Skip to main content

Gender and International Environmental Politics

  • Chapter
Advances in International Environmental Politics
  • 1257 Accesses

Abstract

Environmental issues are regarded by many as urgent, complex, and transboundary, but are they gendered? Environmental scholars, institutions, and policymakers are increasingly recognizing that they are. There are a variety of important connections between gender and international environmental politics (IEP). For example, people often experience environmental problems differently because of socially constructed ideas about the appropriate roles and responsibilities of men and women. Men may be expected to migrate in the face of environmental degradation in order to provide for their families (Boehm, 2008; Terry, 2009), or women might be at greater risk to die in natural disasters if it is considered inappropriate for them to leave their houses alone (Hunter and David, 2011). While it is important that we avoid essentializing people’s experiences, it is also vital that we recognize consistent, gendered patterns in the area of environmental politics.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Works cited

  • Ali, J., T. A. Benjaminsen, A. A. Hammad and Ø. B. Dick (2005) ‘The Road to Deforestation: An Assessment of Forest Loss and Its Causes in Basho Valley, North Pakistan.’ Global Environmental Change, 15, 370–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barbieri, A. F. and D. L. Carr (2005) ‘Gender-specific Out-migration, Deforestation and Urbanization in the Ecuadorian Amazon.’ Global and Planetary Change, 47, 99–110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barnett, J. (2001) The Meaning of Environmental Security: Ecological Politics and Policy in the New Security Era (New York: Zed Books).

    Google Scholar 

  • Biermann, F. and I. Boas (2010) ‘Preparing for a Warmer World: Towards a Global Governance System to Protect Climate Refugees.’ Global Environmental Politics, 10, 1, 60–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boehm, D. A. (2008) ‘Now I Am a Man and a Woman! Gendered Moves and Migrations in a Transnational Mexican Community.’ Latin American Perspectives, 35, 1, 16–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bruyninckx, H. (2006) ‘Sustainable Development: The Institutionalization of a Contested Policy Concept.’ In Palgrave Advances in International Environmental Politics, ed. M. M. Betsill, K. Hochstetler and D. Stevis (New York: Palgrave Macmillan), 265–98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buhaug, H. and H. Urdal (2013) ‘An Urbanization Bomb? Population Growth and Social Disorder in Cities.’ Global Environmental Change, 23, 1–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caldas, M. M., C. Simmons, R. Walker, S. Perz, S. Aldrich, R. Pereira, F. Leite and E. Arima (2010) ‘Settlement Formation and Land Cover and Land Use Change: A Case Study in the Brazilian Amazon.’ Journal of Latin American Geography, 9, 1, 125–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Convention on Biological Diversity and Women’s Environment and Development Organization (2012) ‘Gender Equality and the Convention on Biological Diversity: A Compilation of Decision Text.’ http://www.wedo.org/wp-content/uploads/folletofinalCBD-WEB.pdf

    Google Scholar 

  • Crowley, T. (2010) ‘From “Natural” to “Ecosocial Flourishing”: Evaluating Evaluative Frameworks.’ Ethics and the Environment, 15, 1, 69–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dauvergne, P. (2008) The Shadows of Consumption: Consequences for the Global Environment (Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Davidson, M. J. and C. Krull (2011) ‘Adapting to Cuba’s Shifting Food Landscapes: Women’s Strategies of Resistance.’ Cuban Studies, 42, 59–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Schutter, O. (2012) ‘Women’s Rights and the Right to Food.’ http://www.srfood.org/images/stories/pdf/officialreports/20130304_gender_en.pdf

    Google Scholar 

  • De Soysa, I. 2013. ‘Environmental Security and the Resource Curse.’ In Environmental Security: Approaches and Issues, ed. R. Floyd and R. A. Matthew (New York: Routledge), 64–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Detraz, N. (2012) International Security and Gender (Malden, MA: Polity Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Detraz, N. (2013) ‘Gender and Environmental Security.’ In Environmental Security: Approaches and Issues, ed. R. Floyd and R. A. Matthew (New York: Routledge), 154–68.

    Google Scholar 

  • Detraz, N. and L. Windsor (2014) ‘Evaluating Climate Migration: Population Movement, Insecurity and Gender.’ International Feminist Journal of Politics, 16(1): 127–146.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eaton, H. and L. A. Lorentzen (eds) (2003) Ecofeminism and Globalization: Exploring Culture, Context, and Religion (New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc).

    Google Scholar 

  • Enloe, C. (2000) Maneuvers: The International Politics of Militarizing Women’s Lives (Berkeley: University of California Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • FAO (2011) ‘The State of Food Insecurity in the World: How Does International Price Volatility Affect Domestic Economies and Food Security?’ http://www.wedo.org/wp-content/uploads/The-State-of-Food-Insecurity-in-the-World-2011.pdf

    Google Scholar 

  • Floyd, R. and R. A. Matthew (eds) (2013) Environmental Security: Approaches and Issues (New York: Routledge).

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldsworthy, H. (2010) ‘Women, Global Environmental Change, and Human Security.’ In Global Environmental Change and Human Security, ed. R. A. Matthew, J. Barnett, B. McDonald and K. L. O’Brien (Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press), 215–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gosine, A. (2005) ‘Dying Planet, Deadly People: “Race”-Sex Anxieties and Alternative Globalizations.’ Social Justice, 32, 4, 69–86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hardin, G. (1968) ‘The Tragedy of the Commons.’ Science December, 13, 127–51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hartmann, B. (1995) Reproductive Rights and Wrongs: The Global Politics of Population Control (Boston: South End Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Hartmann, B. (1999) ‘Population, Environment, and Security: A New Trinity.’ In Dangerous Intersections: Feminist Perspectives on Population, Environment, and Development, ed. J. Silliman and Y. King (Cambridge, MA: South End Press), 1–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hartmann, B. (2010) ‘Rethinking the Role of Population in Human Security.’ In Global Environmental Change and Human Security, ed. R. A. Matthew, J. Barnett, B. McDonald and K. L. O’Brien (Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press), 193–214.

    Google Scholar 

  • Homer-Dixon, T. (1999) Environment, Scarcity, and Violence (Princeton: Princeton University Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Hultgren, J. (2012) ‘Natural Exceptions to Green Sovereignty? American Environmentalism and the “Immigration Problem.”’ Alternatives: Global, Local, Political, 37, 4, 300–316.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hunter, L. M. and E. David (2011) ‘Displacement, Climate Change and Gender.’ In Migration and Climate Change, ed. É. Piguet, A. Pécoud and P. de Guchteneire (New York: Cambridge University Press), 306–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • International Organization for Migration (2012) ‘Migration and Climate Change.’ International Organization for Migration: Migration for the Benefit of All. http://www.iom.int/jahia/Jahia/activities/by-theme/migration-climate-change-and-environment/copenhagen-and-beyond

  • IPCC (2007) ‘Summary for Policymakers.’ In ed. S. Solomon, D. Qin, M. Manning, Z. Chen, M. Marquis, K. B. Averyt, M. Tignor and H. L. Miller. http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg1/ar4-wg1-spm.pdf

    Google Scholar 

  • Kerr, R. B. (2005) ‘Food Security in Northern Malawi: Gender, Kinship Relations and Entitlements in Historical Context.’ Journal of Southern African Studies, 31, 1, 53–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King, Y. (1995) ‘Engendering a Peaceful Planet: Ecology, Economy, and Ecofeminism in Contemporary Context.’ Women’s Studies Quarterly, 23, 15–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacQuarrie, P. and A. T. Wolf. 2013. ‘Understanding Water Security.’ In Environmental Security: Approaches and Issues, ed. R. Floyd and R. A. Matthew (New York: Routledge), 169–86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marcoux, A. (2000) Population and Deforestation. Sustainable Development Department, FAO. http://www.fao.org/sd/wpdirect/WPan0050.htm

    Google Scholar 

  • Merchant, C. (1996) Earthcare: Women and the Environment (New York: Routledge).

    Google Scholar 

  • Mies, M. and V. Shiva (1993) Ecofeminism (Halifax, Nova Scotia: Fernwood Publications).

    Google Scholar 

  • Newell, P. (2005) ‘Race, Class and the Global Politics of Environmental Inequality.’ Global Environmental Politics, 5, 3, 70–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newman, P. (1994) ‘Killing Legally with Toxic Waste: Women and the Environment in the United States.’ In Close to Home: Women Reconnect Ecology, Health and Development, ed. V. Shiva (London: Earthscan Publications Ltd), 43–59.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nsiah-Gyabaah, K. (2010) ‘Human Security as a Prerequisite for Development.’ In Global Environmental Change and Human Security, ed. R. A. Matthew, J. Barnett, B. McDonald and K. L. O’Brien (Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press), 237–60.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oswald Spring, Ú. (2008) Human, Gender and Environmental Security: A HUGE Challenge (Bonn, Germany: UNU Institute for Environment and Human Security).

    Google Scholar 

  • Parks, B. C. and J. T. Roberts (2006) ‘Environmental and Ecological Justice.’ In Palgrave Advances in International Environmental Politics, ed. M. M. Betsill, K. Hochstetler and D. Stevis (New York: Palgrave), 329–60.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, V. S. and A. S. Runyan (2010) Global Gender Issues in the New Millennium (Boulder: Westview Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Piper, N. (ed.) (2008) New Perspectives on Gender and Migration: Livelihood, Rights and Entitlements (New York: Routledge).

    Google Scholar 

  • Princen, T., M. Maniates and K. Conca (2002) Confronting Consumption (Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Radcliffe, S. (1992) ‘Mountains, Maidens and Migration: Gender and Mobility in Peru.’ In Gender and Migration in Developing Countries, ed. S. Chant (London: Belhaven Press), 30–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rolston, H. III (2002) ‘Justifying Sustainable Development: A Continuing Ethical Search.’ Global Dialogue, 4, 1, 103–13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Romero, S. (2012) ‘Swallowing Rain Forest, Cities Surge in Amazon.’ The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/25/world/americas/swallowing-rain-forest-brazilian-cities-surge-in-amazon.html

  • Sandilands, C. (1999) The Good-Natured Feminist: Ecofeminism and the Quest for Democracy (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Schlosberg, D. and D. Carruthers (2010) ‘Indigenous Struggles, Environmental Justice, and Community Capabilities.’ Global Environmental Politics, 10, 4, 12–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seager, J. (2003) ‘Rachel Carson Died of Breat Cancer: The Coming of Age of Feminist Environmentalism.’ Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 28, 3, 945–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shiva, V. (1989) Staying Alive: Women, Ecology, and Development (Atlantic Heights, NJ: Zed Books Ltd).

    Google Scholar 

  • Silliman, J. and Y. King (1999) Dangerous Intersections: Feminist Perspectives on Population, Environment, and Development (Cambridge, MA: South End Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Simmons, C. S., M. M. Caldas, S. P. Aldrich, R. T. Walker and S. G. Perz (2007) ‘Spatial Processes in Scalar Context: Development and Security in the Brazilian Amazon.’ Journal of Latin American Geography, 6, 1, 125–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sjoberg, L. and C. E. Gentry (2007) Mothers, Monsters, Whores: Women’s Violence in Global Politics (London: Zed Books).

    Google Scholar 

  • Stein, R. (ed.) (2004) New Perspectives on Environmental Justice: Gender, Sexuality, and Activism (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Sturgeon, N. (1997) Ecofeminist Natures: Race, Gender, Feminist Theory and Political Action (New York: Routledge).

    Google Scholar 

  • Sturgeon, N. (2009) Environmentalism in Popular Culture: Gender, Race, Sexuality, and the Politics of the Natural (Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Terry, G. (2009) ‘No Climate Justice Without Gender Justice: An Overview of the Issues.’ Gender and Development, 17, 1, 5–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trombetta, M. J. (2008) ‘Environmental Security and Climate Change: Analysing the Discourse.’ Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 21, 4, 585–602.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • UNDP (1994) ‘New Dimensions of Human Security: Human Development Report 1994.’ http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr1994/chapters/

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations Human Rights (2013) ‘Empowering Women Is Shortcut to Tackling Hunger — UN Expert on Right to Food.’ http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=13069&LangID=E

    Google Scholar 

  • Uraguchi, Z. B. (2010) ‘Food Price Hikes, Food Security, and Gender Equality: Assessing the Roles and Vulnerability of Women in Households of Bangladesh and Ethiopia.’ Gender and Development, 18, 3, 491–501.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Urban, J. L. (2007) ‘Interrogating Privilege/Challenging the “Greening of Hate”.’ International Feminist Journal of Politics, 9, 2, 251–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verchick, R. R. M. (2004) ‘Feminist Theory and Environmental Justice.’ In New Perspectives on Environmental Justice: Gender, Sexuality, and Activism, ed. Rachel Stein (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press), 63–77.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker, G. (2012) Environmental Justice: Concepts, Evidence and Politics (New York: Routledge).

    Google Scholar 

  • Warner, K. (2010) ‘Global Environmental Change and Migration: Governance Challenges.’ Global Environmental Change, 20, 402–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warren, K. J. (1997) Ecofeminism: Women, Culture, Nature (Bloomington: Indiana University Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Warren, K. J. (2000) Ecofeminist Philosophy: A Western Perspective on What It Is and Why It Matters (Boulder: Rowman & Littlefield).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Copyright information

© 2014 Nicole Detraz

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Detraz, N. (2014). Gender and International Environmental Politics. In: Betsill, M.M., Hochstetler, K., Stevis, D. (eds) Advances in International Environmental Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137338976_6

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics