Iran has organized workshops on women's participation in environmental protection in order to increase the number of women working to preserve natural resources. It has also created a special department in the Environmental Protection Office for Training and Programming that works to promote rural women's contribution to environmental protection activities. The Congo, Mali and Moldova are among those countries that have implemented training programmes to raise the environmental consciousness of women and to transfer know-how on agricultural technologies and methods to them. Jordan has embarked on the training of rural women in the proper use of agricultural pesticides and fertilizers, as well as in the use of modern irrigation methods. The campaign focuses on reforestation, the creation of shelter forests, and water conservation.
Women regularly maintain and repair the pumps needed to secure water supply throughout the year.
The link between poverty and environmental degradation is well established. Eradication of poverty has been recognized as an indispensable requirement for the achievement of sustainable development. The empowerment of the world's poor, the majority of whom are women, particularly rural women, must therefore be seen as a necessary part of any environmental conservation strategy. Recognizing this crucial link, a number of states have incorporated economic activities into their environmental conservation strategies. Tunisia has launched a pilot project on fighting desertification through improving the living conditions of rural women.