How do gender approaches improve climate compatible development? Lessons from India

This policy brief by Practical Action examines the necessity of gender-sensitive approaches to climate compatible development in India, specifically highlighting the distinct vulnerabilities and requirements of urban settings compared to rural contexts.

• While women are recognized as both victims of climate change and key contributors of knowledge and skills regarding mitigation, adaptation, and disaster risk, gender perspectives are frequently omitted from the design and planning of climate policies. Furthermore, research on gender and climate change has focused almost entirely on rural environments, leaving a gap in understanding urban settings.
• Climate compatible development in Indian cities requires a different gender-sensitive approach than in rural areas due to the complexity of social dimensions including class, gender, and caste. Urban residents face specific vulnerabilities, including higher risks of food insecurity, flooding and waterlogging caused by poor basic services and infrastructure, and weaker social cohesion which increases the dependency of marginalized people and women on external assistance during crises.
• To address gender differences in urban settings, project activities should be modified, such as scheduling meetings to accommodate the availability of both men and women and utilizing community volunteers. The ACCCRN project demonstrated that rural participatory methods can be adapted for cities by using Participatory Urban Appraisals consisting of multiple smaller meetings to capture diverse issues.

APA

Climate and Development Knowledge Network (2016). How do gender approaches improve climate compatible development? Lessons from India. https://cdkn.org/resource/policy-brief-gender-approaches-improve-climate-compatible-development-lessons-india

Chicago

Climate and Development Knowledge Network. How do gender approaches improve climate compatible development? Lessons from India. 2016. https://cdkn.org/resource/policy-brief-gender-approaches-improve-climate-compatible-development-lessons-india.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |title=How do gender approaches improve climate compatible development? Lessons from India |date=2 June 2016 |url=https://cdkn.org/resource/policy-brief-gender-approaches-improve-climate-compatible-development-lessons-india |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climateanddevelopmentknowledgenetwork2016how, author = {{Climate and Development Knowledge Network}}, title = {{How do gender approaches improve climate compatible development? Lessons from India}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2016}, month = jun, url = {https://cdkn.org/resource/policy-brief-gender-approaches-improve-climate-compatible-development-lessons-india}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }