Hear what women have to say, Fiji Islands environmental
journalism conference hears
Suva (PINA Nius Online, 24 July 2000) - Women can be positive
agents of change in both development and environmental causes,
but are too often excluded from decision-making processes, says
Fiji's Director of Women, Alafina Vuki.
Vuki is one of the speakers at the joint Commonwealth
Environmental Journalists Association and Asia-Pacific Forum of
Environmental Journalists congress at Nadi, Fiji. The congress,
hosted by the Pacific Islands News Association's PINA Pacific
Forum of Environmental Journalists, has the theme Climate Change:
The Role of the Media.
Vuki says that women have unique experiences and knowledge of the
environment in which they live, that is rarely called upon when
policies are decided: "Women's knowledge and experience for
protecting the environment remains with them when they are not
asked, not given the space to speak, not recognized for their
wisdom and experience."
"In environmental impact assessments for development projects,
the added gender analysis is an essential ingredient of any
formula," says Ms. Vuki. "There are important development moves,
but there is no recognition of the impact on women, how women's
lives are affects."
Vuki points to an agricultural development project that took
place in the village of Burebasaga, in the Rewa province in Fiji.
In the 1950s, the land was used to grow sugarcane, bananas and
rice. Over the span of thirty years, the population of the
village grew from 40 families to 250, placing a burden on food.
The Department of Agriculture, working with the Asian Development
Bank, moved to transform the land use to grow cassava, taro and
yams.
This move required clearing a large amount of land and trees
-trees that were used for firewood. Women in the Burebasaga
village, as the primary collectors of firewood for fuel, were
forced to walk five additional kilometres. This impacted their
daily routine, as there was less time for other tasks.
"We're all for noble development intentions, but there was no
recognition of the impact on women's lives. This project, in
essence, served to destabilize their domestic lives. When
designing a development project, you must factor in how the
project will impact positively and negatively on both men and
women," Vuki argues.
Vuki says that women who go to gather firewood, a common practice
in village life, have a more intimate relationship with their
environment. "They have a better understanding of the flora, the
fauna. And their knowledge comes from sharing experiences with
one another when they talk amongst themselves."
But that knowledge is rarely shared with the community, largely
due to the patriarchal systems of hierarchy in place in the
Pacific. Women are rarely accorded the space to voice their
opinions or ideas, and instead talk amongst themselves, passing
'secrets', such as traditional herbal healing, from one
generation to another - along the gender line.
"Women do have knowledge about the environment that men don't
have. If women were given the assurance, the respect and courage
to share what they know about the environment, we'd have a more
balanced understanding of what is happening.
"We need a solid foundation, one where both men and women's ideas
are appreciated. From that we can move in an effective
partnership together and bring about change."
Traditionally, Pacific Islanders have had a holistic, symbiotic
relationship with their surrounding, which is largely tied with
spiritual beliefs. However, Vuki believes the modern "artificial"
world has become increasingly important. With the "artificial"
world has come a new set of environmental problems - pollution,
rises in sea levels, rubbish.
"The struggle between nature and the environment also reflects a
spiritual crisis. In the village, you have the relationship with
the sea, the forests. When we make the artificial world our God,
when we let it play a central role, we become negligent. Until
something happens in our environment, or we personally get sick,
we don't think about it."
Awareness needs to be raised by non-governmental organizations,
churches and communities on environmental issues. Vuki believes
the media - particularly radio - is the link to raising awareness
in the villages that are hardest hit by environmental
degradation.
And Vuki believes the archetype of Mother Earth - the caring,
nurturing protector of sea and land - has sisters in the Pacific.
"By nature, women as mothers would make better and more effective
nurturers of the environment," says Vuki. "If we highlight and
recognize that role, we could see how that affects the
environment and we could go a long way towards preventing further
damage." - PINA Nius Online.
SOURCE: PINA Nius
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