Right to land

On a rainy day in April 2018, I rode a small speed boat along the Kapuas River in West Kalimantan province, Indonesia, headed for three tidal swamp villages, whose residents had protested against the expansion of oil palm plantations on their farmland and settlements.

The government had permitted a palm oil company to establish and expand its plantations in the area. The company had cleared and drained peatlands, an important carbon sink, and planted oil palm trees on land villagers had been using for decades. In the process, it had completely disregarded how its actions violated the villagers’ land rights, led to the loss of livelihood for the village women, who had mostly farmed the land, and contributed to the global climate crisis.

Villagers had little information about where the oil palm plantations started or ended and how or where it overlapped with their land. Women had even less information than men, and had fewer avenues to negotiate directly with the company about their losses. During my visit, these women told me that when they started protesting against the expansion of the palm plantations, the company met only with the men of the village to discuss possible compensation.

The loss of livelihood has rendered the village women even more vulnerable to climate change, as it has affected their food security and source of income. They will face more difficulties overcoming or adapting to its effects and will be among the hardest hit.

Around the world, there are many similar stories. Women struggle daily to have their land and property rights recognised and respected. At the same time, governments are failing to prioritise women’s participation in developing and carrying out ambitious climate action plans to meet the goal of keeping temperatures from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius and to avoid the most dramatic effects, including for land rights and women’s rights.

As urgent climate action plans are drawn, we also need to take into account how gender discrimination facilitates environmental degradation and weakens forest governance initiatives and how women still bear the brunt of local environmental harm and climate change. We need to ensure that women and climate-affected communities have power and a voice.

Women often cannot meaningfully participate in decision-making around the natural resources – like water, forests, and land – where they live. Most rural women do not have equal access to and control over natural resources on par with men in their community.

This exclusion can be devastating for women and their families. Globally, large-scale land deals and commercial agriculture touted as development opportunities have worsened poverty and food insecurity in local communities they affect. Forests are cleared or enclosed, restricting access for foraging. Villagers lose access to farmland for subsistence and revenue from crop sales.

Excerpted: ‘Climate action must take into account women’s right to land’

Aljazeera.com