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

The report assesses the integration of gender equality into Kiribati's climate adaptation planning, finding that while the KJIP represents a positive shift from previous gender-blind documents, significant gaps remain in gender analysis and institutional coordination. It highlights that gender equality in Kiribati has historically been reduced to addressing domestic violence, leaving a lack of understanding regarding the specific linkages between gender and climate change. The study recommends a family-focused approach to gender equality, strengthening women's economic empowerment, and formally integrating the Ministry of Women, Youth and Social Affairs (MWYSA) into the national climate coordination body (KNEG).

• The Joint Implementation Plan on Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management (KJIP) marks a significant improvement over previous national climate documents, which were 'gender blind'. The KJIP identifies gender inclusion as a key principle, stating that "all strategies and actions in the KJIP shall be inclusive of vulnerable groups, considering gender, youth and children, the elderly and people with disabilities".
• Gender equality planning in Kiribati has been narrowly focused on gender-based violence, particularly domestic violence, since 2010. This has led to a perception that "the whole gender equality issue is being reduced to domestic violence" and a lack of awareness that gender issues extend beyond violence against women.
• There is a critical gap in the linkage between gender equality and climate adaptation at both policy and project levels. The draft Climate Change Policy is described as 'gender blind', and major initiatives like the Kiribati Adaptation Program (KAP) and Pacific Women have not explicitly explored these linkages.
• The KJIP tends to position women primarily as victims or a 'marginalized group' vulnerable to climate change, rather than as 'agents of change' with the capacity to identify and implement solutions.
• Gender integration in the KJIP is uneven; while mentioned in the context analysis, it is largely absent from adaptation options, institutional arrangements, and monitoring strategies. Only four out of 71 adaptation actions explicitly mention gender, women, or girls.
• Institutional coordination for gender in climate planning is weak. The Women’s Development Division (WDD) of the Ministry of Women, Youth and Social Affairs (MWYSA) has not been part of the Kiribati National Experts Group on Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management (KNEG), which is the primary technical advisory committee.
• The report recommends framing gender equality through the lens of the 'climate-resilient family' to better align with I-Kiribati culture, noting that the new government's policy statement recognizes "women as backbone of the family unit".
• Women's economic empowerment is identified as a key entry point for strengthening the NAP process, as diversifying livelihoods enhances resilience. The report notes that "linking domestic violence and climate change is hard" due to the sensitivity of the topic, making economic empowerment a more viable policy link.
• There is a severe lack of sex-disaggregated data and documented knowledge, which hinders the ability to conduct a proper gender analysis of climate vulnerabilities and to monitor the differentiated impacts of adaptation actions on men and women.

APA

Dekens, J. (2017). Strengthening Gender Considerations in Kiribati’s National Adaptation Plan (NAP) Process. NAP Global Network. https://napglobalnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/napgn-en-2017-strengthening-gender-considerations-kiribatis-nap-process.pdf

Chicago

Dekens, Julie. Strengthening Gender Considerations in Kiribati’s National Adaptation Plan (NAP) Process. NAP Global Network, 2017. https://napglobalnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/napgn-en-2017-strengthening-gender-considerations-kiribatis-nap-process.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Dekens |first1=Julie |title=Strengthening Gender Considerations in Kiribati’s National Adaptation Plan (NAP) Process |publisher=NAP Global Network |date=December 2017 |url=https://napglobalnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/napgn-en-2017-strengthening-gender-considerations-kiribatis-nap-process.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{dekens2017strengthening, author = {Dekens, Julie}, title = {{Strengthening Gender Considerations in Kiribati’s National Adaptation Plan (NAP) Process}}, institution = {NAP Global Network}, year = {2017}, month = dec, url = {https://napglobalnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/napgn-en-2017-strengthening-gender-considerations-kiribatis-nap-process.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }