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According to the publication “UNFCCC Decisions
and Conclusions” (Burns and Patouris, 2014),
climate change – especially droughts, floods and
other extreme weather events – together with
food and water insecurity impact men and women
differently. Due to high unemployment rates, a
high percentage of women in the Balkans tend to
stay at home, where they are responsible for the
household’s food production and its water and
energy supply (Goldstein, 2014). These are the
resources most affected by the impacts of climate
change (Burns and Patouris, 2014), making women
in the Balkans more vulnerable than men to climate
change. For this reason, it has become increasingly
important in the Balkan countries to involve women
and men equally in decision-making processes
(ibid). According to the analysis of the available
documents, however, the question of gender
mainstreaming in policy and strategic documents
tends to remain superficial.
In order to ensure that both men and women
have equal opportunities to participate in the
adaptation regime, women need to be proactively
engaged in the planning and implementation of
adaptation measures. They should be involved in
both consultative and decision-making stages, with
the aim of facilitating their safety and productivity.
For this reason, strategic documents must identify
women as a special stakeholder group and include
them in action planning.
Gender issues
Woman threshing cereal, Lin, Albania