Integrating gender targets into LEDS and NAMAs

Bhutan, South Asia

In 2012, Bhutan launched its Carbon Neutral Strategy (CNS) as a follow-up to the carbon neutral commitments pledged by the government during the Copenhagen UNFCCC-COP15 meeting in 2009. With the support of the UNDP Low-Emission Capacity Building Programme, the government is undertaking the design of NAMAs, LEDS and MRV across a number of key sectors including: transport; waste; housing, and industry. To help mainstream gender balance into this design process, a Rapid Gender Capacity Needs Assessment was developed and implemented throughout 2013. Its recommendations are expected to enable more effective integration of gender balance into Bhutan’s national strategies and the implementation of its NAMAs and LEDS.

The gender assessment was developed to: identify and develop capacities to enhance scaled up mitigation actions (NAMAs, LEDS and MRV); integrate gender issues in climate policy development; and provide gender disaggregated data to the government to improve policy-making.

The assessment primarily focuses at the national level, but also seeks to engage relevant stakeholders from local governments, civil society, and industry. It has improved capacity and provided key recommendations and entry points for gender mainstreaming in national strategies. The recommendations produced will be included in the long-term objective of developing NAMAs and LEDS in the country.

Impact of activities
  • Building technical expertise: The overall LECB program helped in building technical expertise of gender focal officials in ministries and particularly of women in decision making positions on gender issues and gender mainstreaming in climate policy making.
  • Identification of the gender gaps and entry points: The rapid assessment identified gender gaps and capacity needs of the institutional/individual LECB project stakeholders on gender mainstreaming in identified NAMAs and LEDS sectors, including:
    • Transport sector: Improvements in employment of women conductors, female professional drivers including taxi drivers is envisioned. These are areas which have not previously been targeted from a gender perspective. In addition, provision of day care services, health services and education for children of working women are also being considered in the programme.
    • Housing sector: The impact of selecting this sector on gender considerations is immense. 30% of the households targeted are headed by women who undertake energy related decisions. In the case of institutions too, most employees involved in energy decision-making are women. Therefore, having 30% participation by women in a capacity building programme is likely to improve impact.
    • Municipal waste sector: The current employment ratio in municipal waste management is considered to be more skewed towards females. However, during the assessment it was identified that most of the women even at the managerial level are insufficiently trained. The activity involved training of female officers in this sector.
Institutions involved
  • The National Environment Commission
  • United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Low-Emission Capacity Building (LECB) Programme
  • Department of Industry (DoI)
Source details
Global Good Practice Analysis (GIZ UNDP)