Gender perspectives in resilience, vulnerability and adaptation to global environmental change

Abstract

The main goal of this special issue is to offer a room for interdisciplinary and engaged research in global environmental change (GEC), where gender plays a key role in building resilience and adaptation pathways. In this editorial paper, we explain the background setting, key questions and core approaches of gender and feminist research in vulnerability, resilience and adaptation to GEC. Highlighting the interlinkages between gender and GEC, we introduce the main contributions of the collection of 11 papers in this special issue. Nine empirical papers from around the globe allow to understand how gendered diversity in knowledge, institutions and everyday practices matters in producing barriers and options for achieving resilience and adaptive capacity in societies. Additionally, two papers contribute to the theoretical debate through a systematic review and an insight on the relevance of intersectional framings within GEC research and development programming.

Estimating landslides vulnerability in Rwanda using analytic hierarchy process and geographic information system

“…In addition, because vulnerable areas (Figure ) are highly populated (Figure I), their vulnerability will presumably become worse. This was previously reported (Liu et al ; Ravera et al ) that in most cases, high population density limits access to resources and their management. This density causes poverty, and people migrate in search of better livelihoods, then settle in risk prone areas and become vulnerable.…”

Gender and Cross-Scale Differences in the Perception of Social-Ecological Systems

“…To analyze the motivational mechanisms and the cognitive processes and perceptions that form the behavior of the different actors, it is necessary to understand alternative forms of thinking and action. Sound decision-making requests engagement with the diversity of voices and knowledge systems of the different stakeholders [22].…”

“…Gender analysis in the field of SESs and CBNRM still remains understudied [22], even if in the last years different authors have significantly contributed to bridge this knowledge gap. Gender and socio-ecological resilience have been analyzed by several authors in developing and post-industrial settings [19,22,23]. Gendered opportunities for participation and social learning in collaborative forest governance were explored in Canada and Uganda [24].…”

“…Different authors have highlighted the relevance of gender analysis of SES, SES resilience, and CBNRM and asked to enrich knowledge developing gendered research and generating gendered evidence base that inform policies for the sustainable management of natural resources [19,22,23,25,27]. Understanding the complexities of gender and across scales relations can help to better inform local and higher levels of policy making and secure the relevance of gender research to those primarily focused on understanding SES management [19].…”

“…We only present evidences from a case study and do not aim to make generalizations but to contribute to the emerging literature on gender analysis of SES perceptions [22], examining the differences in knowledge systems, agency, and power relations across scales. To unveil perceptions we used structural analysis tools [29].…”