Empowering Pastoralist Women in Mountain Areas: Navigating Environmental and Gender Challenges
Consultation Day under the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
12 March 2024 | 14:30-16:30 CET, 8:30-10:30 EST | Online
Pastoralist women play an integral role in sustaining local practices, preserving the delicate ecological balance, and contributing significantly to the socio-economic development of their regions. Pastoralist women, as the backbone of these societies, have traditionally shouldered responsibilities ranging from animal husbandry to the preservation of cultural knowledge, making invaluable contributions to the sustainable management of natural resources.
Climate change, land degradation, and shifts in precipitation patterns pose significant threats to the availability of forage and water resources, straining the delicate ecological balance and livelihoods of these communities. Pastoralist women also contend with gender-specific issues, including those related to the risk of being exposed to various forms of victimization. Despite their pivotal role in the daily operations of pastoralism, women often find themselves marginalized in decision-making processes, facing limited access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunities.
The meeting brought together stakeholders from diverse backgrounds: policymakers, researchers, representatives from pastoralist communities. By fostering a collaborative and inclusive dialogue, the meeting explored the intersectionality of environmental and gender issues faced by pastoralist women in the Alps, Carpathians, Pyrenees, and Apennines.
The UNEP office in Vienna sponsored the event, “Empowering Pastoralist Women in Mountain Areas: Navigating Environmental and Gender Challenges. Consultation Day under the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68).”
The event was organized by the NGO Committee on the Status of Women Vienna, the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development Vienna and the Alliance of NGOs on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, with the support of Eurac Research, and aimed at amplifying rural women’s and girls’ voices and experiences from different rural mountainous regions
Presenters and Files:
Sara Manuelli: “The Mountain Partnership, a platform for bringing pastoralist women centre stage”
Ibolya Sáfiánné: “The role of women in pastoralism in Hungary”
Constanța Ștefan: ““The role of women in Romanian pastoralism and transhumance, a basic aspect of pastoralism in the Carpathians”
Caterina De Boni: “Wool as employment opportunity for woman pastoralism in Italy”
