The challenges of climate change, gender inequality, and conflict

What can you tell us about the FCDO project? And the 6 case studies of women’s organisations in the context of climate change and conflict?

This is a really unique project under the GAGGA programme. GAGGA focuses on supporting gender-just climate solutions of women-led community-based organisations (CBOs) and women environmental and human rights defenders (WEHRDs). These women often face structural violence, receive threats or live and work in conflict settings. This means that not only do they face climate and gender injustice, they and their communities also need to respond to security challenges.

This project looks at how these women navigate this nexus between climate, gender and conflict, to effectively address these intersecting challenges and respond better to their needs.To do this, we involved 6 women-led community based organisations from different parts of the world to document their strategies. We worked from the perspective of Feminist Participatory Action Research (FPAR), meaning that the organisations themselves led the research and determined what it should be about, with support from a research consultant. This resulted in a unique collection of cases. Additionally, we facilitated online exchanges between the organisations, enabling them to share their stories and engage in inspiring discussions and exchanges on their strategies. The resulting case study findings were then shared with bilateral donors and philanthropic entities to foster greater collaboration and synergy in addressing the nexus of conflict, climate, and gender. 

What are the main findings?

Although the case studies cover different countries and contexts, all six show how extractive industries and agribusinesses are central drivers of land dispossession, militarization, and state repression while deepening gendered inequalities and violence. For example, in Mozambique, extractive land grabs by agribusinesses, mining, forest plantations, and oil exploration projects are enabled by weak enforcement of legal protections and corruption. Because of the absence of any gender lens, male community authorities benefit while other community members are not consulted or considered. Patriarchal gender norms, roles, and power dynamics also result in women’s exclusion from land negotiations. Unfortunately, we at Both ENDS see these cases daily, which is why we advocate for human rights to be upheld and a strong voice for communities in decision-making about land and resources. 

Another key topic emerging from the case studies is the concern about food security linked to climate change. As primary caregivers and subsistence farmers, women are at the forefront of climate impacts. They typically manage daily agricultural tasks, such as planting and watering crops, which are highly affected by erratic weather patterns. Droughts and unpredictable rainfall increase their workload and gendered risks, while men often migrate to diversify livelihoods, leaving women to shoulder additional responsibilities without adequate support. This is for example the case in Burkina Faso, which is one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the region, where desertification and erratic rainfall severely deplete farmland and water sources. Women seeking arable land often lack the financial means to secure long-term leases and are rarely landowners. As a result, they can often only afford short-term leases on low-fertility land. They spend considerable time and effort restoring soil quality, but just as the land becomes productive, landowners refuse to renew leases, instead transferring the land to male heirs. This cycle traps women in precarious agricultural conditions, limiting their economic stability and capacity to adapt to climate shocks.

Despite these challenges, women’s resistance takes many forms, from legal battles and policy advocacy to community organizing, public protests or community-led monitoring of human rights violations and environmental degradation. Under GAGGA, we are very keen to support and amplify these initiatives.

Why is this such an important topic?

The climate/gender/conflict nexus is important because it highlights how environmental challenges, gender inequality, and conflict are deeply interconnected. Climate change disproportionately impacts women and marginalized groups who often have less access to resources and decision-making power. Understanding this nexus is crucial for developing inclusive and sustainable policies that promote peace, resilience, and gender equity in the face of a changing climate.

What has been the role of Both ENDS in this project?

Both ENDS is one of the three GAGGA Alliance members. Both ENDS works closely with partners that experience daily the challenges described, including the partners in Brazil, Mozambique and Burkina Faso. FCDO provided GAGGA and Both ENDS with the opportunity for partners to co-research and exchange knowledge, context and reality in the intersection of gender, conflict and climate justice. To shed light on information that is not easily accessible. Giving a face to the women experiencing these interconnected challenges and unfolding their strategies of survival, resistance and adaptation. Both ENDS will take the recommendations resulting from this research to advocacy and donor spaces to amplify the findings and influence donors to support the work of women at the frontlines. 

Are there any next steps planned in this project and what was the impact?

We have made sure to engage as much as we can with key decision makers, donors, etc. to make sure that the findings and recommendations ends up with the people that need to hear them. We already had the opportunity to share the findings of the case study and a policy brief in different spaces such as a side event during the CSW 2025, and to host a side event together with the FCDO delegation at the COP 29 in Azerbaijan.

The FCDO is very engaged and shows a lot of interest, as well as other donors. Now our job is to keep delivering this message. But most importantly, this project shows the importance of supporting communities that live and work in contexts of climate change, inequalities and insecurity.

Read more and download the analysis on the GAGGA-website.