UN CONFERENCE ON ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT 1992

When world leaders met in RIO DE JANEIRO  in Brazil in 1992, they talked about many issues but key among them is the link between sustainable development, environment and gender balance.

Rio also declared that both poverty and wealth stress the environment, that industrial societies must lessen their environmental impact through “sustainable patterns of production and consumption”,  and   that developing countries need assistance in building their economies to be environmentally benign.

 In addition to convection's on forests, climate change, and biological diversity, Rio produced a comprehensive guide to  sustainable development, Agenda 21, faced with worsening poverty, hunger, ill health, illiteracy and continuing deterioration of eco- systems”, this  document asserts, the only way to assure ourselves of  a safer, more prosperous future is to deal with environment and development issues together in a balanced manner.

A chapter on women  in that 1992 earth summit clearly stated that  “women have considerable knowledge  and experience in  managing and conserving natural resources”,  but  “discrimination and lack of  access to schooling, land and equal employment have constrained  their role in achieving sustainable development”..

It calls on governments both developed and developing countries to consider and implement the followings;

1         Eliminate legal, cultural, social,  and other barriers to women’s full participation “in sustainable development and public life.”

  I   increase women’s participation in environmental decision making as officials scientists,  technical advisers and extension workers.

3.      Improve women’s education from illiteracy eradication to  post secondary study in the sciences.

4.      Create conditions to enable women to play an enhanced role in sustainable  development, such as better health care including maternal and child health care and family planning  a reduced workload, better access to credit, property rights, eliminating violence  against women and counting unpaid work in official economic measures.

5.      Educate  women, particularly in developed world to engage  in environmentally sustainable consumption.

Now 20 years after the earth summit how many world leaders, corporations and organizations both in developed and developing world are giving women voice in decision  making   and strictly adhere to above  mentioned five key issues about women.

As  an environmental journalist and the only blogger on environmental issues in the Gambia ,I feel compel to join the global voice to sensitize our government, NGOS , civil society organizations about issues  relating to the sustainable development  involving women and environment in my two blogs; www.gambiaenvironmentalactivist.blogspot.com / www.gambiaclimatechange.blogspot.com  .

In the Gambia the government of president Jammeh have made some advancement by given  women voice in the decision making in policies affecting women.

About one-third of the cabinet ministers are women and among them key portfolios like vice president ,women affairs, forestry and environment, basic and high education ministries are all Mann by women.

In the Gambia we have women in the parliament and other key sectors of the government but I want the government of president Jammeh and other sub- Saharan leaders to do more for women in relation to  the above mentioned key issues regarding sustainable development and gender parity.