Gendered Responses to Drought in Yunnan Province, China

Citation:

Yufang Su, Suman Bisht, Andreas Wilkes, Neera Shrestha Pradhan, Yahui Zou, Song Liu, and Kevin Hyde. 2017. “Gendered Responses to Drought in Yunnan Province, China.” Mountain Research and Development 37 (1): 24–34.

Authors: Yufang Su, Suman Bisht, Andreas Wilkes, Neera Shrestha Pradhan, Yahui Zou, Song Liu, Kevin Hyde

Abstract:

Vulnerability to and perceptions of climate change may be significantly affected by gender. However, in China, gender is rarely addressed in climate adaption or resource management strategies. This paper demonstrates the relevance of gender in responses to climate change in the mountainous province of Yunnan in southwest China. Based on surveys undertaken during a record-breaking drought, the paper explores how women and men in a village in Baoshan Prefecture differ in their perceptions of and responses to drought, and how the changing roles of women and men in the home and the community are influencing water management at the village level. Our results show that despite the increasingly active role of women in managing water during the drought, they are excluded from community-level decision-making about water. The paper argues that given the importance of gender differences in perceptions of and responses to drought, the lack of a gender perspective in Chinese policy may undermine efforts to support local resource management and climate adaptation.

Keywords: drought, gender analysis, climate change, responses

Topics: Environment, Climate Change, Gender, Women, Men, Gender Roles, Gender Analysis, Gendered Power Relations, Political Participation Regions: Asia, East Asia Countries: China

Year: 2017