Bonn, Germany, August 6 2010 — In an interview published yesterday by IPS, WEDO’s Sandra Akpéne Freitas clearly outlines why women are critical participants in global climate policy and why women’s role at all levels (global to local) must be recognized.

The full article, “Incomprehensible” Absence of Women in Global Environment Policy, is available at IPS.

Excerpts from the interview follow:

“Women offer a huge potential as actors in local environmental policy. It is women who administer water in the local communities, who are in charge of the generation and preservation of energy, and who exploit and care for bush and jungle areas.

All of these aspects — water, energy, forest management — are simultaneously threatened by climate change, and their preservation and administration are essential to combat the phenomenon.”

“Furthermore, we [WEDO] recommend that specific measures on training for women should be given priority at the national and international levels in the framework of climate change policy, in order to strengthen the capacities that women already have with respect to the sustainable use and conservation of natural resources like water, energy sources, and forests.”