1 December 2009 Women, among the first victims of climate change
and enduring social ills, must also be seen as principal agents
for change both in curbing global warming and in attaining the
United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to improve
the lot of humankind, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.
“Think of the women who, as a result of desertification linked
to climate change, will have to forage even farther and longer
for wood and water,” he told the Women’s International Forum
that brings together some of the world’s most pre-eminent women.
“Think of the women small-holder farmers who could see their
crop yields fall by half over the next decade because of
increasingly erratic rainfall. “Think of the women who depend
directly on the environment for their livelihoods and for the
well-being of their families and communities,” he said,
stressing that in most parts of the world, more than half,
sometimes 70 to 80 per cent, of the burden is borne by women.
“People who have been the least res