Three days from now, March 8, is the International Women's Day. An important lesson on the relation between women and environment was first taught to us by rural women in the Himalayan region of Uttar Pradesh (now Uttarakhand) who, in the early 1970s, embraced trees to save them from state-backed logging. These women depended on forests for food, water and firewood, and fought with the State to save their environment.

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Since then, several researchers have documented linkages between women and environment. For instance, water scarcity forces rural women to walk kilometres to fetch water. Women in poorer countries like India are highly vulnerable and tend to have access to fewer income-earning opportunities. Freak weather events linked to climate change further push these women to work harder to secure food, water and energy for their families.

A recent study by Professor Neetu Choudhary of AN Sinha Institute of Social Studies, Patna and Pranita Bhushan Udas of ICIMOD, Nepal, conducted across 36 villages in Kosi and Gandak river basins of North Bihar has reported that the annual floods in North Bihar (76 per cent population of North Bihar lives under the threat of floods) has increased vulnerability of rural women, as men migrate in search of work.

Villages in Kosi river basin not only face annual floods, but 87 per cent households also reported acute water shortage for three months in a year. Out-migration by men is both coping and adaptation strategy against floods and drought in the region. While men migrate, the entire burden of household comes on the women.

The joint study has found an increase in female-headed households (FHHs) and greater engagement of rural women in agricultural labour. However, FHHs continue to be more vulnerable to food insecurity. More than 30 per cent of FHHs face food shortage as compared to 19.8 per cent of male headed households, say the researchers. During crucial months of flood and drought, women not only do extra work, but also try to mitigate the risk of food insecurity.

Clearly, environmental degradation affects women in more ways than one. Women play a crucial role in managing natural resources and adapting to climate change. They must be actively involved in environmental decision-making. Strengthening mechanisms to assess impacts of development and environmental policies on women is also needed.

Nidhi Jamwal is an independent environment and development journalist based in Mumbai