The identification and integration of poverty-environment linked indicators is part of the Poverty-Environment Initiative (PEI) mainstreaming approach of supporting and influencing national planning processes and key strategies and plans. While changes in the environment affect everyone, they affect men and women differently. Identifying and addressing women’s and men’s needs and having gender-environment data readily available are critical elements to ensuring the success of environment and natural resource policy and programming. This report aims to provide a rapid assessment of gender-relevant environment and natural resource (ENR) data and indicators in preparation for PEI’s work in Malawi in 2015. The report identifies gaps in the existing data that is collected, and makes recommendations on potential areas of support to the Government in bridging these gaps.

The major finding of the assessment was that data and indicators on women’s role and access to environment and natural resources are not comprehensively collected and reported in Malawi.  The report highlights that there is a need to enhance awareness about the importance of gender-ENR linked statistics for policy making and strengthen national capacity through partnerships with relevant institutions for the collection of both qualitative and quantitative gender and ENR data.

A significant finding of the 2013 IUCN Environment and Gender Index (EGI) study reviewed for the PEI assessment is that an increase in a country’s environment performance does not imply an increase in the levels of gender equality and women’s empowerment in the environmental sector. Targeted and deliberate strategies have to be adopted to ensure an increase in gender equality and women’s empowerment in ENR and a starting point is the provision of data or creation of an index that stimulates the collection of such data..

Please see the report for more information.  

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