes qui en découlent. Cette fois l’idée duprojet “intégré de Dalifort environnement et amélioration du cadre de vie” estconfirmée. ll failait mettre sur pied un comité de gestion et un comité de pilotage.

143

Dans ces comités étaient représentaient les femmes,les jeunes, le G.I.E., le comité de sage, et I’ONG CCF(Christian Children Fund).

Plusieurs réunions se sont tenues dans le but detrouver la meilleur formule. La concertation a duréplusieurs mois. Dans le cadre des rencontres avecles représentants des populations de Dalifort un tourd’horizon a été fait sur les divers solutionsgénéralement utilisées pour le ramassage desordures sur la base des coûts, on a procédé à1'élimination de toutes les solutions qui sont hors dela portée de notre population ciblée.

La prise en compte des hommes et des femmes ensemblenous a permis de prendre les décisions suivantes:

1. Le comité de gestion et de pilotage doivent toujourstenir informer les populations à la base en ce quiconcerne les décisions prises ou propositionsdécoulant des rencontres dans les ateliers.

2. Le G.I.E. (dans le comité de pilotage) des propriétairesde parcelles, dirige et supervise le projet.

3. Le comité de gestion doit comprendre à égalitéautant d’hommes que de femmes, et se chargé del’exécution technique du projet.

4. Le projet DUA /GTZ est chargé en collaborationavec le comité de gestion d’élaborer le dossiertechnique en tenant compte des avis des autresparties.

5. Toutes les parties prenantes doivent donner uneparticipation financière.

L’étude du projet a été très ambitieuse, mais comptetenu des fonds disponibles, à savoir: l’apport de laDUA/GTZ, des CCF régional et local, du GIE et deslocataires qui constitue 1,650,000 FCFA. Laréalisation est faite par étape.

Il failait d’abord assainir le quartier et ses alentoursde la ceinture d’ordures. Cette opération était detrès grande envergure durant plusieurs jours. Ellese faisait avec I’appui de la Commune de Pikine enpelles mécaniques et camions. Toute la populationa participé à ces opérations qu’on appelle chez nous

144


le “Sët-Sëtal”, c’est-à-dire, rendre propre les hommes, les femmes avec un granddynamisme, et même les enfants. Chacun avec le matériel disponibles chez lui(râteau, balai, brouette... ) se rendait utile. L’opération est accompagnée d’unetrès grande manifestation foiklorique pour élargir la sensibilisation.

Une fois ce travail terminé, la collecte des ordures a suivi, dans ce volet, l’appuide la Commune de Pikine a aussi été considérable par le renforcement en camion,qui passait deux fois par semaine parce que l’action de la charrette ne suffisaitpas. Après la collecte, le maraîchage a suivi. Ce choix a été retenu par lespopulations du fait que le compost ne pouvait pas donner de fonds dans les sixpremiers mois. Le reste devait suivre.

Les avantages du projetLes avantages de ce présent projet sont multiples. Dans le cas qui nous concerne,le projet est venu au moment ou le prob1ème des ordures constituaient la prioritédes populations d’une part, la concertation a été bien menée avec toutes lescouches de la population, d’autre part, jusqu’à avoir un consensus. Cette foisce n’est pas seulement avec les femmes seules qui pilotent ou prennent lesdécisions mais plutôt les hommes et les femmes. Le caractère communautairedu projet avec la participation massive des populations et le climat de confiancequi a régné entre celles-ci et l’Administration.

L’amélioration du cadre de vieLes effets positifs sur l’environnement ont été non négligeables. La pollution dela nappe phréatique a diminué parce que les eaux de ruissellement sont moinspolluées. Les enfants ne jouent plus entre les tas d’ordures ce qui entraînaitsurtout diverses maladies de la peau (ex. La gale), d’où l’amélioration de lasanté des enfants et par la même occasion l’amélioration du sort des femmes.Le changement de comportement des habitants du quartier. Les populationsont de plus en plus sensibles aux questions d’hygiène.

L’élément marquant dans notre pays c’est que dans les projets liés à la gestionde l’environnement l’aspect genre est toujours pris en compte. On constate queles femmes passent beaucoup de leur temps à la maison ou dans un procheenvironnement en raison de la responsabilité de certaines tâches. Elles yaccomplissent la plus grande partie de leurs travaux et ont un grand intérêt àl’amélioration des niveaux des infrastructures de leur environnement immédiat.

Les femmes sont très sensibles aux conditions de l’environnement et à leurseffets sur la santé de leur famille. Elles jouent un rôle important à Dalifort dansles organisations de voisinage, lieux de communication sociale du quartier. Lequartier jadis mis à l'écart, s’intègre de plus en plus dans le tissu urbain, la zoneest convoitée par d’autres habitants de haut standing.

Les lecons a retenir du projet� Il ne faut jamais perdre de vue la prise en compte des femmes dans les projets

de développement, ce qui permet une meilleure gestion des ressources;

145

� Le projet DUA/GTZ, concernant les activitésintégrées (ex. du projet intégré des orduresménagères) ne peut pas assurer le suivi etl’évaluation de façon efficace;

� La collaboration de différents intervenants dansune même zone est déterminante dans la réussitedes projets de développement;

� La participation des populations dans la mise enoeuvre de toutes les étapes du projet: conception,financement, réalisation... est essentielle.

� Les hommes maigré leur collaboration dansl’exécution des projets avec les femmes veulenttoujours les dominer, et sont moins dynamiquesque ces dernières.

� L’enthousiasme des débuts ne continue toujourspas. Dans nos pays généralement, la durabilitédes projets pose des difficultés, les populationsne sont pas stables financièrement, donc, agissantpar coups-parti, et courent derrière le painquotidien.

Recommandations� Le Gouvernement avec l’appui du CNUEH peut

aider, en formant les femmes, à mieux gérer etsuivre les projets après le retrait des bailleursde fonds, les former aussi à bien négocier leurprojet et à avoir plus de confiance en elles.

� Nous recommandons que les gestionnaires desprojets de l’Administration collaborent de plus enplus avec les ONG.

� Le Gouvernement du Sénégal avec l’appui duCNUEH peut nous aider à la formation et à lasensibilisation des femmes dans le domaine duramassage et de la gestion des orduresménagères.

� Avec toujours l’appui du CNUEH, leGouvernement peut aider les femmes à se formerdans les techniques de gestion et de traitementdes eaux usées.

� Il peut toujours, avec l’appui du CNUEH, aider lesfemmes à la formation, au recyclage et à larevalorisation des ordures ménagères.

� Enfin, nous recommandons au CNUEH d’aider,nous femmes qui tentons de soutenir lesgroupements de femmes dans les quartiersspontanés très diminus à visiter l’expérience desautres pays dans le domaine de gestion desordures et des eaux usées.

146


Vulgarisation de la Technologie de la Brique en TerreStabilisee (BTS), Conakry, République de Guinée

IntroductionSituée en Afrique de l’Ouest, à 10° au Nord de l’Équateur, la Guinée est limitéeà l’Ouest par la zone côtière Atlantique sur 300 km, au Nord par la GuinéeBissau, le Sénégal et le Mali, à l’Est par la Côte d’Ivoire et au Sud par la SierraLeone et le Liberia. Elle s’étend sur une superficie de 245.854 Km².

Selon les résultats provisoires du recensement général de la population effectuéen Décembre 1996 et publiés en Juillet 97, la population Guinéenne est de7.664.893 habitants. De cette population les femmes représentent 51,2%. Cettepopulation croit à un rythme de 2,8% par an.

Description du Milieu UrbainDepuis plus d’une décennie, l’Afrique est confrontée à une crise économique etsocio-culturelle, qui de nos jours est caractérisée entre autres, par la faiblessede 1’indice de développement. Par ailleurs cette crise fragilise davantage lescouches les plus défavorisées de la population que sont les femmes et lesenfants. De tous les temps, les hommes ont établi des priorités pour la satisfactionde leurs besoins. D’abord se nourrir, se protéger contre les intempéries c’est àdire se loger, se vêtir, se soigner et s’instruire. D’après cette hiérarchisation, ilest indéniable que le logement occupe une place importante dans la vie del’homme.

Historiquement le logement ne constituait pas un problème pour l’homme en Afrique.On assistait à une entre aide mutuelle entre les habitants d’une même communauté.Malgré la dominance masculine dans les domaines de l’habitat, dominance quin’est d’ailleurs qu’apparente, traditionnellement la femme contribuait à près de 70%à la construction du logement familial. L’extraction de la terre, la corvée d’eau, lemalaxage ou pétrissage, la confection des briques, l’enduisage des murs,etplanchers avec des décorations sont des activités menées par les femmes.

147

Aujourd’hui l’explosion démographique a provoquéune importante augmentation de la populationurbaine, qui a multiplié les besoins en logements etautres services sociaux. Les populations qui émigrentdes campagnes vers les villes à la recherche d’unbonheur hypothétique, ne peuvent pas se porter surles vieilles villes dont la capacité de réception estlimitée. Elles cherchent à s’installer dans lespériphéries et se lancent dans des constructionsanarchiques, compromettant ainsi toute possibilitéd’épanouissement équilibré de la cité.

On assiste ainsi à une prolifération de véritablesbidons villes avec toutes les conséquences nuisiblesqui découlent d’un tel phénomène: constructionsprovisoires, toits en vieilles tôles de récupération,perforées et retenues par n’importe quel objet lourd(cailloux, pneus ... ) et qui sont défaits à chaquetornade. Ces locaux sont caractérisés par unemauvaise ventilation, une absence d’eau probableet d’assainissement, de voiries, d’équipementscommunautaires, d’électricité, etc.

La trop grande concentration d’individus sur unecertaine surface, (promiscuité) détermine chez lesindividus, des déviations de comportement qui estun facteur de psychose, de délinquance, deprostitution, de criminalité, de conflits sociaux.

D’après des enquêtes réalisées sur l’habitat enGuinée, il ressort qu’il est caractérisé de façongénérale par 3 types :

� L’habitat de haut standing comprenant les grandshôtels, les bâtiments publics et administratifs, lesrésidences.

� L’habitat moyen standing : bâtiments publics(administration, écoles, hôpitaux) logementsconstruits en matériaux importés ou en matériauxlocaux améliorés.

� L’habitat populaire essentiellement constitué delogement familial de moindre qualité et peufonctionnel. Ce type pour la plus part en terreordinaire crue ou cuite et matériaux importés estle plus répandu et forme le visage urbain de nosvilles.

148


Dans la plus part des quartiers, on ne rencontre que les deux derniers types.Le troisième est celui généralement occupé par des populations à faible revenu.Il est caractérisé par des maisons très basses avec beaucoup de pièces exigüesà murs lézardés, humides en saison pluvieuse et chaudes en saison sèche. Laterre utilisée pour ces constructions est un matériau très répandu et accessibleà tous à des coûts presque négligeables.

Ce matériau peut être amélioré par plusieurs méthodes dont la plus utilisée estla cuisson des briques dans des fours artisanaux ou modernes. Cette formed’amélioration de la terre a un impact négatif sur:

� L’environnement à cause de la déforestation due à la coupe abusive du boispour la cuisson, l’assèchement des lits de cours d’eau, le tout contribuant àla dégradation de la flore et de la faune. Cette flore est sérieusement entaméeen Guinée avec la forêt qui disparaît à une allure inquiétante.

� Il faut noter aussi les efforts physiques pour la préparation du pétri, la coupeet le transport du bois ainsi que la corvée d’eau.

