sustainable development 20 years on from the ... - José Eli da Veiga

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Box II.8
DESIRED ROLE OF WOMEN IN FOREST CONSERVATION
Women have proved vital to forest conservation worldwide. At present, strategies are under way to: understand and
take into account the various benefits that men and women derive from forest services; recognize gender differences
in access, control, knowledge and decision-making on forest resources, institutions and economic opportunities; and
adopt a gender perspective regarding opportunities for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation
(REDD), ensuring the full participation of women and including them in relevant national and regional
policymaking. These programmes should also promote women’s equal access to land ownership and other resources
required for their effective socioeconomic participation in forest management and in climate mitigation strategies
(including land, capital, technical assistance, technology, tools, equipment, markets and time). In Costa Rica, the
payment for environmental services programme, administered by the national forestry financing fund (FONAFIFO),
contributes to carbon emissions mitigation and the <strong>sustainable</strong> management of natural resources by offering owners
economic incentives not to deforest their land. As most owners of this land are men, and women have little access to
land, FONAFIFO charges a fee to ensure that some of the profits from this programme go to support women
wishing to buy land.
Source: Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)/United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), “Training Manual on
Gender and Climate Change”, <strong>20</strong>09 [online] http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/eng_version_web_final_1.pdf.
4. Reduction in emissions of ozone-depleting substances
Solving the problem of ozone layer thinning is critical for South America, particularly the region’s
southern latitudes (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay), which receive a great deal of
ultraviolet-B rays.
The international regime for the protection of the stratospheric ozone layer by reducing ozonedepleting
substances is widely acknowledged as a global success story in terms of protecting a global
public good. Ten <strong>years</strong> after signature of the Montreal Protocol, more than 95% of the ozone-depleting
substances in the Protocol had been eliminated and the timetable for eliminating substances has been
speeded up. The chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) industry has made the transition to a range of alternatives,
including hydrocarbons (HC) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). The transition has begun from
hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) to alternatives that neither affect the ozone layer nor contribute to
climate change, as many HCFCs contribute to climate change (UNDP, <strong>20</strong>11).
Emissions of ozone-depleting substances have fallen steadily in Latin America and the
Caribbean. Between 1990 and <strong>20</strong>09, the consumption of ozone-depleting substances fell by around 90%,
from 74,652 tons to 5,359 tons (see figure II.12). A number of countries have achieved their targets
before the initial deadline. This achievement reflects the national efforts made within the framework of
the Montreal Protocol, including international cooperation, technological progress and successful
collaboration between the public and private sectors (United Nations, <strong>20</strong>10).
Although experience with reducing ozone-depleting substances cannot easily be replicated to
address other global environmental problems, it does help to identify some conditions under which
countries progress in the adoption of technological improvements with positive effects on the
environment. First, the commitments made under the Protocol acted as a powerful incentive in
encouraging and facilitating business decisions to adopt environmentally friendly technology. Second,
it was essential to have funds available to pay the incremental costs associated with switching to
alternative technologies. In particular, technical and financial support through the Multilateral Fund for
the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol has been crucial. Third, there was a realization that