Indigenous knowledge and climate change in rural Namibia: A gendered approach
Loading...
Date
2015
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Namibia Press
Abstract
Since 1972, robust literature about the need for men and women to respond to the
impacts of climate change has emerged. The international response to climate change is embodied in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The UNFCCC that was adopted at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1992 has been in force since 1994. The ultimate objective of the UNFCCC is to: ‘... achieve stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous human-induced interference with the climate system within a timeframe sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure that food production is not threatened and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner.’ (UNFCCC cited in Kyoto 2, 2008.) The strategies envisaged by both scientists and politicians are based on the combination
of adaptation, mitigation and use of indigenous knowledge (MET, 2011a, 2011b &
2011c). Mitigation, adaption and integration of indigenous knowledge require both
men and women to participate equally in decisions pertaining to adjusting ecological, social or economic systems in response to observed climate change, and a process of curtailing greenhouse gas emissions and other anthropogenic interventions. However, traditional configuration of gender roles means that women and men have multiple responsibilities in the home, at the workplace and in the community.
Description
Keywords
Climate change, Rural Namibia
Citation
Siyambango, N., Kanyimba, A.T., & Mufune, P. (2015). Indigenous knowledge and climate change in rural Namibia: A gendered approach. In K.C. Chinsembu, A. Cheikhyoussef, & D. Mumbengegwi (Eds.), Indigenous Knowledge of Namibia (pp. 263-282). Windhoek: UNAM Press.