La deuxième méthode d’amélioration est la stabilisation; cette technologie aplusieurs avantages, économiques, écologiques, hygiéniques...

Sur le plan économique, la BTS n’utilisant pas de source d’énergie permet laconservation et le développement du couvert végétal et ne provoque pas depollution. La stabilisation est faite au ciment ordinaire dosé à 6-8%. Pour 1 sacde ciment on peut obtenir jusqu’à 150 briques. Cette méthode utilise peu d’eaupour le malaxage du mortier ce qui permet une économie substantielle en temps,en effort et en volume d’eau.

Les maisons en BTS ne nécessitent pas de crépissage et offrent un micro climatintérieur, agréable en toute saison : frais en période chaude et chaud en périodede froid. Pour les magasins de stockage de produits périssables, (oignons,pommes de terre ... ), il a été prouvé que ces produits pourrissent moins dansles magasins construits en BTS que ceux construits avec d’autres matériaux(ciment par exemple).

Son économie s’explique aussi par le fait qu’elle soit un matériau local abondant,accessible à tous. Elle contribue aussi à la valorisation des matériaux locaux deconstruction. Le procédé de production de ces matériaux est relativement facileune fois le dosage fait et est à la portée de la main d’oeuvre locale peu qualifiée.La construction en terre est un savoir faire et une tradition millénaire en Afrique.La terre stabilisée n’est donc qu’une amélioration d’un vieux procédé pour lavalorisation d’un matériau local dont la tendance était à l’abandon progressif.

La construction de logements «à coût modéré» est une voie incontournablepour la Guinée si l’on veut vite changer la physionomie désagréable qui imprimeà la ville les vastes étendues de constructions de fortune et de baraques.

149

Experiences Locales d’une Planification etd’une Gestion de l’EnvironnementL’approche genre et Développement est de plus enplus recommandée, car reposant sur un processusde développement durable, fondée sur laconsidération réciproque (homme et femme), l’égalité,la compréhension mutuelle sans exploitation nidomination réciproque. C’est dans ce cadre que leMinistère des Affaires Sociales de la PromotionFéminine et de l’Enfance en collaboration avec lePNUD a élaboré un Programme Cadre Genre EtDéveloppement pour prendre en compte lesquestions féminines.

Ce programme est utilisé pour reconnaître que lerôle des hommes et des femmes ainsi que les relationsentre ceux ci sont attribuées par la société etdéterminées par le contexte (social, politique,économique). Ces rôles peuvent donc changer dansle temps. L’analyse de ces rôles et relations montreun déséquilibre dans le pouvoir, l’accessibilité auxressources et la charge de travail entre les hommeset les femmes.

Le genre et développement (GED) est donc unprocessus rationnel entre homme et femme par lequelune meilleure répartition des tâches pourrait êtreassurée. Il permettra également de valoriser lestâches des femmes et leur permettre de s’auto-responsabiliser autant que les hommes. Le GED viseà un changement de mentalité. C’est une approchede développement culturelle d’où la nécessité demettre l’accent sur l’aspect éducatif de la société.C’est dans ce cadre qu’une vaste campagne desensibilisation pour la scolarisation de la jeune filleest entreprise sur toute l’étendue du territoire.

Les différentes recommandations issues desrencontres des acteurs en éducation encouragentl’orientation d’un plus grand nombre de filles dansles filières techniques en vue de développer etvulgariser l’utilisation de la BTS dans la constructiondes logements pour une meilleure protection del’environnement.

L’approche équilibrée des sexes, c’est à direreconnaître dans le cadre des efforts généraux visant

150


à responsabiliser les femmes, que les femmes ne sont pas seulement lesprincipales premières bénéficiaires des services mais qu’elles jouent un rôleessentiel et sont des agents de changement.

Faciliter la participation des femmes aux réunions en organisant les rencontresà des heures et des lieux qui leur conviennent:

� Approcher la population féminine par des animatrices en vue d’une meilleurecompréhension et d’une bonne réceptivité des messages concernant la BTS.

� Donner aux communautés la formation nécessaire par la prise en chargeeffective des équipements (mode de gestion, moyens matériels pour l’entretienet la maintenance).

� Les services de base, gérés par la collectivité c’est à dire maintenir un fermeengagement et apporter un soutien catalytique en faveur de l’expansion desservices qui offrent un bon rapport coût efficacité, grâce aux technologiesappropriées.

� Le renforcement des capacités, c’est à dire adapter des approches parprogrammes qui permettent de renforcer les moyens à tous les niveaux etdans toutes les couches de société, afin d’assurer un développement durable.

� Le partage des coûts par la collectivité, c’est à dire le partage des dépensesd’investissement et des charges d’exploitation des services de base, comptetenu de la volonté et la capacité de payer les prestations de services.

� La gestion communautaire du milieu aquatique c’est à dire la conservation del’eau, la protection de sa qualité et la gestion des déchets solides et liquidesdans le cadre de la protection prioritaire de l’environnement.

� Les liaisons intersectorielles avec les programmes de santé, d’éducation, denutrition, de protection de l’environnement construction de logement et lesautres programmes de développement, en exploitant les synergie entre tousles secteur qui agissent pour la survie, la protection et le développementdurable.

� Les approches particulières en vue d’atteindre les objectifs, c’est à dire donnerdes moyens d’action aux communautés et faire valoir leur rôle, soutenu parles autres intéressés, dans la planification la mise en oeuvre, la gestion et lesuivi des services.

� Le partenariat constitué et renforcé avec les pouvoirs publics à tous les niveauxaussi qu’avec la société civile (ONG, association) le secteur privé, lesorganismes d’aide extérieure et d’autres, de façon à assurer une coopérationet une complémentarité.

Pour la vulgarisation de la BTS, elles seront des formatrices dans les différentsgroupements créés.

Les femmes occupent une place de choix dans la société guinéenne de par lerôle qu’elles jouent dans l’économie familiale et l’éducation des enfants. Elles

151

sont d’une manière générale à la fois reproductrices,éducatrices et productrices. Sur le plan juridique,elles jouissent théoriquement des mêmes droits queles hommes. La persistance des traditions et desmentalités défavorables aux femmes ontconsidérablement limité leur contribution etparticipation dans le processus de développementéconomique et social de la Guinée.

Bien que des progrès aujourd’hui réalisés dans lesens de l’amélioration des conditions de vie descouches sociales défavorisées en général, lasituation des femmes et des jeunes demeure toujourspréoccupante. Le présent thème a pour objet lavulgarisation de la technologie de la brique en terrestabilisée pour améliorer le cadre des populationsen leur procurant un habitat décent.

On peut partir de ce qu’on appelle la femme au foyer,c’est à dire la femme qui utilise les différents espacesdu logement. La notion de logement sera dans lesens le plus large du terme, c’est à dire qu’onconsidère ici l’ensemble des modes d’habitation, maisaussi leur relation avec les équipementsd’accompagnement direct de l’habitat: eau potable,assainissement, santé, éducation, loisirs... Dans lescentres urbains l’insuffisance de revenu est la causeprincipale de la pauvreté. Mais c’est le manque derevenu des plus défavorisés qui cause leurvulnérabilité.

Dans nos villes, les femmes de même que les groupessociaux vulnérables, éprouvent de sérieusesdifficultés à obtenir un logement social salubre dansun quartier sans risques disposant de servicessociaux adéquats, d’un approvisionnement correcten eau potable, d’installations sanitaires de servicesde santé...

L’occupation anarchique des espaces urbains, laconstruction de logements précaires sans plansappropriés entraînant une promiscuité de vie sont laconséquence de la pauvreté. L’inexistence ou lesdifficultés d’application des schémas directeursd’aménagement des villes les amène souvent às’étendre de manière incohérente sur des terrainspériphériques.

152


La croissance démographique accélérée, l’exode rural des populations vers lesvilles à la recherche d’un bonheur hypothétique, ont donné naissance aux bidonsvilles. Le problème de surpeuplement des pièces est un phénomène général enrapport avec la taille des ménages. Ce surpeuplement nous amène à constater lacohabitation des parents et des enfants qui a des conséquences pour l’éducationdes enfants. La nuit tout le monde est entassé, et le matin les enfants sont chassésdans la rue pour permettre aux parents d’avoir un peu plus d’espace.

Le découpage des parcelles n’est pas du tout planifié. Au gré d’une occupationspontané anarchique donnant aux parcelles une forme géométrique quelconque,se trace un réseau routier très rudimentaire difficilement praticable. Ce quiexplique l’état d’enclavement de ces lieux qui ne sont accessibles que par despistes piétonnières. Dans ces conditions, il est évident que l’adduction d’eau etl’assainissement posent des problèmes. Il existe presque pas, des canaux dedrainage des eaux de ruissellement, de réseaux d’égouts pour les eaux usées.Pendant la saison des pluies, les eaux de ruissellement forment des torrents quitraversent qui inondent les zones basses des quartiers.

Les latrines traditionnelles et les fosses septiques non étanches polluent leseaux souterraines et celles des puits artisanaux. Le trop plein de ces fosses, demême que les eaux de ménage, coulent entre les habitations et le long des ruesformant çà et là des flaques sources d’épidémies. Quant aux déchets solides,ordures ménagères ils sont produits au rythme de 500 à 600 t/jour pour Conakry.Toutes ces mauvaises conditions sont plus ressenties au niveau des femmes quisont partout à la recherche du quotidien. Les surcharges des travauxdomestiques accentuent et accroissent leurs difficultés et baissentconsidérablement leur revenu.

La technologie de la BTS a beaucoup d’avantages: acquisition d’un habitat décentaux populations à faible revenu; et protection de l’environnement.

La participation des populations est nécessaire à la planification, à la conception,à l’exécution et à l’évaluation des projets. Des mécanismes de participation etde consultation des populations locales sont essentiels dans la gestion intégréedu territoire.

� L’amélioration du marché de logement et la mise en place d’un cadreréglementaire approprié à l’accroissement de la production de logements

� Promotion d’un habitat social urbain dans une perspective de résorption del’habitat insalubre des quartiers périphériques des grandes villes ;

� Assainissement urbain, notamment des quartiers pauvres des grandes villesdu pays, par la promotion de la participation des populations. Dans le cadredes actions d’information, d’éducation et de communication (IEC).

� Dans le cadre des activités génératrices de revenus, des petites unitésféminines de production des matériaux locaux de construction, émergencedes unités (PUE) de ramassage, de collecte des ordures ménagères. Cetteactivité est aussi menée par les ONG et associations féminines.

153

Pour la participation populaire dans le cadre del’assainissement, le PADU (Projet d’Appui auDéveloppement Urbain), entrepris avec l’appui del’UNICEF, la construction des latrines améliorées dansdes quartiers spontanés et des bornes fontaines.Cette méthode consistait à donner par exemple desmatériaux de construction (ciment et fer) et lapopulation bénéficiaire participait pour l’exécution dela fosse septique et la main d’oeuvre pour lamaçonnerie.

Pour cette approche, certains principes ont étédéfinis: le plaidoyer, c’est à dire attirer l’attention surles besoins et les droits des enfants et des femmeset mobiliser un engagement politique et public pourfaire adopter les politiques et accélérer les actions.

Evaluation de Experiences Locales

1. Essor à Timbi Madina: C’est une ONG françaisequi évalue dans cette localité depuis 1989 ; l’objectifprincipal qui était la protection des forêts, eneffectuant le reboisement des zones dégradées. Maisau cours de l’exécution de ce projet, il a été constatéque la plus grande consommation du bois était auniveau des fours à briques. Dans le souci de corrigercette situation, cette ONG en collaboration avec leministère de l’agriculture, des eaux et forêts a introduitla technologie de la BTS. Les briquetiers ont étérecensés, sensibilisés et formés à cette technologie.Les coopératives d’artisants à la BTS sont mises surpieds et évoluent dans toute la zone.

La réalisation de plusieurs infrastructures(bibliotèques, centres de santé, écoles, autresbâtiments administratifs, magasin de stockage depommes de terre et oignons et des maisonsd’habitations) prouvent que la population adhère deplus au plus au projet.

2. Expérience de Garafiri: Garafiri est le site deconstruction du nouveau barrage hydroélectrique dumême nom dans la préfecture de kindia (Basse-Guinée). La retenue de ce barrage inondera 24villages le long du Konkouré dans les préfectures deKindia, Dalaba, Mamou et Pita ayant un âge moyende 100 ans.

154


Une population très importantes doit être évacuée vers des zones de recasementlaissant derrière elle de vastes plaines agricoles, des centaines de milliersd’arbres fruitiers en âge de production, des cases-musées, des lieux de culteen un mot son histoire. Cette évacuation engendre des problèmes de tousordres financier, économique, socio-culturel, administratif, etc. C’est le plusgrand chantier où tous les intervenants dans la BTS ont un champs d’applicationde leur savoir faire. Tous les spécialistes de la construction en BTS sont àGarafini: Institutions Universitaire et de recherche appliquées. Petite et moyenneentreprises de production de tuiles en mortier de ciment, de briques et deconstruction en terre. Ce chantier mené à bonne fin sera la plus grandeexpérience des constructions en terre qui permettra aux spécialistes de donnerun visage national à la terre.

Notre ONG entretient un partenariat soutenu avec :

� Le PADU

� Réalisation des latrines améliorées dans les quartiers défavorisés.

� Réalisation de caniveaux en pierre maçonnés pour le drainage des eaux deruissellement.

� Réalisation de bonnes fontaines ( points d’eau ) dans ces mêmes quartiers.

Le Département de Génie Civil, nous participons à des travaux de recherchesau niveau du laboratoire des sols.

� Avec le CERESCOR pour des échanges d’expériences.

� Certaines ONG féminines de la place, nous entretenons des relations departenariat. Nous effectuons des études techniques pour des projets deconstruction de la place (magasins de stockage, centres de fumage depoisson, écoles...).

� Nous participons à toutes les activités du MASPFE (séances desensibilisation... ) en plus des études techniques et enquêtes que nous faisonspour ce département.

� Nous collaborons avec le Fonds Africain pour l’Habitat (FAH) Sierra Leonedans leur projet de reconstruction pour la réinstallation des populations.

� Nous collaborons avec le FAH siège, Nairobi pour, l’acquisition de logementsaux pauvres.

A Conakry, nous avons réalisé un parc urbain dont les infrastructures sont enBTS (kiosque, paillotes), pierres latéritiques et tuiles. Notre principal partenaireest l’ONUDI qui déploie des efforts considérables pour appuyer nos activités surle terrain (don d’une presse à briques). Nous avons aussi d’autres bailleurscomme la Banque Mondiale. L’AFIG pour sa part a initié un projet de constructiond’une unité de production de briques en terre stabilisée BTS et de tuiles. Ceprojet est soumis au Ministère de l’Urbanisme et de l’Habitat qui la transmis avecavis favorable au PNUD.

155

Après la réalisation de cette l ère unité nous avonsl’ambition de la multiplier dans les régionsadministratives et ensuite dans les préfectures et souspréfectures.

Nous avons déjà des groupements de femmesformées à cet effet à Nairobi (Coopératives desfemmes de Lanséboundji et potières de Kankan) quenous encadrons. Cette activité avec celles existantdéjà (teinture, couture, maraîchage, saponification,extraction du sel marin... ) permettront de relever leniveau économique des femmes et leur faciliterl’acquisition d’un logement décent. Nousencourageons aussi de regrouper les jeunes fillesayant bénéficié d’une formation technique dans lesIPS (école professionnelle de niveau en maçonnerie,menuiserie, plomberie, électricité...

� Acces au LogementLa qualité des maisons a positivement changé de laboule de terre ordinaire pétrie, sans dimensionsexactes, on est arrivé à la BTS avec des dimensionsstandardisées. Le temps de construction, si la boulede terre ne permet pas la pose de plus de 2 assisespar jour, pour permettre la prise et le durcissement,la BTS, elle, permet le montage de toute unemaçonnerie en 1 jour. La forme circulaire des casesne permettant pas une exploitation rationnelle de lasurface bâtie eu égard à la forme rectangulaire desmeubles est remplacée par une maison de formerectangulaire. Les toitures en paille des cases sontremplacées par des tulles possédant en plus de lathermo-isolation la résistance au feu.

� Activités de rechercheUn vaste programme de recherche sur l’améliorationde la terre et les éléments de construction en terreest en cours au Centre de recherches de Rogbané:Section matériaux de construction. Là se trouve enexpérimentation la stabilisation au ciment, à la collenaturelle, confection de panneaux légers à partir demixture terre-souillure de bois, expérimentation defibres végétales comme armatures.

Les études de la BTS étant achevées au départementde Génie Civil de l’Université de Conakry, lastabilisation chimique des argiles à la soude costique,

156


aux résidus industriels (boue rouge) pour la construction routière est en cours,

ConclusionLa planification et la gestion de l’environnement urbain doit impliquerinévitablement les quatre «sphères» que sont: le social, l’économique, le politiqueet l’écologique.

L’avenir est très prometteur car les institutions de formation et de recherchecomme l’Université de Conakry à travers le département de Génie Civil et cellesde financement: l’ONUDI, la Banque Mondiale, lé PNUD, etc sont disposées àsoutenir les activités de notre projet.

Au regard de tous ces avantages, on peut conclure aisément que la BTS estune solution économique et écologique, culturellement acceptée pour faire faceà la demande pressante en logements et infrastructures d’intérêt individuel, socialet public à coût modéré.

157

Part 3References

W orkshop Statem entCase Study AuthorsAcronym s

158


Participants at the international workshop onGender Responsive Environmental Planning and Management

Nairobi, 1998

159

Nairobi, 30 September 1998

We, participants from cities, local governments, non-governmentalorganisations, community based organisations, research institutions, privatesector and support programmes from all over the world have reviewed ourefforts and achievements in making environmental planning and managementmore gender responsive. We invite the UNCHS/UNEP initiated UrbanEnvironment Forum, together with supporting programmes and institutions,to spearhead follow-up including mobilising additional support for implementinggender responsive environmental planning and management at the local,national, regional and global levels. Furthermore we support the efforts of theHabitat II City Summit in Istanbul, June 1996, to incorporate gender concernsinto the Habitat Agenda.

Our comprehensive review of our common as well as varied urban experienceshas produced evidence of the remarkable range of initiatives, achievementsand challenges in gender responsive environmental planning and managementworldwide, and of the resources which have been mobilised in our cities. TheSustainable Cities Programme will facilitate the synthesis of the wide varietyof practical lessons of experience in a Source Book on gender responsiveenvironmental planning and management, for dissemination worldwide.

We conclude that in urban environmental planning and management allenvironmental issues are gender sensitive and therefore genderresponsiveness is a prerequisite for sustainable development. However, someissues are of particular strategic importance, such as environmental education,improved sanitation, the urban economy, employment, housing, transport,safety and security. The issues are context specific and the challenge is tocollect more experiences in order to make available and expand knowledge inthis area.

W orkshop Statementon GenderResponsiveness forSustainable UrbanDevelopment

160


We put forward the following ideas to be discussed and further developedfor wider application and support:

Improve gender disaggregated information and stakeholderinvolvement

Gender disaggregated information is important for effective planning andimplementation. It means information on the situation of women and menand does not mean data on women alone.A number of approaches in gender sensitive data collection have beenidentified and comparisons of households headed by women and men andalso gender comparisons within households are recommended. Becausewomen (and men) are not homogenous groups, where possible andappropriate, data should also be disaggregated by other socio-economicvariables such as age, ethnicity, income, education etc.

Both qualitative and quantitative methods can be used in collecting data.Experience shows that qualitative methods of collecting data from womenand men (young and old) give better results than quantitative methods, whichhave many pitfalls; however, the two methods are best used together.

Participatory methods of data collection are also important. They make iteasier for communities to develop a sense of ownership over the data,generate greater commitment by the various stakeholders and provide abetter perception of women’s and men’s needs and interests.

Stakeholder involvement at all levels of projects and programmes is key torealising Environmental Planning and Management goals. Important aspectsto consider include: timing and venue of activities, and services to be providede.g. child care; and resources to be used, for example professionals vs.unpaid grass roots stakeholders.

Improve gender sensitive strategy formulation and decision making

It is observed that women are not adequately involved in strategy formulationand decision-making. This is partly due to cultural constraints differing acrossand within cities. Participation by women and men results in a sense ofownership, and thus serves sustainability. A number of suggestions weremade on improving women’s involvement. It is important to provide bothcommon and different fora for women and men, especially during initial stagesof project/programme development. Additionally, women and men should becontinuously involved at every level of decision making. Women’s ownsupportive structures outside the establishment and institutionalisedparticipation and decision-making process should be maintained. Otherimportant aspects to consider include:

161

� facilitating effective media strategies

� making public space - physical and political- within the communityavailable for women

� forming appropriate structures of involvement and participation (e.g.procedures of legitimisation of groups’ representatives)

� ensuring formal links between participatory structures (civil society) andgovernance structures (public sector)

� supporting principled (meaning equal status) partnerships andcollaboration between professionals and grass roots structures

� strengthening existing structures for effective gender involvement

� enhancing teamwork and networking, in and outside the establishment

� facilitating gender sensitisation of top, medium and low levelmanagement

� actively seeking political support

� ensuring access to resources

Indicators for strategy formulation and decision makingIndicators are relevant for assessing strategies and decisions relating toprojects and programmes. Indicators should be identified, preferably withcommunity involvement, at the time of strategy development and reviewedas projects and programmes proceed. Issues to be assessed by indicatorscould include:

� the nature of the political culture

� whether created spaces are being used by communities

� whether the environment is better managed

� progress in sensitising top policy makers

� progress in involving women in each stage of decision-making

� engendering traditional indicators

� the extent of partnership between governmental organisations andnon-governmental organisations

� resources spent to strengthen capacity in gender responsive planningand management

162


Improve gender responsive action planning and resourcemobilisation for effective implementation

Involving women and men in action planning and resource mobilisation iskey for efficient utilisation of resources and thus for sustainabledevelopment. Mobilising resources is a challenge, and cultural aspectshave to be considered. The involvement of communities in action-planningresults in a greater sense of ownership and increased commitment toimplementation. The involvement of women and men in action planningand resource mobilisation can be improved in the following ways, amongstothers:

� using participatory gender sensitive workshops

� recognising the different roles and identities of women and men

� training at various levels

� simplifying working procedures

� making use of gender expertise

� using a gender sensitive mechanism for better cross-sectoraldevelopment coordination

� outlining the feasibility of projects - only concrete outcome andimprovements will encourage people to stay involved

Indicators for gender responsive action planning and resource mobilisationCommunity based identification of indicators is desirable. The followingindicators are proposed, amongst others:

� the type of resources mobilised using gender responsive approaches

� increase in women’s involvement in activities

� action plans implemented

� the level of satisfaction of women and men involved or affected by theprocess

� improvement in productivity and income

� level of men’s (or other groups) resistance or acceptance of change

163

Institutionalise gender responsive environmental planning andmanagement and monitor progress towards our common objectives

Principles of institutionalising gender issues in relation to the public sectorand civil society, as well as their inter-relationships and relation to communitiesneed to be outlined. This would facilitate effective and comprehensivemainstreaming of gender issues in society.

