The Network of African Women Environmentalists (NAWE) is a community of African women enhancing stewardship of the environment through networking, career building and leadership development.
Led by African women, the environmental network was launched on 8 March 2019—International Women’s Day—on the margins of the United nations Environment Assembly. The Network of African Women Environmentalists is championed by the United Nations Environment Programme, in partnership with international and national partners.
The Network is committed to empowering women environmentalists who are contributing to the restoration of African landscapes, building resilience in their communities and working towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. A number of initiatives across Africa are being planned for the United Nations Decade on Ecosystems Restoration 2021–2030.
Why a network of African women environmentalists?
The lives of African women revolve around the natural world—our environment. The environment has been the source of food, water, shelter, transport, health, medicines and much more. Environmental degradation has become commonplace in Africa—deforestation, water and air pollution, droughts and floods are some the continent’s most pressing environmental issues. The effect of this degradation has had severe implications on human well-being and on countries’ of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs are intricately linked to the other Post-2015 development agendas notably – The on Climate Change and The (DRR).
African Women are among the most vulnerable to climate change. In many countries, they make up a large share of the agricultural workforce, while at the same time, they tend to have access to fewer income-earning opportunities. Much of the livelihood of African women relies upon the stability of the environment, and its decline has more negative impacts on women than on men.
The United Nations recognizes women’s role as fundamental to sustaining the planet and achieving the global Goals. The Sustainable Development Goals rings below developed by the Stockholm Resilience Centre illustrate a holistic view of development: the biosphere at the base is the foundation for all sectoral, social, economic and ecological development. All Sustainable Development Goals are therefore directly or indirectly connected to a sustainable and healthy environment. The model also shows that Goals on eradicating poverty (Goal 1) and zero hunger (Goal 2) requires gender equality (Goal 5), decent jobs (Goal 8) and reduced inequality (Goal 10).
The Stockholm Resilience Rings
