Reducing risk and vulnerability to climate change in India: the capabilities approach
Roy, M.; Venema, H.D.
Gender and Development 10(2): 78-83
2002
ISSN/ISBN: 1355-2074 DOI: 10.1080/13552070215904Document Number: 244321
This paper argues that the ability of women to adapt to climate change pressures will be enhanced by using the 'capabilities approach' to direct development efforts. By using this approach, women will improve their wellbeing, and act more readily as agents of change within their communities. This argument is supported by previous research on gender and livelihoods, and a study conducted in rural India. Examples are based on the experiences of poor, rural women in India, who are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts. Their survival is dependent on their being able to obtain many essential resources from their immediate environment. However, these women lack many of the requirements for wellbeing, such as access to health care, literacy, and control over their own lives. Gaining these would reduce their vulnerability to their changing environmental circumstances.