Mainstreaming gender responsive environmental planning and managementleads to equal participation of women and men in communities. At the sametime political will at the top, including concrete actions such as allocation ofresources, is essential to mainstreaming gender in institutions. Thus usingboth bottom-up and top-down approaches is necessary. Training at all levelsis essential. This must:

� be relevant to the issues addressed and demand-driven

� be continuous and regularly updated

� link different groups and activities

� be monitored and evaluated using community based indicators ofsuccess, efficiency, and satisfaction

Monitoring and evaluation in environmental planning and managementprogrammes is essential. It must be continuous, updated through trainingand accompanied by clear procedures and gender responsibilities.

Women and men are key to change, and their awareness at communitylevel will lead to positive change in social rules regarding what women andmen could and should do, in order to achieve greater equity.

Civil society and public sector institutions need to interact. For this networks,with links to communities, are needed. Women’s committees that can and doinfluence the public sector, and women’s resource centres at the communitylevel are useful. The latter should be open to men’s participation, whereappropriate.

There are many challenges and pitfalls in the process of mainstreaminggender:

� women and men lack gender awareness

� socio-cultural and political barriers to change

� insufficient knowledge of women’s and men’s needs and interests

� lack of interest and political will, especially in local authorities

164


� exploitation and political interference in women’s organisations

� supporting emerging women’s leaders from the grassroots andstrengthening lateral solidarity

� appropriate tools for gender analysis and planning are needed

While recognising that the initiative and most of the responsibilities for genderresponsive environmental planning and management must come from thecities themselves, we acknowledge the important role of specialised expertiseand international support. Therefore, we commit ourselves, in our respectivecapacities, to firmly supporting the application and further development ofthese approaches, which are derived from the sharing of practicalexperiences between cities, gender experts and support programmes.

We recommend that gender should be seen as one of various socialcategories, which are relevant to human behaviour and structuring ofsocieties, e.g. age, ethnic group, religion. Therefore, addressing genderissues fundamentally serves to address issues of equity, justice and peacein society.

We recommend that research and training in gender responsiveenvironmental planning and management should be intensified, includinglooking systematically at how to draw further lessons of experience.

We recommend that indicators should be developed to measure progresstowards achieving gender responsive environmental planning andmanagement goals.

We recommend that resources should be committed for ensuring genderresponsive environmental planning and management.

We recommend that the Urban Environment Forum should facilitate acontinuous exchange in gender responsive environmental planning andmanagement through a topic cluster relating to gender and networking amongpartners.

We recommend that the follow-up of this workshop should include linkingthe workshop outcome and the emerging network into the Habitat II follow-up and the preparation for the review in 2001.

165

Case Study AuthorsAmman, JordanEstablishing a Women-Oriented CottageIndustry in MadabaMs. Salwa O Al-SukhonBani Hamida Weaving Project Women OrientedCottage Industries in Jordan, P.O. Box: 5617Zahran, Ibn Khaldoon St. # 77, 4th Circle/ JabalAmman, Amman 11183, JordanTel: +962-6-4644778, 4634615, 5531817Fax: +962-6-5531817, 5337197E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

Aswan, EgyptAl Naseryah Urban Improvement ProjectMr. Abdalla El-ErianSustainable Ismailia Governorate ProgrammeP.O. Box: 191, 164 Saad Zaghlool St., Ismailia,EgyptTel: +20-64-344585, 338085Fax: +20-64-344585, 338085E-mail: [email protected] orCairo University, 3 Midan Hayet El Tadriss, Cairo,EgyptTel: +20-2-337 8795 (home), +20-2-361 0325(office), +20-2-570 0830, 570 0831 (faculty)Fax: +20-2-568 0862

166


Chennai, IndiaGender Responsive EPM in the Sustainable Chennai ProjectMs. M. GeethaSustainable Chennai Project, Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority, 8,Gandhi Irwin Road, Egmore, 600 008, Chennai, IndiaTel: +91-44-8534855, Fax: +91-44-854 8416E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]

Conakry, GuineaVulgarisation de la Technologie de la Brique en Terre Stabilisee (BTS)Ms. Balde Fatoumata DiopVulgarisation de la technologie de le BTS, Association des Femmes Ingénieursde Guinée, P.O. Box: 1345, Conakry, GuineaTel: +224-413495, 463296 (r), Fax: +224-415568E-mail: [email protected]

Dakar, SenegalProjet Integre de Dalifort, Environnement et Amelioration du Cadre deVieMs. Traore Aminata CorreaHealth and Environment Committee, Garbage Collection in Dalifort, Directionde l’Urbanisme et de l’Architecture, Ministere de l’Urbanisme et de l’Habitat,P.O. Box: 253, Avenue Roosevelt, Dakar, SenegalTel: +221-8228902, 8216263, Fax: +221-8215784E-mail: [email protected]

Dar-es-Salaam, TanzaniaMabibo Environmental Management SocietyMs. Zita NyirendaMabibo Environmental Management Society, P.O. Box: 21875, Dar-es-Salaam,Tanzania, Tel: +255-51-110514, Fax: +255-51-114014

Guntur, IndiaThe Swarna Jayanthi Shahri Rozgar Yojana ProjectMs. Kolli SharadaMunicipal Corporation, Guntur, 522 003 A.P., IndiaTel: +91-863-323 731, 353 869, +91-863-234 343, 224 202E-mail: [email protected]

