Projet d’adaptation aux changements climatiques des femmes dans les aires protégées au Congo et au Tchad (ELLESadAPT)
Project Information
The WomenADAPT project focuses on enhancing the climate adaptation capacities of women and ecosystems in Congo’s National Park of Conkouati-Douli and Chad’s Complex of Protected Areas of Binder-Lere. It employs a feminist approach to climate justice, positioning women as central agents of change through nature-based solutions (NbS). At the individual level, the project boosts women’s leadership, socio-economic rights, and technical capacities to adopt NbS, while diversifying their livelihoods. Ecosystem-focused NbS aim to ensure women’s well-being through resilient biodiversity and ecosystems. Women actively participate in adaptive management and natural resource use, ensuring climate resilience. At the territory level, documenting vulnerabilities informs gender-specific, climate-resilient planning.
The initiative focuses on enhancing climate change adaptation for women and ecosystems within protected areas (PAs) in Congo and Chad. It aims to boost the conservation of threatened biodiversity and ecosystem services by empowering women with enhanced natural resource management capacities through nature-based solutions (NbS).
The project encourages the adoption of productive NbS by women entrepreneurs, which in turn yields additional biodiversity benefits. Furthermore, it promotes the implementation of local land use and PA management plans that are climate change resilient, gender-sensitive, and designed to protect threatened biodiversity.
This project focuses on capacity building and field implementation to strengthen climate change adaptation in protected areas (PAs). It provides support for optimal protection of threatened biodiversity, assisting management teams in ecological monitoring to ensure ecosystem conservation. Capacity building efforts target PA staff and local actors, especially women, to adopt adaptive, gender-sensitive approaches for ecosystem and natural resource management.
The project raises awareness among local stakeholders about the crucial role of women and communities in ecosystem protection and climate adaptation. It supports women and key actors in implementing nature-based solutions (NbS) beneficial for climate adaptation. Organizational strengthening is offered to women’s groups and human rights organizations, with a focus on women’s rights, empowerment, and positive masculinity dialogue.
A literacy and financial literacy program is provided for women, alongside a study to identify productive NbS for women entrepreneurs. Support is given to implement these solutions, enhance cooperation in women’s projects, and develop post-production and sales strategies. Savings groups are created or strengthened, and microfinance institutions (MFIs) are supported in offering gender-specific financial products and integrating gender into their policies.
Financial support is arranged for women-led productive NbS, and studies are conducted to prioritize gender-specific climate adaptation measures. Systematic meteorological monitoring is established, and workshops are held to discuss the climate resilience of PAs. Local development plans are developed in a participatory, inclusive manner, with management and adaptation plans for PAs created with active participation from women.
