By Cate Owren, Executive Director  &  Eleanor Blomstrom, Program Coordinator and Rio+20 Lead

Dear friends,
 
Most of you know we’re both new mothers, with kids 7 months old and 20 months old, respectively. They are an indescribable joy – making every day brighter, more hilarious, more exhausting, more profound than ever before.
 
Motherhood makes our commitment to our work more powerful. Like most moms, we want our kids to grow up in a world better than the one we grew up in – more peaceful, more equal, more just. We want the same for every child, and every mother and her family, everywhere.
 
As we (try to) balance family life with WEDO goals, the importance of the upcoming Rio+20 conference is magnified both by our global ideals and our personal wishes. Nothing else matters if we don’t have a healthy planet on which to live – and for young and future generations, there is nothing more fragile and precious or more critical to ensure.
 
Join us on the road to Rio+20 and join us in celebrating mothers everywhere, including mother Earth. Make a contribution to WEDO to support our work toward a healthy and peaceful planet, for both your kids and ours.
 
Happy Mother’s Day.
 
In peace and solidarity,
 
Cate & Eleanor

On May 5th, 2012, WEDO’s Eleanor Blomstrom delivered closing remarks on behalf of the Women’s Major Group at the Rio+20 negotiation. Watch Eleanor deliver the intervention below and read the statement in full.

Thank you chair. Distinguished delegates and colleagues,

I am Eleanor Blomstrom, of the Women’s Environment and Development Organization, speaking on behalf of the Women’s Major Group.

We entered these negotiations urging ambition. Unfortunately, we leave urging the same.

Rio+20 must take a rights based approach to poverty eradication and sustainable development, and can only succeed by integrating gender equality and women’s human rights in each of the three dimensions. We remain concerned about the bracketing and deleting of our rights. The Rio Principles must be reaffirmed alongside the full range of human rights, including sexual and reproductive rights. Further we would like to see more emphasis on sustainable (production and) consumption patterns and a stronger commitment to address issues of climate change that have caused havoc for many countries and communities.

Importantly, the outcome must go beyond general statements on gender equality – to strong commitments to action. Let me share three specific examples:

1. Women’s rights to land tenure, water, food, energy, education, movement and productive resources must be assured.

2. Leadership targets for women can be met via positive actions such as quotas. Paragraph CST 102 bis includes a 40% target, with the aim of parity.

3. The MDGs, limited as they are have yet to be reached, especially for gender equality, for women’s health and education. Therefore any discussions toward the SDGs should not gloss over the importance of a broad discussion on the post-2015 development agenda, which must maintain a laser focus on gender equality within all 3 dimensions of sustainable development.

Finally, the IFSD must fall within the United Nations and must ensure the meaningful participation of Major Groups and civil society stakeholders. We urge you to exhibit the political will necessary to move forward toward a bold outcome that will make a difference in women’s lives.

Thank you.

New York- May 3rd, 2012

DEADLINE- May 17th, 2012. On the occasion of the upcoming UNCSD Conference in Rio (RIO+20), five Women’s Rio+20 Good Practices will be awarded and invited to present their initiatives at the UN summit in Brazil.The awards are sponsored by the GIZ (German Agency for International Cooperation) and organised by WECF (Women in Europe for a Common Future – Women International for a Common Future) in cooperation with UNEP, the Network of Women Ministers and Leaders of the Environment and the Women’s Major Group core members VAM, WEDO, ENERGIA, DAWN and Global Forest Coalition.

Among all concept entries, 5 concepts will be selected; the award winners will each receive 1,000 USD at a festive ceremony during the UN Rio+20 summit 20 – 22 June 2012, in Brazil. The travel expenses and accommodation of one of the five winners will be covered by the organisers.

Eligibility: All type of women-lead organisations or groups working on sustainable development in a developing country or country in transition can apply (for more details on eligibility, please see document attached).

In order to participate, please fill out the enclosed concept form and submit it to Karin Vohla or Naret Guerrero (Women in Europe for a Common Future – Women International for a Common Future) before 17^th May 2012.

Email: awards@womenrio20.org

Please share this call widely to your networks!

Documents:

Women Rio+20 Awards Official Call

Women Rio+20 Awards Entry Form

New York- May 4th, 2012

The Eldis Climate Change Resource Guide*, in collaboration with experts in the field, has published two key issues guides on Disaster Risk Reduction and Gender.

Disaster Risk Reduction

In response to the recently published IPCC special report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation, an Eldis key issues guide on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) has been developed in collaboration with an expert in this field. With DRR rapidly becoming a key issue in development and climate change policy, this guide presents a critical overview of current DRR practice and policy, highlights new emerging trends and recommends further reading.

Link: bit.ly/EldisDRR

Gender and Climate Change

Contributing to discussions at the 56th Commission of the Status of Women, a key issues guide on gender and climate change has been produced in collaboration with the BRIDGE programme. The guide advocates for an approach where: women and men have an equal voice in decision-making on climate change; policymaking institutions and processes are not biased towards men or women; and broad social constraints that limit women’s access to strategic and practical resources no longer exist.

Link: bit.ly/genderandclimate

Eldis Key Issues Guides (KIGs) are brief introductory guides that present a balanced view of the different ideas and debates around a particular issue. They are aimed at users with some general understanding of climate change and development issues. In particular they target development professionals working in the formulation of good policy and project design.

For a quick overview of the different key issues guides available on the Eldis Climate Change Resource Guide, please go to: http://bit.ly/keyissuesguide

*The Eldis Climate Change Resource Guide is funded by CDKN.

by Eleanor Blomstrom, WEDO Program Coordinator — Originally posted on May 1st, 2012 12:50PM for SurveyMonkey‘s blog.

New York, May 3rd, 2012

The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) has published a report  on gender equality and climate change which covers all the European Union Member States and provides comparable data on the European Union level. See http://www.eige.europa.eu/content/document/gender-equality-and-climate-change-main-findings

The findings demonstrate that women’s involvement in climate change decision-making at national, European and international levels is still low. Therefore, EIGE introduces the first EU indicators in the area K: Women and the Environment of the Beijing Platform for Action to support the policy makers in enhancing equality and improving the climate change policies.

By: Bridget Burns, WEDO Project and Communications Coordinator

For the past few days, WEDO team members have been actively (and eagerly!) participating in the 12th Forum of the Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) in Istanbul,Turkey. A gathering of thousands of feminist activists from around the world, the AWID Forum is a space for engaging in transformative dialogue on progress, challenges, opportunities and next steps for the women’s movement.

On Earth Day, WEDO is proud to take to the streets with our fellow feminists for a march in Istanbul, led by a number of Turkish women’s organizations who have hosted us in their beautiful country. We will be marching with signs calling for a “just and sustainable world” a “peaceful and healthy planet” and honoring  women’s leadership for environment!

WEDO is a women’s global advocacy organization working to ensure that sustainable development policies, programs and funds include women’s rights and perspectives and aim to advance gender equality. But a sustainable world – one that includes equitable and just allocation, management of and control over resources – is in jeopardy; destructive global production and consumption cycles and unfulfilled rights are part of the reason. This Earth Day, as we approach Rio+20, the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, WEDO recognizes that our efforts to achieve sustainable development will be futile if the conference does not uphold the principle of common but differentiated responsibility and if it allows shifting blame or diverting attention from those most responsible for environmental damage and therefore those most obligated to act. On the road from Earth Day 2012 to the Earth Summit 2012, let’s ensure that equity and human rights remain central to any and all outcomes at Rio+20.

by Rachel Harris, WEDO Advocacy Coordinator

This morning when I walked into the opening plenary at the 2012 AWID Forum I felt ready to be stimulated and motivated by feminists from around the world in provocative discussions, panels, roundtables and side conversations. However, it quickly became clear that I had underestimated the power and energy which comes from being a room full of passionate feminist activists. The feeling of working together towards a common goal was quite palpable and created an energy to the conference which sustained me through my first day as I sat through different sessions wanting to continue discussions that were too short and engaging in riveting conversations. My first and only cup of coffee sufficed for the day as I whizzed from session to session unsure of what I would learn next but excited to know I was amongst friends and colleagues all in the same movement, the same struggle with a goal towards continuing a feminist, political voice on issues critical to the sustainability of women’s rights, women’s organizing and the international women’s movement.

AWID’s 2012 theme–Transforming Economic Power to Advance Women’s Rights and Justice—resonates with many of us, given the current economic crisis and the multiple ways it is being felt throughout the women’s movement. In my work with WEDO, its particularly relevant when thinking about economic systems and financial mechanisms in relation to climate change and sustainable development. During several presentations on global governance today, much of the emphasis was on the transformation of the global economy to a new neo-liberalism, which is related to both the ever-worsening climate crisis and the ever–disintegrating women’s rights agenda. Neo-liberalism/financial liberalization links all of our current crises (financial, fuel, food, climate etc) as a contributor to them, posing to solve them when only worsening them. As industrialized world leaders are taking a back seat during these tough times, emerging economies are taking center stage, not necessarily changing the neo-liberal policies but continuing to perpetuate them, undemocratically, often behind closed doors.

There are ‘ad-hoc’ venues where the future of our world seems to be negotiated including meetings of the G8 (Group of 8), G20 (Group of 20), the IMF (International Monetary Fund), the WB (World Bank) and, what are being referred to as the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). While the United Nations continues to be the main venue where WEDO and many organizations part of the women’s movement and many other movements have long navigated and advocated, one speaker said with much agreement from others, that in this new neo-liberal, financialized world the UN space is being slowly chipped away.

As a women’s rights advocate, it can be difficult to know in which spaces to focus our resources and energy. What are the most effective arenas to advocate for women’s rights and gender equality? How do we (the women’s movement) hold the world leaders accountable to the women’s movement? Where do we turn in these tough times? Who are our allies and how do we work with them?

Today, there were some answers and some hope. The UN still has many accountability mechanisms that human rights defenders can use including special rapporteurs, the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), the International Criminal Court (ICC). The many conventions and treaties and platforms countries have signed including the Beijing Platform for Action, the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women and the starting document of all countries to the UN, the UN Human Rights Declaration, are what the women’s movement can continue to use in its advocacy and accountability of countries to their commitments to the women’s movement. However, there is more to learn and more to understand these next few days at AWID. I have only just begun this journey here and hope to find more answers to the burning list of questions.

Istanbul, Turkey- April 22nd, 2012

Happy Earth Day, friends!

As you know, WEDO is a women’s global advocacy organization working to ensure that sustainable development policies, programs and funds include women’s rights and perspectives and aim to advance gender equality. But a sustainable world – one that includes equitable and just allocation, management of and control over resources – is in jeopardy; destructive global production and consumption cycles and unfulfilled rights are part of the reason. This Earth Day, as we approach Rio+20, the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, WEDO recognizes that our efforts to achieve sustainable development will be futile if the conference does not uphold the principle of common but differentiated responsibility and if it allows shifting blame or diverting attention from those most responsible for environmental damage and therefore those most obligated to act. On the road from Earth Day 2012 to the Earth Summit 2012, let’s ensure that equity and human rights remain central to any and all outcomes at Rio+20.

With a focus on our own backyard (as WEDO is based in United States,) below we’ve compiled 22 Facts for April 22nd, with the hope of raising awareness of opportunities for creating change to ignite transformation. Today is the day to commit to action! We are – every one of us – agents for change.

1. 102: the estimated weight of garbage – in TONS – that the average American will toss out in his or her lifetime
2. 2,400: pounds of carbon dioxide saved by recycling half of your household waste. Recycle!
3. 7 million: the size – in TONS (or twice the size of Texas) – of plastic, chemical sludge and other debris swirling in a giant trash patch in the Pacific, known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
4. 400 million: the weight – in TONS – of old computer hardware, mobile phones and other electronic waste that are shipped from the U.S. to landfills in developing countries every year
5. 200: dollars per year you can save by using CFL and LED lighting. Make the switch!
6. 35,000: the miles of rivers and groundwater contaminated by U.S. factory-farmed hog, chicken and cattle waste
7. 60: the percentage of carbon monoxide emissions from vehicle exhaust nationwide. In cities, this percentage jumps to 95%
8. 3 million: the weight of toxic chemicals – in TONS – that U.S. factories spew each year into the air, land and water
9. 2,000: gallons of water wasted per year from one drip a second. Fix leaky faucets!
10. 80: the percent of items in landfills that could be recycled – but have not been
11. 50: gallons of water washing machines can use per load. Wash full loads of laundry!
12. 63,000: number of garbage trucks that we could fill every day with the trash we throw away
13. 1 million: bushels of litter that Americans throw out their car window every day
14. 3.4 to 8.4: BILLIONS of gallons of water a day that would be saved if all plumbing fixtures in the U.S. were replaced with water-conserving fixtures. Buy water-efficient plumbing fixtures!  
15. 2.2 billion: pounds of pesticides Americans use every year, which eventually washes into our rivers and lakes
16. 12 million: barrels of oil required to make the 380 billion plastic bags used in the U.S. every year. BYOB- Bring your own bag!
17. Less than 2: percent of plastic bags in the U.S. that end up getting recycled
18. Over 1 million: number of birds and marine animals that die each year as a result of plastic pollution
19. 10 billion: number of paper bags consumed by Americans every year; approximately 14 million trees are cut down every year for paper bag production
20. 46,000: pieces of plastic litter floating in every square mile of the ocean, as estimated by The United Nations Environment Programme
21. 6 months: length of time Americans could provide energy to heat and air condition the average home by recycling 1 ton of paper
22. 782 million: number of trees that could be saved if Americans recycled 70% of the 85.5 million tons of paper they use each year (currently only 22% is recycled)

By the way, did you know that Earth Day is now observed in 175 countries and is the largest secular modern day holiday in the world? In light of that, anything should be possible!

Celebrating Earth Day

Earth Day at AWID!

For the past few days, WEDO team members have been actively (and eagerly!) participating in the 12th Forum of the Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) in Istanbul,Turkey. A gathering of thousands of feminist activists from around the world, the AWID Forum is a space for engaging in transformative dialogue on progress, challenges, opportunities and next steps for the women’s movement.

On Earth Day, WEDO is proud to take to the streets with our fellow feminists for a march in Istanbul, led by a number of Turkish women’s organizations who have hosted us in their beautiful country. We will be marching with signs calling for a “just and sustainable world” a “peaceful and healthy planet” and honoring  women’s leadership for environment!

Some helpful (and cheerful) young activists at AWID who helped us make some signs for Earth Day!

Share Your Actions

Make a pledge to do something for our environment: join our partners at Earth Day Network in their A Billion Acts of Green ® Campaign- the largest environmental service campaign in the world. Let’s get to one billion acts of environmental service before the Rio+20 in June!

New York- April 18, 2012

On March 5th, during CSW56, WEDO was very pleased to participate in a “Learning Circle on Gender and Climate Change”, co-sponsored by the GGCA and the NGO CSW Forum 2012. Attached below, please find a final report from the event including summaries from each of the key areas of discussion: Mitigation, Adaptation, Advocacy, Finance, Disaster Risk reduction, and Grassroots community strategies.

http://www.gender-climate.org/Content/Docs/Publications/learning_circle_report.pdf