Hamburg, GermanyGood Governance: New Forms of Cooperation and Partnership forMore Gender Responsive Urban DevelopmentMs. Kerstin ZillmannPlanning and Housing in Developing Countries, Technical University ofHamburg-Harburg, TUHH, FSP 1-07, D-21071 Hamburg, GermanyTel: +49-40-7718 3658/3211, Fax: +49-40-7718 2472E-mail: [email protected]

167

Heidelberg, GermanyFuture Workshops - From Vision into Action: Women’s Role in CityPlanningMs. Minu HemmatiOffice of the Mayor, City Council, Marktplatz 10, Heidelberg, D-69117,GermanyTel: +49-6221-582 010, +49-6221-582 090/1090

Hue City, VietnamWomen Initiative in Environmental ProtectionMr. Le Van Thanh LongHue City Bureau of Foreign Affairs, 01 Pham Hong Thai St., Hue City, VietnamTel: +84-54-820914, Fax: +84-54-832969, E-mail: [email protected]

Ibadan, NigeriaCapacity Building for Urban Poverty AlleviationMs. Olusade TaiwoCentre for Enterprise Development and Action Research (CEDAR), P.O. Box:9270, Tiwa, 11 Oluyole Way, New Bodija, Ibadan, NigeriaTel: +234-2-810 1485, Fax: c/o+234-2-810 095, E-mail: [email protected]

Ismailia, EgyptWomen’s Committees in the Sustainable Ismailia Governorate ProjectMs. Habiba EidSustainable Ismailia Governorate Programme, P.O. Box: 191, 164 SaadZaghlool St., Ismailia, EgyptTel: +20-64-344585, 338085, Fax: +20-64-344585, 338085E-mail: [email protected]

Kampala, UgandaPromotion of Sanitation Among Households in LuziraMs. Helen GakwayaAppropriate Technology Energy and Environment, YWCA, P.O. Box: 2108, 1 &3 George Street, Kampala, UgandaTel: +256-41-342024, 343686, Fax: +256-41-345597E-mail: [email protected]

Kathmandu, NepalGender responsive EPM: An Experience from Lonhla Community inPatanMs. Lajana ManandharUrban Development Programme, Lumanti Support Group for Shelter, P.O. Box:10546, Kupandole, Lalitpur, Kathmandu, NepalTel: +977-1-523822, Fax: +977-1-520480E-mail: [email protected]

168


Kathmandu, NepalConsumer Education and Community Participation ProjectMs. Mangala KaranjitNepal Water Supply Corporation, P.O. Box: 11673, Jyabahal, 21, Kathmandu, NepalTel: +977-1-525689 (home), 272484 (office), Fax: +977-1-521180 (home),+977-1-262229 (office), E-mail: [email protected]

Lusaka, ZambiaGender Responsive Approaches in the Sustainable LusakaProgrammeMs. Litumelo MateSustainable Lusaka Programme, Sustainable Lusaka Programme, P.O. Box: 31966,c/o UNDP, off Harry Mwanga Nkhumbula Rd, Hse. No. 7916, Lusaka, ZambiaTel: +260-1-251475, 251482, Fax: +260-1-251475, E-mail: [email protected]

Nairobi, KenyaGender and Green Towns Project (full case study not included in book)Ms. Jane WanyonyiGovernment Training Institute, Dept. of Environmental Studies,P.O. Box: 84027, Vanga Rd, Kizingo, Mombasa, KenyaTel: +254-11-228800, Fax: +254-11-227105

Recife, BrazilSelective Solid Waste Collecting and RecyclingMs. Silvia C. ArraisSelective Solid Waste Collection and Recycling, Municipality of Recife, RuaAntonio Rangel, 84/501 - Encruzilhada, Av.Gov. Carlos de Lima Cavalcanti,09-Derby, 50.070-110, 52030-090, Recife, BrazilTel: +55-81-221 2392, Fax: +55-81-221 1274, E-mail: [email protected]

Santiago, ChileThe Latin American View of Gender Responsive Environmental PlanningMs. Paola JironInstituto de la Vivienda, Facultad de Arquitectura, Universidad de Chile, VicunaCifuentes 2315, depto 304, Santiago, ChileTel: +56-2-341 80134, 678 3037, Fax: +56-2-222 2661E-mail: [email protected]

Stuttgart, GermanyMothers’ Centres in Baden-WürttembergMs. Monika Jäckel, Ms. Andrea LauxMothers’ Platform Baden-Württemberg, National Association of Mothers’ CentresGermany, DJI Nockherstr.2, D-81541 München, GermanyTel: +49-89-6230 6253, Fax: +49-89-6230 6162, E-mail: [email protected] orRegional Center Europa, Mothers’ Centre Baden-Württemberg, Mothers’ Platform,Bismarkstr. 5517, D-70197 Stuttgart, GermanyTel: +49-711-631764, Fax: +49-711-636 9200, E-mail: [email protected]

169

Inventory of AcronymsAFIG Association of Women Engineers of GuineeEE Environment EducatorsELCI Environment Liaison Centre InternationalEPM Environmental Planning and ManagementFGD Focus Group DiscussionGTAG Green Towns action GroupsGTI Government Training InstituteCBO Community Based organisationCEDAR Centre for Enterprise Development and ResearchCLEE Community Level Environmentalists EducatorsHDI Human Development IndexGAD Gender and DevelopmentGDI Gender-related Development IndexGEM Gender Empowerment MeasureKGTPA Kenya Green Towns Partnership AssociationNGO Non-governmental organisationPEP Participatory Environmental PlanningPRA Participatory rapid appraisalSCP Sustainable Cities ProgrammeTOT Training of TrainersUEF Urban Environment ForumUPE Urban Poverty EducationUNCHS United Nations Centre for Human SettlementsUNEP United Nations Environment ProgrammeWID Women in DevelopmentWUC Ward Users Committees

integrating gender responsiveness in environmental ... gender... · 3 user’s guide the gender...

Documents