Seminar on Gender Perspective
in Environment and Development

Education for Sustainable
Development to Rural WomenJICA Participant: Li Yanling
Principle Officer of All-China Women’s Federation
2009.3.17

Ⅰ.General information of China
China has a land area of about 9.6 million sq km.
 Capital: Beijing National Flag: Five—Star Red Flag About 1.3 billion people live in China, and isabout one-fifth population of the total world.

 The topography varies greatly in China,

mountains cover three-quarters of China andhalf of the country is arid or semi-arid.

The per-capita areas of cultivated land, forest,grassland and fresh water are small, especiallyin the case of cultivated land and fresh water-only one forth of the world's average.

Now China has successfully resolved people’s basic
survival needs, however, it is still a developing country.
According to the International Monetary Fund statistics in2007, China ranked No. 106 among 181 countries andregions.

Ⅱ.Situation analysis on gender andenvironment of China
Due toa large population base

low per-capita average of natural resources

low economic development levelscientific and technological level remaining backward

China has dual task of raising one fifth population in
the world and protecting the environment.

Chinese rural area is facing environmental
issues:soil erosionwater pollution and shortage



waste pollutiondesertification

Chinese rural women and environment
There are 480 million rural women in China.
 In agriculture industry of China, the number of female
workers has 10 percent higher than that of male workers.
That means women play more important role inagriculture and sustainable development won’t
be successful without women participation .

Chinese government has continuously tried tooptimize women's living and development
environment, to bring their role into full play inprotecting and improving the environment.

■However, there are also a number of challenges tofurther progress on rural women and theenvironment:◆ shortage of awareness of sustainable development andgender equality◆ low level of education◆ low self-confidence◆ low level of management and technical skills◆ low participation in environmental protection andmanagement

Ⅲ.Useful information and knowledge
gained through the JICA Seminar
I benefit much from JICA seminar, from which I havechance tolearn the knowledge of gender equality, environmentand development from global perspectivelearn the experiences of environmental protection
and the gender development of Japanlearn culture, social and economy development ofJapan through travelling different places in Japan

Ⅳ.Action plan
 Title:Education for Sustainable Development to Rural
Women Objective:◆Raising awareness and understanding ofsustainable development among rural women◆Improving their self-confidence◆Promoting gender equality and sustainable
development in rural area Reasons for selecting the project:

It is key for China's sustainable
development that rural women giveattention to the environment while farming
and reproduction.

 Activities:

1.Organizing:◆make Education for Sustainable
Development scheme for Rural Women◆ give the scheme to 31 women’s federationsof 31 provinces◆ encourage them to make their own scheme
according to different situation

2.Networking: cooperate with◆ government◆ experts◆ rural women leaders◆ rural women volunteers◆ NGOs◆ companies

3.Publicity:
making publicity materials such as leaflet, poster,
cartoon books ,etc. for Education for sustainable
development; making full use of media of All China
Women’s Federation for Education for Sustainable
Development; cooperating with mass media.

4.Training:◆ train the grassroot women organization
staffs who work with rural women once a year
◆ encourage province women organization toorganize trainings for rural women leaders◆ encourage province women organization toorganize trainings for women volunteers who
would like to help rural women5.Group working:◆ mobilizing rural women to gather together toshare the knowledge and experiences ofsustainable development and gender equlity
in village.
◆ holding meetings to share the experiences ofeducation for sustainable development.
6.Awarding:
granting honor to pioneers of rural womenleaders and volunteers Duration:

3 years
My role in the project:◆ organize：table a proposal to my department director, draft
action scheme, hand out action scheme◆ mobilize: organizing meeting and training◆ publicize: draft publicity material of education for sustainable
development and cooperate with media and grassroot womenfederation

 Foreseen obstacles:◆ How to mobilize rural women to participate in

the activity.

 Measures to tackle the obstacles:◆ Searching for the women leaders in every

town◆ Encourage women leaders to share theirknowledge with women living in their village Indicators to measure outputs:◆ The number of women know the concept ofsustainable development◆ Rate of women attending sustainabledevelopment.
◆ Improving environmental situation of village Expected outcomes:◆ Improving women’s awareness ofsustainable development to enhanceenvironment protection in rural area
◆ Achieving gender equality in rural area
through Education for Sustainable
Development to rural women Budget and sources of funding:◆ Some from publicity budget of ourdepartment◆ Some needing to search for sponsoring