Recent Evidence on the Evolution of Women’s Empowerment Across Dimensions and Countries: A Multidimensional Index of Women’s Empowerment Across Countries

Womens empowerment is a multidimensional concept that encompasses different aspects such as access to education, freedom to make vital decisions, labor market access, wages, and political participation, among others. In this research the authors construct a multidimensional index of women’s empowerment tha\ takes into account individual resources and achievements and analyze its evolution across countries using data from the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations for 17 gender indicators across 96 countries over the period 1995–2015. By means of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, the authors identify three dimensions of women’s empowerment: Reproductive health economic participation, and basic education. In addition, the authors use cluste techniques to classify countries into four groups with similar behavior patterns in the different domains of women’s empowerment: A group of countries with high levels in the domains of reproductive health and basic education but with low levels in economic participation; a group of countries with high levels in the domains of reproductive health and economic participation that should pay attention to education; a group of countries with medium levels across the three dimensions of womens empowerment, especially in reproductive health and economic participation; and a group of countries with low levels in all the dimensions of women’s empowerment, especially in reproductive health and basic education. The comparison of these different patterns serves to highlight the aspects in which improvements have been made or, on the contrary, to highlight the obstacles that are hindering the improvement of gender equality. Finally, the results suggest that advancements in women’s empowerment improve the countries’ level of developmen

The future of Asian and Pacific cities : transformative pathways towards sustainable urban development

The cities of 2030, 2050 and 2100 will be very different from today. They will be cities transformed in their demographic composition, in their implementation of technology and in their wider ecological contexts. The challenges of building cities sustainable enough to meet the chang ing needs of the future will require new ways of thinking and working, as well as new kinds of multi-stakeholder initiatives and partnerships. The Future of Asian and Pacific Cities report 2019 makes the case for four priorities and four approaches to realize a sustainable urban future in Asia and the Pacific. A sustainable future occurs when urban and territorial planning lays a foundation; resilience guards against future risk; smart cities deploy the best technology for the job; and financing tools help pay for it all. Getting these essentials right in Asian and Pacific cities today is vital in order to adapt to the demands of tomorrow and to deliver on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the New Urban Agenda. The Future of Asian and Pacific Cities report 2019 was jointly developed by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme in partnership with the Asian Development Bank, Centre for Livable Cities Singapore, the European Union, The Rockefeller Foundation and the United Nations Development Programme.</p

The analytical framework of water and armed conflict: a focus on the 2006 Summer War between Israel and Lebanon

This paper develops an analytical framework to investigate the relationship between water and armed conflict, and applies it to the ‘Summer War’ of 2006 between Israel and Lebanon (Hezbollah). The framework broadens and deepens existing classifications by assessing the impact of acts of war as indiscriminate or targeted, and evaluating them in terms of international norms and law, in particular International Humanitarian Law (IHL). In the case at hand, the relationship is characterised by extensive damage in Lebanon to drinking water infrastructure and resources. This is seen as a clear violation of the letter and the spirit of IHL, while the partial destruction of more than 50 public water towers compromises water rights and national development goals. The absence of pre-war environmental baselines makes it difficult to gauge the impact on water resources, suggesting a role for those with first-hand knowledge of the hostilities to develop a more effective response before, during, and after armed conflict

Effects of thermal insulation on thermal comfort in low-income tropical housing

This paper evaluates the effects of thermal insulation on thermal comfort in low-income tropical housing in Uganda. Dynamic thermal simulations are conducted to assess the effects of wall, roof and floor insulation strategies. 96 combination scenarios are simulated for various geometries, insulation and construction methods. Adaptive approach is used to evaluate the conditions within the case study buildings. The results indicate that external wall insulation improves thermal comfort in all conditions whereas internal wall and floor insulation may deteriorate the conditions. Roof insulation is the most effective strategy to reduce the risk of overheating. Due to the effectiveness of roof insulation and marginal improvements of external wall insulation, especially for brick walls, wall insulation may be disregarded when used in conjunction with roof insulation

Pathways to influence : promoting the role of women's transformative leadership to achieve the SDGs in Asia and the Pacific

A key driver for progress is Sustainable Development Goal target 5.5 on promoting and strengthening equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life. Women leaders are making an impact across Asia Pacific. Women’s presence in local, state and national levels of government has influenced higher female voter turnout, increased gender sensitive policies and a stronger focus on improving social, health and safety services. In business, evidence is emerging to show that a higher proportion of women managers is significantly associated with an increase in profit. Nevertheless, leadership also remains out of reach for too many women across Asia and the Pacific.ESCAP, under the auspices of the UN Regional Coordination Mechanism Thematic Working Group on Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women, prepared a report on critical enablers for women’s leadership with a focus on its transformative impact on the societies. The report “Pathways to Influence: Promoting the Role of Women’s Transformative Leadership to Achieve the SDGs in Asia and the Pacific” highlights four key pathways to women’s transformative leadership, including growing consciousness and capabilities; accessing resources and opportunities; shaping and leveraging formal policies, laws and rules; transforming social norms and exclusionary practices. The report draws on research and data, as well as the journeys of 17 women leaders from 14 countries across the region to identify key factors that have enabled women leaders to inspire change in their diverse areas, ranging from disability, economic empowerment, grassroots community development, human rights and law, labour rights and trade unions, local governance, peace and security, public health, public sector reform, rural development and livelihoods, urban development and housing, women’s empowerment and youth

Livelihoods, conflict and aid programming: Is the evidence base good enough?

