Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture & Natural Resource Management

2016 highlights Dibya Gurung, Maria Lee, Jeannette Gurung, Lee West and fellow award winners, COP 22 Marrakesh.

 

Table of contents  

2 Message from the Executive Director

4 The W+ Standard wins UNFCCC Momentum for Change Award 5 Leading innovation: combining measurement of women’s empowerment and

climate mitigation 6 WOCAN technical support to mainstream gender equality in programs 7 Exploring food & agriculture companies’ engagement in gender equality in Asia 8 A new Strategic Plan for WOCAN 2017-2019 9 W+ Standard and project applications 10 WOCAN today

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Message from the Executive Director

Looking back at 2016 brings a sense of pride and accomplishment for all that WOCAN has achieved. It was a year of recognition, as we were selected to receive the Momentum for Change Women for Results award of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. This award was given for the development of the W+ Standard and its application to a renewable energy program in Nepal that returned revenue to women’s groups from the sale of W+ units. The endorsement of the W+ through this prestigious award has enabled us to draw the attention of climate finance institutions and carbon offset buyers interested in achieving both social and environmental impacts, in a manner that is both transparent and rigorous. WOCAN had foreseen this need and opportunity four years ago, when it began to invest its resources into the development of the W+ Standard, and pursuance of the ISEAL Alliance membership to accredit the Standard. To date, several project developers have applied the W+ to renewable energy, food security and livelihoods projects in Asia and Africa; many more and larger developers and investors are now planning for its use in 2017. The strong interest of at least three other standards in collaborating with WOCAN to integrate the W+ Standard demonstrates a trend that we hope brings tangible benefits to women, as governments, companies and investors set targets to meet Goal #5 of the Sustainable Development Goals, for

gender equality and women’s empowerment. I f th is brings an enhanced level of resources and benefi ts to community women groups and their famil ies, WOCAN’s goals wil l be achieved. WOCAN’s unique breadth and depth of expertise and experience in building capacities of agriculture and environment organizations and companies to integrate gender and to build the leadership of their staff and partners has been recognized as well. WOCAN was selected to provide technical services to grantees of the Swedish government throughout Asia and the Pacific; similarly, it was selected to provide capacity building services to entities accredited by the Green Climate Fund, through its partnership with Price Waterhouse Coopers. These opportunities allow WOCAN to draw on its members across 109 countries, to provide locale-specific consultancy services. In 2016, the WOCAN Board of Directors recognized the changing nature of funding possibilities and new opportunities, articulated in WOCAN’s new Strategic Plan for 2017-2019, appropriately t i t led “Leading for the New Reali ty”. In just the past few years, climate change impacts on agriculture and natural resource management have become an essential focus, we can connect face-to-face virtually around the globe with ease, and the funding environment for development is shifting to include market-based, investment approaches.

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And yet simultaneously, many of the gender-based challenges WOCAN was founded to address are still entrenched in institutions and communities and there is continued resistance to lifting up the leadership of women in the field and in the fields. We are stretched across the globe to meet these challenges and our mission is more relevant than ever. WOCAN’s 2017-2019 Strategic Plan intends to not only respond to these changes and challenges, but to lead the way in offering new models and award-winning approaches to harness our new realities in service to our mission. Starting in 2017, and over the next five years, we will assess our highest impact programs and target those for organizational focus, establish them to be best in class, and create multiple entry points for more institutions to step into gender-inclusive futures. All of this must result in better outcomes for the rural women and their collectives to achieve our mission: to advance women’s empowerment and collective action to tackle climate change, poverty, and food insecurity within enabling environments.

We will broadcast our mission with more intention and creativity, offering authoritative thought leadership in the field and educating influencers to multiply and deepen our message. We will catalyze our vibrant global membership and partners who, together, create the community, opportunities and innovation to meet our shared goals. And, we will adopt new organizational funding and staffing models that respond to our diverse and shifting landscape, to create a sustainable foundation for our work. Join us as members and partners, support our work, purchase W+ units. Together, we wil l lead the new real i ty. Regards, JEANNETTE GURUNG Executive Director

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The W+ Standard wins UNFCCC Momentum for Change Award

The ‘W+ Standard’ project was awarded under the Momentum for Change Women for Results focus area for the application of the W+ Standard to measure women’s empowerment in a biogas project in Nepal.  

“WOCAN is pleased to have the W+ Standard recognized as an innovative and transformative mechanism that credibly measures the impacts on women’s empowerment, as well assures that the contributions of women's labor and time addressing climate mitigation are acknowledged and compensated,” said Jeannette Gurung, WOCAN Executive Director.

This award will help shine a gender spotlight on the application of the W+ Standard as a first of its kind mechanism, facilitating gender financing while measuring and monetizing the co-benefits of climate mitigation and supporting women's empowerment,” said Lee West, WOCAN Co-Chair.  Read more

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Leading innovation: combining measurement of women’s empowerment and climate mitigation

The measurement of reduction in carbon emissions and progress in women’s empowerment can provide offset buyers and investors with transparent and reliable means to achieve both environment and social impacts simultaneously.

WOCAN, in collaboration with the South Pole Group, organized a side event at COP 22 in Marrakesh to discuss the added value of combining the W+ standard with carbon measurement standards. Representatives from South Pole, the Verified Carbon Standard and CBL Markets shared their views on the opportunities to build a market for W+ labeled VCUs that individuals, companies and investors can buy. Read more

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WOCAN technical support to mainstream gender

WOCAN continues to being recognized for i ts expertise in integrating gender into organizations’ internal structures, cultures, programs, projects and policies.

Price Waterhouse Coopers selected WOCAN to partner on their successful bid to assist implementing entities of the Green Climate Fund to integrate gender into their proposals, which must demonstrate gender outcomes as a pre-condition to receiving GCF financing. WOCAN has won the tender from the Embassy of Sweden in Bangkok for the Regional Gender Equality Support in Asia to assist in ensuring that gender equality is being adequately taken into account in the preparation and implementation of programs and projects supported by the Swedish regional development cooperation in Asia and the Pacific.

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Exploring food & agriculture companies’ interests in gender equality

There is a growing interest for companies and organizations to proclaim their goals and targets for women’s empowerment and gender equality. According to a research conducted by the McKinsey Global Institute, $12 tr i l l ion could be added to global GDP in 2025 in a scenario in which every country matched the fastest progress toward gender parity made within its region.

WOCAN organized a side-event during the Singapore Responsible Business Forum workshop on SDG 5 Gender Equality. The side-event brought together women farmers and entrepreneurs to share their views on engagement with companies. It provided a common space to share concrete ideas on how companies could support women farmers to increase productivity and marketing, while improving their own sustainability. WOCAN also presented the study “Agribusiness Companies’ Engagement in Women’s empowerment’ Read more

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A new Strategic Plan 2017-2019 for WOCAN: Leading the new reality

This new Strategic Plan guides WOCAN for the next three years, by art iculating new models and approaches to harness our new realit ies in service to our mission:

Advance women’s empowerment and collective action to tackle climate change, poverty and food insecurity, within enabling environments.

Over the next f ive years, we wil l focus our collective energy in four strategic actions:

1- Designing for the new reality, including the shifting funding landscape and diverse staffing needs

2- Positioning WOCAN programs as best in class, by strategically introducing them to more organizations for greater impact

3- Broadcasting WOCAN’s mission

4- Catalyzing WOCAN vibrant community, global membership and partners

Read more

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W+ Standard and project applications

In 2016 Hydrologic ICS In Cambodia – with support of Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, W+ is applied to a project that receives investments from the UNCDF SHIFT Challenge Fund Fostering Innovative Business Models for Women’s Financial Inclusion Initiative. Livelihoods Fund Mont Elgon project Kenya. A gender analysis and W+ feasibility assessment were conducted in order to strengthen the integration of gender in the project design and implementation plan and assess the opportunity to apply W+ to measure impact on women’s empowerment.

Previous applications W+ was applied to projects in Honduras, Nepal, Lao PDR, and Indonesia. For more information, please visit http://www.wplus.org/w-projects.

Kenya

Cambodia

Lao PDR

Indonesia

Honduras

Nepal

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WOCAN today

 

 

Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management

United Center, Level 41 – 323 Silom Road – Bangkok 10500 – Thailand

P.O,Box 176 - 237 Kearney St. San Francisco - CA. 94108, USA

Mail: info@wocan.org - Website: www.wocan.org

W+ Standard

Mail: wplus@wocan.org- Website: www.wplus.org