3rd Mekong Forum on Water, Food & Energy 2013. Presentation from Session 8: What we have learned over the last year about balancing the gender scales in hydropower development.

1. Gender in
hydropower
MK 13 and MK10
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2. Gender & hydropower
MK13
CPWF – Water, Food and Energy
Oxfam team
Hanoi November 20 2013

3. Overview
1. Gender Justice in Hydropower
- project overview
2. Process
3. Tools and findings

4. Our process
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5. Gender impact assessment in
hydropower – how can it help?
Gender Assessment and analysis can help:
• Avoid, minimize, mitigate and compensate negative impacts
• Ensure hydropower respects the rights of men and women
(Understanding)
• Promotes women’s empowerment and participation
(Empowerment)
• Increases equitable access to, and control over, benefits
(Sustainable outcomes)
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6. Gender impact assessment
a step-by step process
Sex
Sex
disaggregated
disaggregated
baseline
baseline
Audit
Audit
Review
Review
Understand
Understand
Context
Context
Identify
Identify
issues
issues
Gender
Gender
Action
Action
plan
plan
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Women’s
Women’s
interests
interests
and
and
aspirations
aspirations

7. Gender Impact Assessment –
tools and checklists
• Gender impact
assessement tools
for hydro in
Mekong context
• Checklists that
can be used
across different
stages of the
project cycle
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8. Collecting gender baseline and
understanding the gender impacts
Pre – project
Understand the river and how men and women use and
value the river – consider transboundary
Project
•Gather sex disaggregated data for your project
•Understand the context – roles, responsibilities, power
•Assess the impacts the dam will bring
•Talk to women and men about their needs and
aspirations
Check back with communities – men and women - on
your findings and assessments
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9. Gender action planning
Use your gender impact assessment to develop a
gender action plan
Make sure it is resourced; Staff are trained - include
women and gender experts
Stand alone gender action and implementation plan
Incorporate into other management and
implementation plans. eg:
-Environmental management plan
-Resettlement action plan
-Indigenous peoples management plan
-Livelihood restitution
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10. Positive gender outcomes
It is important that a project developer and
government counterparts regularly audit and
review plans.
•Independent expert led reviews and audits;
publicly reported
•Community led review and audit.
Assess the outcomes from point of view of
women, men and communities.
Adjust plans and budgets
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11. Incorporating
gender is not
rocket
science
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13. Small group questions (1)
1. How can research inform better gender practice in
hydropower and how can women be involved in the
research?
2. How can government include gender considerations in
hydropower? Think about the different stages of a
project – planning, construction and operation. What
role can other stakeholders take in this process?
3. How can developers include gender considerations in
hydropower? Think about the different stages of a
project – planning, construction and operation. What
role can other stakeholders take in this process?
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14. Small group questions (2)
4. How should women contribute to planning,
implementation and assessing outcomes in resettlement?
5. How can indigenous women’s interests be better
incorporated into hydropower planning? What are the
barriers and what could we do about them?
6. What approaches can be adopted to allow for
meaningful participation of women? What would help
women gain greater access to information and be involved
in consultations?
7. Women are marginalized in many cultures. How could
a hydropower project affect gender power relations?
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