Environment and Energy

Mainstreaming Gender in Water Management

The Resource Guide on Gender and Water Management has been developed to assist practitioners in mainstreaming gender within the context of integrated water resources management (IWRM). The mainstreaming of gender is critical to reach the Millennium Development Goals as well as the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation. The resource guide consolidates available materials and gives a quick guide to accessing existing information. It provokes ideas of how to do gender mainstreaming in IWRM.

 

Incorporating gender perspectives in water initiatives to improve sustainability
It is clear that effective, efficient and equitable water resources management is only achieved when both women and men are involved in integrated water resource management.

The UNDP Water Governance Programme, in collaboration with the UNDP Regional Bureaux, UNDP Country Offices, and the Gender and Water Alliance, has developed a practical tool that will assist UNDP staff to incorporate gender perspectives in a variety of water initiatives. The goal of the initiative is to improve the sustainability of water projects through the incorporation of gender equality perspectives throughout the planning cycle.

Why a Gender Approach?
UNDP is working to include a gender approach in water initiatives for a number of reasons:

1. Involving both women and men in integrated water resources initiatives can increase project effectiveness.
2. Using a gender perspective and ensuring women's involvement can support environmental sustainability.
3. Social and economic analysis - as well as documenting natural resource uses - is incomplete without an understanding of gender differences and inequalities.
4. Without specific attention to gender issues, initiatives and projects can reinforce inequalities between women and men and even increase imbalances.

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• Mainstreaming Gender in Water Management
  Resource Guide
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The initial UNDP Resource Guide for Mainstreaming Gender in Water Management was launched during the 3rd World Water Forum in Kyoto in 2003. The feedback received since then has shaped this second, totally revised version introduced in March 2006 during the 4th World Water Forum in Mexico. This once again edited edition of November 2006 is available in five languages: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic here.