On Tuesday, March 8 (International Women's Day), Global Affairs Canada announced funding for 8 projects centering women and girls in the fight against climate change. Among these were 3 MCIC members: SeedChange, Development and Peace-Caritas Canada, and the International Institute for Sustainable Development. Their projects were allocated $29 million of the total $67.5 million in funding announced. These projects recognize the disproportionate impact of climate change on women and girls, and aim to empower women as leaders on climate action around the world.  

SeedChange’s Rural Women Cultivating Change project will work in remote parts of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania, where women work mostly in agriculture. As with many regions, women’s leadership and decision-making are limited by patriarchal norms in these areas. Not only are women's leadership access limited, but there is also an increased vulnerability to climate change and food insecurity. The project will work with local women’s rights and agricultural organizations to enhance the roles of women in agriculture and climate mitigation through market access and agricultural adaptation.  

Development and Peace-Caritas Canada is implementing a Food and Nutritional Security and Climate Change in the Sahel project, working in the region south of the Sahara to develop food security. By improving natural resource management practices in sectors like forestry, agriculture, and fisheries, the project aims to mitigate the food security effects of climate change on women and youth. By including women and marginalized groups like displaced people in the governance process, this project will improve social and economic equality in these regions vulnerable to climate change.  

The International Institute for Sustainable Development’s Nature-Based Climate Solutions Knowledge and Capacity Initiative will build the capacity of civil society organizations to incorporate historically marginalized knowledge keepers in climate solution projects. Implementing nature-based solutions for climate adaptation projects can advance gender and social equality in vulnerable regions, while also benefiting biodiversity.  

These organizations and their partners are leading on climate action and gender equality, and we look forward to the diverse ways these programs will contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals.