The Australian Volunteers Program and The Small Earth Nepal (SEN) successfully hosted an Interactive Workshop on Gender, Water, Climate Change, and Environment, bringing together diverse stakeholders to discuss challenges and opportunities for inclusive climate resilience.
The workshop, aligned with International Women’s Day 2025 and its theme “Accelerate Action”, focused on the disproportionate impact of climate change on women, marginalized communities, and people with disabilities. The discussions emphasized the need for gender-sensitive climate adaptation strategies and strengthened partnerships among government agencies, NGOs, academic institutions (universities), and development organizations.
In the opening address, Mr. Rajendra Khadga, Country Program Manager and Ms. Manisha Shrestha, Recruitment and Program Officer, Australian Volunteers Program stated, “ Gender, Inclusive Development and Climate Change is a priority stated by the Government of Australia in its International Development Policy. The Australian Volunteers Program is responding to this by making Gender, Inclusive Development and Climate Change the focus in its Global Program Strategy 2025 -2027. In line with this strategy, the Australian Volunteers Program in Nepal, in partnership with The Small Earth Nepal, organized an interactive workshop titled “Gender, Water, Climate Change and Environment” to provide a learning opportunity to its Partner Organisations, like minded organisations like Australia Awards and Volunteer Sending agencies.
The welcome remarks was given through a video message by Ms. Simone Condon, Gender Equality Lead at the Australian Volunteers Program – Melbourne Office. She highlighted the crucial role of women in water resource management and climate action, emphasizing how climate change exacerbates existing inequalities by increasing water scarcity, exposure to gender-based violence, health risks, and economic burdens.
“Accelerating action on gender and climate is not just about closing gaps—it’s about ensuring that climate solutions are effective and equitable. The Australian Volunteers Program is committed to supporting inclusive and gender-responsive approaches to climate resilience.”
Ms. Condon also stressed the importance of mentorship, leadership opportunities, and inclusive policies to ensure that women and marginalized communities have a stronger role in shaping climate decisions.
Mr. Bhawani S. Dongol, Executive Director of the Small Earth Nepal ( SEN), presented how SEN, through its various projects and programs, is integrating GEDSI issues in its climate actions.
Keynote Presentation: The Need to Accelerate Action
The keynote address was delivered by Dr. Rebecca Ford, an Australian Volunteer and Adjunct Researcher at the Institute of Forestry (IOF), Tribhuvan University. Her presentation, titled “Gender and Climate: The Need to Accelerate Action,” emphasized the importance of mainstreaming gender considerations in climate policies, adaptation strategies, and natural resource management.
Key takeaways from the keynote presentation included:
🔹 Unintended Gender Impacts of Climate Adaptation – While climate adaptation efforts introduce new technologies and farming practices, their consequences can often be gendered, increasing the workload on women or limiting their access to resources.
🔹 Hidden and Structural Barriers – Gender biases exist not just in laws but also in social norms, cultural expectations, and workplace structures, limiting women’s participation in decision-making and leadership roles.
🔹 The Importance of Reflection and Inclusion – Addressing gender disparities requires critical self-reflection, inclusion of diverse voices, and proactive policy shifts to remove barriers.
🔹 Moving Towards GEDSI Strategies – Organizations should develop GEDSI strategies, setting achievable goals to increase gender representation and equity in leadership and policy-making.
Panel Discussion: Bridging the Climate-Gender Gap
The panel discussion featured experts from climate, water, environment, and gender sectors, who shared valuable perspectives on addressing gender disparities in climate resilience.
Dr. Mandira Singh Shrestha, a panelist and expert in gender, DRR and water, emphasized:
“Climate change is not gender-neutral. Women and marginalized communities are at the frontline of climate impacts. Ensuring their voices in decision-making is key to building resilience.”
Ms. Nicky Shree Shrestha, an environmentalist and knowledge management specialist, highlighted:
“Bridging the gender gap in climate action requires integrating women’s knowledge and lived realities into planning and policies.” She called for action: “Let’s keep pushing boundaries and fostering dialogue — because climate solutions are stronger when women lead.”
Dr. Santosh Nepal, a water resources and climate change expert, provided critical insights into the nexus of water, climate, and gender:
“Climate change is altering water availability and intensifying disasters, disproportionately impacting vulnerable communities. A gender-responsive approach to water management is essential to ensuring climate resilience for all.”
Dr. Nepal further emphasized the role of nature-based solutions (NbS) and integrated water resource management (IWRM) in promoting inclusive climate adaptation, urging policymakers to consider gender-sensitive strategies when designing water-related interventions.
Group Discussions: Identifying Challenges & Solutions
Participants were divided into four diverse groups – NGOs/INGOs, Government, Education and Volunteer Sending Organisations including Australian Volunteers Program – to explore key issues, best practices, gaps and proposed solutions for integrating GEDSI and climate change issues at an institutional level. The key challenges include lack of accountability in implementing policies, donor-driven priorities overshadowing GEDSI, geographical barriers, traditional social norms, and stereotypes that limit women’s participation. Moreover, all the groups shared few best practices such as gender and safeguarding institutional policies and gender strategy, focused GEDSI programs and mainstreaming GEDSI into all thematic programs. In addition, other GEDSI focused innovative projects such as women-friendly city and disability prevention programs were shared. Finally, the group discussion recommended future actions that can be adopted by institutions to accelerate GEDSI and climate actions:
- Strengthening gender-responsive water and climate governance
- Overcoming barriers to women’s participation in climate decision-making
- Leveraging digital tools for inclusive climate action
- Building multi-sector partnerships between government, NGOs, and communities
Call to Action: Strengthening Gender-Inclusive Climate Policies
The workshop concluded with a call to action for policymakers, researchers, and development organizations to integrate gender-inclusive approaches into climate adaptation strategies. The workshop moderator, Dr. Dhiraj Pradhananga, Associate Professor, Tribhuvan University and Chairholder, UNESCO Chair in Mountain Water Sustainability, summarized the key takeaways, emphasizing the importance of:
- Ensuring women’s voices in climate policy and adaptation strategies
- Developing inclusive climate action frameworks that consider gender dynamics
- Enhancing digital inclusion to support women’s leadership in decision-making
- Scaling up community-led, gender-sensitive climate resilience initiatives
The event concluded with remarks from Mr. Rajendra Khadga, Country Program Manager and Ms. Manisha Shrestha, Recruitment and Program Officer, Australian Volunteers Program who thanked all participants, presenters, panelists, the emcee, and rapporteurs for their contributions.