In conflict-affected situations, aid-funded livelihood interventions are often tasked with a dual imperative: to generate material welfare benefits and to contribute to peacebuilding outcomes. There may be some logic to such a transformative agenda, but does the reality square with the rhetoric? Through a review of the effectiveness of a range of livelihood promotion interventions—from job creation to microfinance—this paper finds that high quality empirical evidence is hard to come by in conflict-affected situations. Many evaluations appear to conflate outputs with impacts and numerous studies fail to include adequate information on their methodologies and datasets, making it difficult to appraise the reliability of their conclusions. Given the primary purpose of this literature—to provide policy guidance on effective ways to promote livelihoods— this silence is particularly concerning. As such, there is a strong case to be made for a restrained and nuanced handling of such interventions in conflict-affected settings.Department for International Development - PO511

SDG 1: No poverty

The concept of poverty evolved over time. It encompasses not only low income and consumption but also low achievement in various non-income dimensions including education, health, nutrition, and other areas of human development. The preparation of profile of SDG1 – No Poverty – is an attempt to briefly assess the progress on poverty eradication, and look into how poverty can be eradicated so that no one is left behind – the pledge of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The profile is organised into four sections. Following this, Section two presents current status of income and multidimensional poverty as well as other targets and indicators of SDG1. This provides a basis for outlining the areas where good progress is made, and the areas which require further attention. The section is complemented with the much-needed information and analysis on integration of human rights and gender considerations. Section three is a brief account of few promising interventions in the region. The profile ends with a proposal of some priority actions necessary for achieving the Goal in Section four. These actions range from income generating activities to investment in building capabilities and resilience as well as enhancing climate and disaster risks reduction, to protecting human rights, fostering women’s participation and building the capacity of developing countries in the areas of disaggregated data collection and analysis. The concept of poverty evolved over time. It encompasses not only low income and consumption but also low achievement in various non-income dimensions including education, health, nutrition, and other areas of human development. The preparation of profile of SDG1 – No Poverty – is an attempt to briefly assess the progress on poverty eradication, and look into how poverty can be eradicated so that no one is left behind – the pledge of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The profile is organised into four sections. Following this, Section two presents current status of income and multidimensional poverty as well as other targets and indicators of SDG1. This provides a basis for outlining the areas where good progress is made, and the areas which require further attention. The section is complemented with the much-needed information and analysis on integration of human rights and gender considerations. Section three is a brief account of few promising interventions in the region. The profile ends with a proposal of some priority actions necessary for achieving the Goal in Section four. These actions range from income generating activities to investment in building capabilities and resilience as well as enhancing climate and disaster risks reduction, to protecting human rights, fostering women’s participation and building the capacity of developing countries in the areas of disaggregated data collection and analysis. </p

Redefining Water Security through Social Reproduction: Lessons Learned from Rajasthan's ‘Ocean of Sand’

One of the most urgent challenges facing the world today is ensuring local water security under rapid climate variability and change. This is of particular importance in a country like India, where over half of the people are involved in farming, and agricultural losses due to climate change are estimated to be as high as 30 per cent by 2080. This ethnography in the arid village of Bhiwadi, West Rajasthan empirically links the reintroduction of local water harvesting technologies with the building of sustainable social reproduction in subsistent communities. By emphasising both the role of gender and the informal economy – and institutions – this ethnography provides a more thorough picture of the individuals and collective actors involved in localised and resilient technologies within global economic and climatic processes

Assessment of solar shading strategies in low-income tropical housing: the case of Uganda

Developing countries in tropical and subtropical areas will be the worst hit by climate change. Very little research has been done to assess the impact of climate change on thermal comfort in low-income housing in these regions. The effects of solar shading strategies and solar absorptance properties of walls and roofs on thermal comfort in Ugandan low-income housing are studied in this paper. Various shading strategies including curtains, roof and window overhangs, veranda and trees as well as effects of painting on solar heat gain and thermal comfort are modelled using EnergyPlus software. An adaptive approach for naturally ventilated buildings defined by the European Committee for Standardization standard BS EN 15251:2007 is used to assess the conditions. According to the results, solar shading is less effective in meeting thermal comfort requirements and it should be used in conjunction with other strategies to achieve desirable results. White painting, in contrast, significantly improved the conditions and significantly reduced the risk of overheating. Solar shading proved to be effective during the hottest periods of the year, reducing the risk of extreme overheating by up to 52%

People and planet : addressing the interlinked challenges of climate change, poverty and hunger in Asia and the Pacific

Global collective climate action is not progressing fast enough to reduce carbon emissions or build necessary adaptive capacity to the impacts of changing weather patterns. In the Asia-Pacific region, climate change threatens to worsen hunger and poverty and is undoing gains in sustainable development achieved by the region over recent decades. This edition of the Asia-Pacific Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Partnership Report — People and Planet: Addressing Climate Change, Poverty and Hunger in Asia and the Pacific — focuses on how the varying impacts of climate change across the region are interacting with poverty and hunger against a backdrop of continuing cost-of-living pressures, global conflict, and increasing climate shocks, at a time when many countries are still recovering from the fiscal strain of the COVID-19 pandemic, over-extended borrowing, and the high cost of debt.   Transformative solutions require us all to row in the same direction, with respect to enablers like education, institutional capacity building, innovative financing, and partnerships. Numerous examples of innovations, good practices, and responses from across the region are highlighted to provide inspiration for action.</p