Toolkit for a Gender-Responsive Process to Formulate and Implement National Adaptation Plans (NAPs)

The toolkit argues that climate change impacts are not gender-neutral and that adaptation investments may reinforce existing inequalities if gender considerations are ignored. It provides a framework for integrating gender-responsive principles across the entire NAP process, from initial stocktaking and vulnerability assessments to implementation strategies and monitoring. The document details specific 'entry points' and 'enabling activities'—such as institutional arrangements, capacity development, and gender-responsive budgeting—to ensure that adaptation benefits are equitably distributed. It also provides a suite of six key tools, including gender analysis and multi-criteria analysis, to operationalize these principles.

• Gender-responsive approaches are essential because climate change impacts are not gender-neutral, and adaptation investments can inadvertently increase social inequality or reinforce vulnerabilities if gender is not addressed.
• Women often face significant barriers to adaptation due to limited access to land, financial services, and technology; for example, women in developing economies are 9% less likely than men to hold a financial institution account.
• Women are frequently under-represented in adaptation decision-making; a 2015 analysis of 193 countries showed women held only 12% of heads of environment-related ministries, and 65% of those countries had no female minister.
• The toolkit identifies specific entry points for gender integration in the NAP process, including launching the process, stocktaking, assessing vulnerabilities, reviewing options, compiling plans, sector/subnational planning, developing implementation strategies, monitoring, reviewing, and reporting.
• Effective gender-responsive NAPs require 'enabling activities' that occur throughout the process, specifically: establishing inclusive institutional arrangements, capacity development, stakeholder engagement, integrating adaptation in budgets, securing international finance, and equitable information sharing.
• The document recommends six key tools for operationalizing gender-responsiveness: Gender Analysis, Gender-Responsive Facilitation, Multi-Criteria Analysis, Gender Mainstreaming, Gender-Responsive Monitoring & Evaluation, and Gender-Responsive Budgeting.
• Gender-responsive monitoring and evaluation (M&E) is critical to track who benefits from adaptation investments and to ensure that imbalances in participation and benefits are redressed.

APA

A., D., & C., C. (2019). Toolkit for a Gender-Responsive Process to Formulate and Implement National Adaptation Plans (NAPs). NAP Global Network. https://napglobalnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/napgn-en-2019-toolkit-for-a-gender-responsive-process-to-formulate-and-implement-naps.pdf

Chicago

A., Dazé,, and Church, C. Toolkit for a Gender-Responsive Process to Formulate and Implement National Adaptation Plans (NAPs). NAP Global Network, 2019. https://napglobalnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/napgn-en-2019-toolkit-for-a-gender-responsive-process-to-formulate-and-implement-naps.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=A. |first1=Dazé, |last2=C. |first2=Church, |title=Toolkit for a Gender-Responsive Process to Formulate and Implement National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) |publisher=NAP Global Network |date=December 2019 |url=https://napglobalnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/napgn-en-2019-toolkit-for-a-gender-responsive-process-to-formulate-and-implement-naps.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{a2019toolkit, author = {A., Dazé, and C., Church,}, title = {{Toolkit for a Gender-Responsive Process to Formulate and Implement National Adaptation Plans (NAPs)}}, institution = {NAP Global Network}, year = {2019}, month = dec, url = {https://napglobalnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/napgn-en-2019-toolkit-for-a-gender-responsive-process-to-formulate-and-implement-naps.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }