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

This policy brief examines the integration of gender-sensitive approaches into climate compatible development in urban Peru, specifically focusing on the Risk Management and Climate Change Adaptation Networks (GRIDES) in Cajamarca and Huaraz. It finds that while women's participation in these networks has led to an implicit gender approach in local government plans, there is a significant lack of explicit measures to tackle gender inequality and a limited understanding of differentiated vulnerabilities between men and women in urban settings.

• In the urban context of Peru, a 'gender-sensitive' approach is primarily interpreted as the participation of women in decision-making and providing equal access to education and decision-making capacity for both sexes. However, only a minority of members of the Risk Management and Climate Change Adaptation Networks (GRIDES) recognize that men and women experience different vulnerabilities to climate change and disasters.
• Women in urban areas face specific vulnerabilities due to their reproductive and home-keeping roles. For instance, they have greater responsibility for family health, which is impacted by stronger solar radiation, and are more exposed to injury and illness during floods because they spend more time in and around the home performing cleaning and repairs.
• The GRIDES have successfully integrated disaster risk and climate adaptation into local government plans in Cajamarca and Huaraz. Where women have held leading roles within these networks, the resulting local government proposals exhibit an implicit gender approach, although they often lack concrete measures to address gender inequality due to a lack of explicit gender understanding among agencies.
• Political constraints to gender-sensitive climate development in Peru include a general lack of political will, disjointed policy implementation across government sectors, and low competency among civil servants regarding gender and environment issues. Additionally, high staff rotation hinders the sustainability of progress and the strengthening of institutional competencies.
• Socioeconomic and cultural barriers include the pervasive belief that gender is a 'women's' issue and is highly theoretical. Traditional patriarchal behaviors, a lack of appreciation for women's work, and violence against women and girls further constrain the ability of women to respond to climate change and disasters.
• The brief recommends that climate compatible development initiatives be designed to transform power relations and reduce gender gaps. It suggests 'de-womanising' the gender approach to include both men and women and calls for the promotion of the National Gender and Climate Change Plan across all levels of government.

APA

Arana, M. T., Quezada, A., & Clements, R. (2016). How do gender approaches improve climate compatible development? Lessons from Peru. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Peru-gender-brief-FINAL.pdf

Chicago

Arana, María Teresa, Alicia Quezada, and Rebecca Clements. How do gender approaches improve climate compatible development? Lessons from Peru. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2016. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Peru-gender-brief-FINAL.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Arana |first1=María Teresa |last2=Quezada |first2=Alicia |last3=Clements |first3=Rebecca |title=How do gender approaches improve climate compatible development? Lessons from Peru |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=May 2016 |url=http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Peru-gender-brief-FINAL.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{arana2016how, author = {Arana, María Teresa and Quezada, Alicia and Clements, Rebecca}, title = {{How do gender approaches improve climate compatible development? Lessons from Peru}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2016}, month = may, url = {http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Peru-gender-brief-FINAL.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }