Women and sustainable development

When Mozambique was hit by devastating floods in 1999, the Western world expressed its solidarity with the affected people by taking action, mobilizing support mechanisms, and sending humanitarian aid. At that time, despite the already developed discourse on the greenhouse effect and the catastrophic consequences it was expected to have worldwide, the destruction in Mozambique was associated in the minds of Western societies with the lack of organization of the state itself. Just three years later, these perceptions were tragically disproven: developed countries, organized countries, in the heart of Europe, were struck by the forces of nature to such an extent that they could not cope with the destruction.

In recent years, the degradation of the environment has started to affect the daily life of Western societies. Tourist businesses in the Arctic Circle are going through a crisis, as the collapse of large sections of melting icebergs has become more frequent, deterring visitors. It is estimated that by 2025, the number of people who will be forced to leave their homes due to natural disasters will quadruple, reaching 100 million. [1] Therefore, we expect that major natural disasters will continue and even intensify. However, despite these serious signs, and despite the fact that the citizens of powerful countries, such as Germany, the United States, and Italy, are already experiencing the impacts of environmental degradation, it still seems that the leaders of the world’s powerful nations have not yet received the warning bell that will force them to take the scientists’ warnings seriously and take action to reverse, as long as it is still possible, the course toward the ecological destruction of the planet. The developments are discouraging. The United States continues to refuse to sign the Kyoto Protocol, while at the recent Johannesburg Conference, many state delegations showed alarmingly low interest in having a serious discussion about sustainable development. [2]

Yet, the cause of the situation we are living in today is the lifestyle of Western societies. The consumption of the wealthiest 50 million people on our planet is equal to the consumption of the 2.7 billion poorest. Over the last 20 years, household energy consumption has increased by two-thirds, while the fleet of cars has doubled, and air travel has quadrupled. Over the past 50 years, oil consumption has increased sevenfold, while meat production, fishing, and emissions from fossil fuels have at least quadrupled. In the last century, the consumption of clean water has sextupled. [3]

An important dimension of the problem is the continuous increase in population and, consequently, the needs of humanity for consumption. It is estimated that over the next 10 years, about 800 million people will be added to the human population. Food production will need to nearly double to meet the demands that will arise from this increase. However, the planet’s forested areas have already dramatically decreased due to reckless deforestation and land-use changes. Every year, thousands of species of animals and plants are disappearing as a result of human activity and the destruction of their natural habitats. In the next 25 years, half of the world’s population will face serious difficulties in trying to find drinking water, while today it is estimated that half of the earth’s wetlands are exploited by humanity for urban and industrial development. With the increase in population, waste production also increases. Currently, in OECD-developed countries, each person generates almost 2 tons of waste per year. The result of this way of life is that humanity is consuming the earth’s natural resources at a rate 20% faster than the rate at which nature can replace them. In other words, we would need 1.2 Earths if we do not change our lifestyle. If we want to make development more sustainable and fairer, wealthy societies will need to cut energy and resource consumption by 90% by 2050. [4] In other words, the planet’s resources must be distributed more fairly.

The recognition of the risks inherent in the lifestyle of Western societies shaped the concept of sustainable development. Sustainable development has been defined as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Essentially, sustainable development emphasizes the need to adopt development models that reduce the consumption of non-renewable energy sources.[5] In other words, sustainable development means that we begin to treat the Earth as if we intend to stay here. [6] The concept of “sustainability” is not new. It was first used in 1915 by the Canadian Environmental Protection Committee in a report about the need to pass on the capital of nature to future generations. Since then, much water has flowed under the bridge. “Sustainable development” was widely discussed at the 1992 Rio Conference on Environment and Development. It was at Rio that the urgent nature of the problem was first acknowledged on such an extensive collective level. However, despite the consensus that existed at that time, Agenda 21 (the declaration adopted at Rio) never gained institutional character. As a result, there was no real progress. [7]

It is now obvious that there is a political deficit. The most serious issue, in my opinion, is that we have not yet allowed a significant portion of the inhabitants of our planet to participate in shaping its future. I am, of course, talking about women. Full rights have not yet been recognized for half of humanity. In the overwhelming majority of countries in the world, women are poorer than men, have lower education, and fewer political and legal rights. These inequalities have negative consequences for efforts to reduce poverty and environmental degradation. Moreover, women have little to no participation or influence in decision-making centers, resulting in decisions that concern them not taking into account important aspects of their needs and priorities.

A characteristic example of the inefficacy of policies due to their disregard for the female dimension is the birth control policies implemented in many countries around the world. The “solutions” that governments have devised to address the issue often impose on women the decision of whether or not to have children. Thus, women from China to Romania have been forced by their governments to undergo abortions, be sterilized, or give birth to more children than they desire. Some environmentalists even suggest, to address the increase in the global population, precisely this use of state power as a means of stabilizing the population. Women’s organizations, however, do not align with these views. They point out that these practices have not yielded significant results in the past, so alternative practices should be adopted if we want to achieve real outcomes. If women’s rights are taken into account, the resulting policies focus on supporting the welfare state, with programs that provide healthcare and education, as well as sexual education—programs that are based on the principle of freedom of choice. [8]

It becomes evident from the above that there is a need for greater participation of women in the exercise of power. Only in this way can environmental protection policies become more effective, as they would take into account the specific needs of the largest segment of the world’s population. There are strong indications [9] that even the simple placement or election of women in positions of power can be effective, as women are often more progressive than their male counterparts on a range of issues. For historical and cultural reasons, women are bearers of ideas, values, and behaviors that are more in harmony with the social needs and political climate of the dawn of the 21st century. Less individualistic than men, they place great importance on the needs and views of others, and they often raise issues and contribute to decisions that benefit everyone. [10]

The role of women and the value of their participation have been recognized and included in all the declarations and action programs decided at the major UN World Conferences on Women, from the first one in Mexico in 1975 to the fourth one in Beijing in 1995. In the Declaration of the Conference on Development and Environment in Rio in 1992, it is stated: “Women play a vital role in environmental management and development. Their full participation is therefore crucial for achieving sustainable development.” [11] At this point, I would like to refer to the report of the European Parliament – of which I was the rapporteur – on the balanced participation of women and men in the decision-making process. This report emphasizes that “the value system [of women] is intertwined with dialogue, compromise, reconciliation, and the peaceful resolution of conflicts. This value system may possibly offer an alternative to the current culture of violence, while simultaneously contributing to the development of a new political culture, the culture of peace, cooperation, and respect for differences. It is estimated that if political life adopted the values of women, there would be greater social solidarity between peoples and nations, a fairer distribution of the planet’s resources, and wars and conflicts due to religious fanaticism or extreme nationalism would disappear. Furthermore, there would be greater awareness of social issues related to the quality of life, such as environmental protection, social policy and welfare, healthcare, education, and the fight against drug use and human trafficking.”

In the effort to increase women’s participation in saving our planet, the role that non-governmental organizations can play is crucial, such as the International Biopolitics Organization. Its role is not only defined by the fact that it is the result of the initiative and continuous support of a woman, its President and Founder, Mrs. Agni Vlavianou-Arvaniti, who managed to transform an organization based in Athens into a center for the exchange of views for the entire world, thereby revealing the pioneering role that women can play and their multifaceted thinking. The contribution of the International Biopolitics Organization primarily lies in its emphasis on alternative approaches to Development and Profit, its promotion of international cooperation (as its collaborations span 123 countries), and its effort to teach people to be open-minded, to look beyond the conventional to find the solutions they seek. Its proposals for the establishment of an International University for the Bio-Environment, for the organization of a Global Referendum on the Environment, and for the creation of an Ideas Bank for the environment underscore the need to expand the global discussion on environmental issues to include population groups that, until now, have not had the opportunity to contribute with all their potential to the effort of saving the planet.

The interest of our planet lies in the best possible utilization of human resources, as well as the integration of the values, creativity, priorities, imagination, sensitivity, social experience, and capabilities of more than half of the world’s population into all areas of policy. None of the challenges of our time can be addressed without the participation, contribution of ideas, and meaningful representation of women. [12]

[1] BBC News Online, “The overcrowded ark” by Alex Kirby

[2] Naftemporiki, September 7, 2002.

[3] BBC News Online, “The overcrowded ark” by Alex Kirby

[4] BBC News Online, “The overcrowded ark” by Alex Kirby

[5] “Initiatives for the Environment at the European Level,” speech by Anna Karamanou at the 6^th Conference “Environment and Woman” of the Association of Balkan Women’s Cooperation Companies of Cyprus, Nicosia, October 23-26, 1998.

[6] BBC News Online, “The overcrowded ark” by Alex Kirby

[7] Naftemporiki, 29 August 2002

[8] “Women, Environment and Sustainable Development” by Christine Riddiough, Vice-President for North America Socialist International Women

[9] Study by the Center for the American Woman in Politics.

[10] “Initiatives for the Environment at the European Level,” speech by Anna Karamanou in Nicosia.

[11] “Initiatives for the Environment at the European Level,” speech by Anna Karamanou in Nicosia.

[12] “Initiatives for the Environment at the European Level,” speech by Anna Karamanou in Nicosia.