The third session of our five part series on women's rights and climate finance, Getting the Money to the People: GCF Accreditation and Enhanced Direct Action, focused on accessing the Green Climate Fund through working with stakeholders at the country level (engaging with the National Designated Authority), utilizing Enhanced Direct Access, and seeking accreditation.
This short video takes you to Panna, India, where traditional adivasi women successfully oppose forced evictions. The three part series 'Reality of Mine' gives a voice to women affected by mining in India, Kenya and South Africa. With the support of international NGOs Both ENDS and ActionAid, they have begun to stand up for their rights.
The population of the informal settlement Masakhane, South Africa is highly affected by the pollution and environmental damage caused by the the coal-fired Duvha power station. Before the mining and power station developments, families had access to and control over the land, even if they did not own it. Farming used to be the main source of livelihood. Today, mining companies and investors own most of the land, and as a direct consequence people have lost a lot of their farming and grazing land. This video shows testimonies of victims and their efforts to turn the tide.
We are very proud that our director Daniëlle Hirsch has been included again in the ‘Sustainable 100’ (an annual ranking list published by Dutch newspaper Trouw), and has gone up more than 40 spots compared to last year! Danielle was included in the list because of the many things she does with her organisation as a whole, but she got the higher ranking for the way she combines her criticism of the destructive role of the Netherlands as a trading nation and large cause of CO2 emissions in the world (often supported by the Dutch government), with a constructive attitude when it comes to finding alternatives and solutions.
Today is International Women's Day. A day originating from women's strikes against poor working conditions in the textile industry, some 100 years ago. Since then, a lot has improved for women but, unfortunately, men and women obviously still don’t have equal rights. In 1949, Simone de Beauvoir already warned that ‘women’s rights will never be vested. You have to stay vigilant your whole life’. Recent developments such as the tightening of abortion laws in some countries confirm this view and show that even in the ‘free West’ women’s rights are still far from self-evident.
On the 14th of September, in the Public Library of Amsterdam, three partner organisations of Both ENDS presented their experiences with a method, developed by Both ENDS, to integrate gender equality in their work on access to natural resources. The presentations of the three organisations from Togo, Colombia and Bangladesh, showed the result of a process they each started in the beginning of 2010. They formed the starting point for a broader debate with other environmental and development organisations.
Local organisations and groups must be given access to climate finance from the Green Climate Fund. They know exactly what is happening in their local context and what is required for climate adaptation.