Strengthening Gender Considerations in Kiribati’s National Adaptation Process (NAP)

This scoping study by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) examines how to strengthen gender considerations within Kiribati’s National Adaptation Plan (NAP) process, specifically focusing on the Joint Implementation Plan on Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management (KJIP). The report identifies a significant gap between national gender equality goals—which have historically focused on domestic violence—and climate adaptation planning, which remains largely gender-blind. It provides recommendations to integrate a family-focused approach to resilience and to enhance the role of the Ministry of Women, Youth and Social Affairs (MWYSA) in climate governance.

• The integration of gender considerations into the Joint Implementation Plan on Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management (KJIP) represents a positive shift, as linking climate adaptation to gender equality is a new policy and project-level initiative in Kiribati.
• Gender equality efforts in Kiribati have been historically narrow, with political awareness and mainstreaming primarily focused on addressing domestic violence rather than broader gender equality.
• There is a critical lack of sex-disaggregated data and documented knowledge, which hinders the ability to evaluate inequalities between men and women and constrains the integration of gender into the KJIP.
• The KJIP tends to frame women systematically as victims or marginalized groups vulnerable to climate change, failing to recognize women as agents of change capable of identifying and implementing solutions.
• Gender analysis within the KJIP and the Abaiang Integrated Vulnerability Assessment (IVA) is limited; while some gender differences are noted, they are rarely linked to an analysis of how climate change exacerbates specific vulnerabilities for different groups of women.
• The Ministry of Women, Youth and Social Affairs (MWYSA) and its Women’s Development Division (WDD) have been largely excluded from the institutional arrangements of the KJIP and the Kiribati National Experts Group (KNEG).
• The report recommends framing gender equality through the lens of the I-Kiribati culture by focusing on building 'climate-resilient families,' which may be more acceptable than individual-centered Western approaches.
• Strengthening the link between women's economic empowerment and climate adaptation is recommended as a way to move beyond the focus on domestic violence and position women as active participants in resilience.
• The report suggests that the KNEG and civil society organizations require significant capacity building to understand the specific linkages between gender equality and climate adaptation.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (n.d.). Strengthening Gender Considerations in Kiribati’s National Adaptation Process (NAP). http://napglobalnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/napgn-en-2017-strengthening-gender-considerations-kiribatis-nap-process.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. Strengthening Gender Considerations in Kiribati’s National Adaptation Process (NAP). n.d. http://napglobalnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/napgn-en-2017-strengthening-gender-considerations-kiribatis-nap-process.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=Strengthening Gender Considerations in Kiribati’s National Adaptation Process (NAP) |url=http://napglobalnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/napgn-en-2017-strengthening-gender-considerations-kiribatis-nap-process.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopmentndstrengthening, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{Strengthening Gender Considerations in Kiribati’s National Adaptation Process (NAP)}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, url = {http://napglobalnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/napgn-en-2017-strengthening-gender-considerations-kiribatis-nap-process.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }