RAMSAR CONVENTION ON WETLANDS
54th Meeting of the Standing Committee
Gland, Switzerland, 23–27 April 2018

Doc. SC54-21.16
Draft resolution on gender and wetlands
Submitted by Colombia
Action requested:•The Standing Committee is invited to review and approve the attached Draft Resolution forconsideration by the 13th meeting of the Conference of the Parties.

Introduction
Information for Standing Committee
Worldwide, millions of women live in or near wetlands and protected areas. Women’s traditional
knowledge, use and management of wetlands as a source of food, livelihood, and apothecary, may
be different to those of their male counterparts.
Women also have vital knowledge about water resources, including water quality and reliability, andare key to the success of wetlands development protection. Yet women’s knowledge and roles inwetlands management is still largely unrecognized, and social and economic norms often reinforce
unequal participation and decision-making.
Moreover, women also have different access to and control over natural resources and information
about how protection categories and norms shape the way in which wetlands are managed,
affecting their rights and customary uses of wetland products and services. For these reasons,ignoring issues related to how women and men interact and manage wetlands may prevent effective
and efficient conservation, sustainable use and equitable access to benefits of these protectedareas.
The use of a gender approach in dealing with the socio-environmental dynamics of wetlands canopen avenues and opportunities for achieving equality between women and men by considering
their unique interests, demands and expectations. A gender approach to wetland conservation andmanagement also considers the ethnic-cultural characteristics of the population and emphasizes
affirmative actions to address women’s disadvantageous position and condition in many societies.
The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands through its 2002 Resolution VIII.19 has acknowledged the needto take gender and social issues into account when managing wetlands. With its 13th Conference of
the Parties approaching, the Convention is in a unique position to review and update the manner inwhich gender equality and women’s empowerment are treated within its framework. Learning fromsimilar processes, particularly those from the Rio Conventions, this draft resolution calls for theestablishment of a process to increase awareness among contracting Parties on the linkages

between gender equality and wetland management, while encouraging them to report on their
ongoing actions.
Financial implications of implementation
Paragraph (number andkey part of text)

ActionCost (CHF)

Draft Resolution XIII.xx
Gender and wetlands
1.

Recalling the General Assembly resolution 70/1, entitled “Transforming our world: the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development”, which recognizes that women play a vital role as agentsof development and acknowledges that realizing gender equality and the empowerment of all
women and girls is crucial to making progress across all Sustainable Development Goals andtargets.

2.

Emphasising the importance of coherence between gender-responsive climate and biodiversity
policies and the balanced participation of women and men in the RAMSAR process and theprovisions of international instruments, conferences, summits and outcomes such as theConvention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Beijing
Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcome documents of its reviews, among others.

3.

Highlighting that the Convention on Biological Diversity, the UN Framework Convention onClimate Change, and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification have recognized theimportance of addressing gender equality and women’s empowerment in theirimplementation;

4.

Recognizing that women play a crucial role in the provision, management and safeguarding of
wetland resources, especially water, and their role conserving the culture, folklore, music,mythology, oral traditions, customs, traditional knowledge around wetlands, among others,
also paying special attention to the specific needs of women because they aredisproportionately affected by inadequate water facilities;

5.

Further recalling that the 4th Strategic Plan 2016-2024 1 anticipates the relevance of theSustainable Development Goals 2 will have on wetlands and that the plan is to be implemented
in accordance with internationally agreed environmental goals and targets; 36.

Acknowledging that the 4th Strategic Plan 2016-2024, in its article 38, encourages contracting
Parties to synergize their efforts aimed at implementing the Convention with measures thattake to implement the Convention on Biological Diversity, the UN Framework Convention on
Climate Change, and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, among other global
multilateral environmental agreements.

1th

The 4 Strategic Plan 2016-2024. The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (2015). At:
https://www.ramsar.org/sites/default/files/documents/library/4th_strategic_plan_2016_2024_e.pdf
2thArt. 15, 4 Strategic Plan 2016-2024.
3thArt. 37, 4 Strategic Plan 2016-2024.
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THE CONFERENCE OF THE CONTRACTING PARTIES
7.

Encourages contracting Parties to mainstream a gender-responsive approach in RAMSAR
processes, considering the crucial role of women in the provision, management andsafeguarding of wetlands, paying special attention to their specific needs;

8.

Also encourages contracting Parties to incorporate a gender-responsive approach , and thesecretariat to provide support in this regard, in the implementation of the Programme on
Communication, Capacity Building, Education, Participation and Awareness (CEPA) 2016-2024;

9.

Request the Conference of the Parties to include, as part of the midterm review process of theStrategic Plan, a gender-responsive approach;

10. Encourages also the Secretariat to support contracting Parties mainstreaming a genderresponsive approach in the Strategic Plan of the Convention, as well as in the Programme on
Communication, Capacity Building, Education, Participation and Awareness (CEPA) 2016-2024,including through financial and non-financial resources;
11. Request the Scientific and Technical Review Panel to developed guidance on how to integrated
gender issues in the implementation of the Convention, and submit proposals to theConference of the Parties for its consideration;
12. Invites Contracting Parties to assist:(a) Training and awareness-raising for all delegates on issues related to gender and wetlands;(b) Strengthen the skills and capacity of all delegates for equal participation of women andmen in RAMSAR meetings through training on, inter alia, negotiation skills, the drafting oflegal documents and strategic communication
13. Requests the Secretariat to strengthen its knowledge on gender issues and support theorganization of the training and capacity-building efforts referred to in paragraph 6, inter alia, in
conjunction with sessions of the Standing Committee or regional meetings;
14. Invites contracting Parties to consider the increase of the participation and representation of
women in their national delegations and the chairing and facilitation of formal and informal
negotiating groups;
15. Encourages contracting Parties to give due consideration to a balanced gender representationin the bodies established under the Convention,
16. Encourages contracting Parties to include, where applicable, sex-disaggregated data and genderanalysis in their national reports, including information on differentiated impacts and benefits
accrued by women and men as a result of wetland management and conservation actions;
17. Request the Secretariat to support contracting parties, upon request, to strengthen theirnational statistic systems to improve the incorporation of se sex-disaggregated data and genderanalysis in their national reports; and,

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18. Request the Secretariat to prepare a synthesis report on the gender relevant and sexdisaggregated information provided by contracting Parties in national reports, including theactions of the Secretariat in this regard.

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