Education
Women, girls demand greater role in Nigeria’s climate decision-making – EnviroNews
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Women farmers, secondary school girls, corps members, policy actors and civil society advocates have called for greater inclusion of women and girls in climate decision-making, saying gender-responsive policies must translate into an actual action at the community level.
The call was made Thursday, September 17, 2026, at the “Feminist Climate Village: From Belém to Lagos”, a one-day gathering organised by the International Centre for Environmental Health and Development (ICEHD) in partnership with the Women and Gender Constituency (WGC) at JJT Park, Alausa, Lagos State.
The gathering focused on translating the Belém Gender Action Plan (GAP) into practical actions that can be implemented within communities.
The Belém Gender Action Plan was adopted by 195 countries at the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP30, in Belém, Brazil. The nine-year framework contains 27 activities and 98 deliverables covering issues including care work, health, protection of women environmental defenders, decent work, climate finance, data and nature-based solutions.
Speaking during the event, The project coordinator, Mrs. Oloruntosin Taiwo, said climate change does not affect everyone in the same way, stressing the need for policies and interventions that recognise the specific experiences and challenges faced by women and girls.
She said gender-blind climate interventions could fail to achieve their intended objectives when they overlook relating to the local women on their needs, and also factors such as women’s limited access to land, finance, technology and technical information.
According to her, rural women farmers are particularly affected by restrictions around land ownership and gendered social roles, which can limit their productivity and ability to adapt to climate change.
She also called for stronger gender representation at climate decision-making tables, saying women should move from being passive beneficiaries of climate programmes to active participants, contributors in decision-making process and leaders.
Oloruntosin further stressed the need for collaboration among government institutions, academic institutions, communities and civil society organisations to ensure that climate policies are effectively implemented.
She also advocated for better monitoring and evaluation of climate programmes, urging stakeholders to move beyond vague reporting and adopt quantitative, data-driven systems for measuring progress.
The effects of climate change on livelihoods also featured prominently during the gathering.
Dr. Adedoyin, a woman farmer, during a panel session, recounted her experience dealing with unpredictable rainfall, which she said had affected her agricultural investments and income.
She said she had to develop alternative sources of income, including poultry farming and vegetable production using poultry manure, to adapt to changing weather conditions.
However, she said unpredictable rainfall had resulted in significant financial losses, including a harvest she sold for about N600,000 despite expecting it to generate between N900,000 and N1.2 million.
She also recounted how the failure of cassava and pea crops due to inadequate rainfall forced her to abandon planned projects and rely on her savings.
Another panelist, Azeez Adebayo Aladeyelu, who represented civil society, supported calls for greater access to climate finance and resources for rural women farmers.
Representing young people, Oke Olabisi, a corps member, said young women need greater access to climate information, opportunities to participate in government decision-making and financing to turn their ideas into practical projects.
She described the inclusion of young women in climate conversations as a mixed experience.
“Yes and no,” she said, explaining that while many young women are actively engaging in climate issues, too few climate events create opportunities for women to participate meaningfully.
Participants later broke into smaller groups to identify barriers preventing women and girls from participating fully in climate action and to develop priorities for the next 12 months.
The groups identified limited access to finance, land, technology and agricultural inputs, inadequate climate education and sensitisation, patriarchal and cultural norms, unequal political representation, weak regulatory institutions, and gender-based violence as some of the major barriers.
They called for safe and inclusive spaces for women and girls, improved access to financing and technology, and clearer accountability among government agencies, civil society organisations, NGOs, community and traditional leaders, schools and financial institutions.
The participants also developed a number of actions for the next 12 months, including training and mentoring women and girls, establishing women-led climate committees, providing small grants, organising regular community meetings, tracking women’s participation in climate initiatives and expanding climate awareness through media campaigns, seminars and conferences.
One of the groups summarised its recommendations as: “Train, organise, fund”, while also calling for women and girls to have real decision-making power.
The event ended with participants signing a shared commitment pledge affirming their support for inclusive and community-centred climate action.
By Omowumi Abraham
