Stories of Vanuatu Women

How gender inequalities can impact people's capacity to adapt to climate change?

Part of the "Gender and climate change" project at CliMates, Mouna went to Vanuatu as part of her Master thesis. She shares with us what she saw there.

Lewie and dead leaves of yam vine ©Tessa Fox

Vanuatu is an archipelago of 83 islands, located in the southwest Pacific Ocean. Today climate change is the greatest challenge faced by Vanuatu. According to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) forecasts, temperatures will increase by 1.2 ° C by 2040 compared to 1995 levels [1]. Global warming is also associated with sea-level rise, changes in rainfall patterns and an increase in the intensity and frequency of natural hazards. In addition, ocean acidification could damage up to 80% of the coral reefs within the next 20 years. Due to its low level of development, Vanuatu is facing difficulties to adapt to climate change. All these impacts will have significant social implications. In particular, climate change magnifies existing inequalities and bolsters the disparities between women and men.

Gender and climate change : why does it matter?

The impacts of climate change are far from being gender-neutral. All around the world, women and men have distinct social roles associated with different access and control over resources. As a result, their capacity to cope with the effects of climate change is not the same. In Vanuatu for instance, women are the ones responsible for managing natural resources and taking on domestic duties. Yet, they are barely involved in decision-making processes. These gender inequalities are thus increasing women vulnerability in the context of climate change. However, traditional roles that are generally assigned to women can also create a window of opportunity as illustrated by the Women’s Forum initiative held in Tanna Island in 2015.

Gender-differentiated impacts of climate change: the case of Tanna Island

Tanna is one of the five volcanic islands of Vanuatu. In March 2015, this island was violently hit by Cyclone Pam. In the aftermath of the cyclone, people had to cope with the absence of food since all their crops were totally destroyed. Besides food, building new houses was another critical issue since almost all houses of Tanna were demolished by the cyclone. One year after the cyclone, people were still living in temporary houses all over the island because building materials as well as financial support were lacking. Just like on the other islands, women of Tanna are living in a very patriarchal society. There are no shared responsibilities between husband and wife. In addition, women’s access to education is a major concern : their literacy rate is among the lowest of the Archipelago. As a result, women often do not understand governmental warnings that they receive by text messages. They are thus less prepared than their husbands for facing cyclones.

Women in Vanuatu: key actors in tackling climate change

If women were the most impacted by cyclone Pam in Tanna, they also became the most engaged to that issue. Only few days after the cyclone, a women forum called Women I toktok together was organized in Isangel, the Provincial headquarters. In total 800 women and young girls from all around the Island came and stayed under blue tents for three days. These tents were representing a “safe place for women”. The purpose of this forum, which was organized by the NGO ActionAid, was to draw attention to specific issues faced by women in regions that were affected by the cyclone. This unique opportunity allowed women to exchange and share experience about cross-cutting issues such as political engagement of women, education of girls, school fees or sanitation. At the end of these 3 days, women of Tanna came back to their respective communities with new priorities. This experience significantly contributed to strengthen women’s network and organization on the Island.

To sum up,

The case of the Tanna Forum is not unique in the Pacific region and show the determination of women to overcome gender inequalities and climate-related challenges through solidarity and collaboration. Therefore, empowering women and girls not only benefit their individual adaptive capacity but also to the capacity of their whole community.

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[1] UNDP. 2014. Risk Governance Assessment Report: Strengthening Climate and Disaster Risk Governance in Vanuatu.

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About “Gender and Climate Change”: Born in early 2017, Gender and Climate Change (GCC) is a project of CliMates, an international youth-led think-and-do tank dedicated to climate change. The GCC project specifically aims at unveiling hidden connections between gender norms and climate-related issues, a topic largely unexplored in the research arena. Additionally, GCC continuously sheds light on inspiring female-led initiatives tackling climate change. While GCC strives to give the female public a voice and a space for action and decision, the project wants to draw everyone’s attention upon broader gender constraints, including males’ ones. Throughout the year, the project’s international members collected pictures and testimonies from women and men vulnerable to climate-induced events because of gender norms. Research has also been conducted on specific topics to raise public awareness and provide quantitative and qualitative evidence with visual portraits and personal stories mentioned above.

For more info, check their website!