In 2000, the United Nations (UN) Security Council formally adopted the resolution on Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) to affirm and support the key role of women in conflict resolution, peacebuilding, and humanitarian responses. In spite of the Security Council’s traditional security focus, climate change is increasingly entering into the scope of the WPS agenda as evident from growing references to climate change from the WPS National Action Plans (NAPs).

Priorities around gender, security, and climate are also being featured in national and regional action plans across Asia and the Pacific. The Pacific developed a Regional Plan of Action for 2012-2015 that highlights how the WPS agenda connects to poor resource management, the potential for forced displacement from climate change, humanitarian crises from more severe and frequent natural hazards and rising sea levels, and other climate impacts that can exacerbate instability and risks of gender-based violence (GBV). ASEAN also adopted a Regional Plan of Action in 2022, which recognizes climate change as a nontraditional and emerging threat to health and well-being. The plan further calls on member states to ensure women’s participation in climate change resilience planning and collaborate on gender-inclusive disaster risk reduction (DRR). However, more work is still needed to move towards inclusive action and implementation.

The framing of climate change as a direct cause of conflict rather than a stressor also promotes interpretations of those affected by climate change as potential security threats. For example, popular narratives around climate change and migration assert that climate change will induce large-scale migration to the Global North despite established evidence against this. This framing helps to justify regressive immigration policies. It can also undermine the agency of women affected by climate change by framing them as passive ‘victims’ rather than as champions of climate adaptation and peace.

Youth at the Women’s GEN-Forum 2024 asserted that instead of approaching climate change as a security threat, those working at the intersections of gender, climate, peace, and security should focus on promoting human and environmental wellbeing as a pathway for peace. Inclusive community-developed strategies are key to ensuring programming and interventions addressing climate and environmental change are aligned with priority actions for peace.

The facilitated discussion at the 2024 UN Women Gen-Forum encouraged an individual and community-first perspective for thinking through how to build up and extend existing networks as well as improve the capacity of local champions to collectivize further.

We offer three practical recommendations drawing on insights from the forum session.

1. Building the capacity of community support systems to address gender-based violence related to climate change

Rather than causing conflict directly, climate change exacerbates existing tensions and inequalities that can escalate conflict and violence. Environmental degradation and biodiversity loss can place pressure on traditional agricultural livelihoods, deepen inequalities, and worsen the risk of gender-based violence. For example, in areas where fishing is considered a masculine activity, lessened ability for men to ‘provide’ financial and food security for the family contributes to domestic violence. Farmers, who are affected by worsening and more frequent droughts and flooding, also face pressures that affect their ability to make an income and repay loans. This induces stress on traditional gender roles that can reproduce gendered issues of resource access and control while reinforcing harmful masculinities.

Studies from Asia have also stressed that intimate partner violence can rise following displacement after major cyclones as women, girls, and gender minorities are exposed to violence in unsafe conditions while legal and medical services are too overwhelmed to provide access to support and remedy. In these cases, community support networks are crucial. In fact, women often play a key role in organizing community support during times of climate emergencies. Yet, women have limited power to shape formal disaster management strategies and programming, leading to gendered risk reduction gaps.

Such violence is often underreported, and outreach to address these issues relies significantly on building trust. Deconstructing harmful gender norms and engaging men, women, and gender minorities in gender-transformative community programming around environmental and climate sustainability, response, and recovery can minimize the risks of GBV.

2. Tailoring climate support to specific challenges in conflict settings

Asia is the most disaster-prone region globally because of its intensive exposure to hazards and climate risks. These issues of exposure are also connected to the continent’s 21 ongoing armed conflicts, including worsening conflicts in Afghanistan and Myanmar. Conflict settings aggravate vulnerabilities when climate shocks occur due to compounded impacts of violence, displacement, limited mobility, and resource scarcity. State fragility makes available services for preparing and adapting to climate change limited or non-existent, with changing risks to mobilizing support. These intersecting factors disproportionately impact women and girls who often shoulder responsibilities for household care and resource security and face an increased risk of sexual violence in conflict-affected areas.

Internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps, such as in Myanmar, are also often not equipped with appropriate facilities – limited access to WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) and health infrastructure intensify these challenges. Due to safety concerns and bureaucratic challenges, humanitarian aid and recovery often struggles to reach the most vulnerable groups. Displaced persons and refugees face particular difficulties accessing external support from neighboring countries during climate emergencies, particularly in countries in the region that have not signed the 1951 Refugee Convention.

Coordination between those addressing climate change and engaging in conflict mitigation and peacekeeping is needed to ensure interventions do not exacerbate violence while enabling stronger systems for climate readiness. This should include engaging community support networks, supporting capacity building for anticipatory and responsive climate action, and ensuring services are more flexible and accessible. Inclusive planning involving women and marginalized groups is essential to effectively address evolving needs in high-climate-risk conflict settings.

3. Re-imagining climate and peace by investing in inclusive decision-making

While conflict and violence must be addressed, there is great potential for climate action and peacebuilding to work together. Dismantling violent institutions contributing to the climate crisis and improving support for local and community-led approaches can enshrine a more harmonious relationship with nature. Re-imagining climate and peace will need inclusive decision-making – where the voices of those most impacted, including women, are heard and valued. This includes, first and foremost, creating an enabling environment for their participation and ability to meaningfully contribute in those decision-making settings.

In addition to being gender-diverse, these processes should be socially inclusive of different ages, ethnicities, classes, legal statuses, and abilities to collaborate, exchange knowledge, and develop strategies. One Indigenous participant emphasized how improving Indigenous resource guardianship can promote community and environmental well-being and the key role of recognizing and protecting practices to enable this. Investment in such leadership is needed to scale up good practices at the intersections of climate and peace.

While translating the global agenda to the national level, the role of women’s leadership matters to better incorporate the needs and on-the-ground situations of those directly impacted by climate change into policy and implementation.  More inclusive leadership will ensure that the global agenda is effectively localized in a gender-transformative way without overlooking specific challenges faced by women, girls, and marginalized groups in different contexts.