Namibia is one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in sub-Saharan Africa, where erratic rainfall, droughts, and extreme heat threaten not only ecosystems and food systems but also lives and livelihoods. While climate change impacts are widely felt, they are not evenly distributed. Structural inequalities—such as access to land, finance, healthcare, and decision-making—mean that women and other marginalised groups bear the brunt of a changing climate.

In response, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT), with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) under Climate Promise 2 and with kind financial support from the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV), has initiated the development of a National Climate Change Gender Action Plan (NCCGAP).

Why Gender Equality Matters in Climate Action

Namibia’s updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), submitted in 2023, articulate bold targets across mitigation and adaptation sectors—energy, agriculture, water, fisheries, health, biodiversity, and waste. However, these sectoral plans currently lack consistent gender-responsive strategies, despite growing evidence that women are disproportionately affected by climate impacts.

For instance, women are overrepresented in subsistence agriculture and small-scale informal trading. They often lack access to land titles, credit, or climate information services. In times of drought, food shortages or disease outbreaks, their unpaid care burden increases dramatically—further limiting opportunities to recover and adapt.

Ensuring that climate policies and investments are gender-responsive is therefore not only a matter of equity, but also a prerequisite for resilience and effectiveness.

🔹 Fact Box 1: Climate Change and Gender in Namibia

The NCCGAP: Laying the Groundwork for Gender-Responsive Climate Action

The National Climate Change Gender Action Plan will serve as a strategic framework to mainstream gender into all of Namibia’s climate-priority sectors. It will include:

• An analysis of gendered vulnerabilities and sector-specific challenges.
• A logframe with actions, targets, and indicators for gender-responsive interventions.
• Monitoring and evaluation mechanisms.
• Recommendations for policy alignment and budgetary integration.

Gaps and Opportunities: What Needs to Happen Next

Consultations and site visits will be carried out in regions such as Kunene, Omusati, Ohangwena, Erongo, Hardap and Khomas, with a focus on sectors such as agriculture, water, biodiversity, health, fisheries, energy, and waste. These field-based insights are helping to ground the plan in real community needs and intersectional realities. While foundational work has begun, several critical gaps remain:

• Gender-disaggregated data across all climate sectors is limited or outdated.
• Many national policies and programmes lack gender indicators or costed gender actions.
• There is no harmonised framework for tracking gender mainstreaming in climate budgeting.
• Women’s voices—especially from grassroots and remote communities—remain underrepresented in climate governance platforms.

Addressing these gaps will require further research, broader consultations, stronger institutional mandates, and dedicated resources to translate intentions into sustained action.

The Path Forward

Namibia’s National Climate Change Gender Action Plan is an important step forward—but it must be the beginning of a longer journey, not the conclusion. Climate action that fails to address gender inequality risks reinforcing existing vulnerabilities and undermining resilience.

UNDP remains committed to supporting MEFT and national partners in advancing inclusive, equitable climate strategies that leave no one behind.

Further Reading

• Government of Namibia. (2023). Updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Windhoek: Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism.

• UN Women. (2022). Gender Equality in Climate Action: Good Practices from Africa. Nairobi: UN Women East and Southern Africa Regional Office.