KATHMANDU, JANUARY 28
Climate change has decreased the productivity of home-based workers, the sub-contracted or piece-rate workers, shows a recent study.
The finding of the study 'Impact of Climate Change on Urban Homebased Workers' was shared amid a remote programme in Kathmandu yesterday.
Women home-based workers living in slum area in Bhaktapur and Lalitpur were included as respondents in the study.
Speaking in the webinar organised by Saathi, an NGO involved in the study, Sajani Amatya, the chair of the organisation, called for a collective action against the climate change in urban setting to ensure climate resilient city. Bandana Rana, UN CEDAW Committee member highlighted the need of women and vulnerable groups' participation in decision-making process related to climate action and also said that such participation was key for better responding to the climate change impacts.
She also shared her experience of working to draft General Recommendation No 37 on gender-related dimensions of disaster risk reduction in the context of climate change introduced by the treaty body.
Siddhartha Pradhan, an environment and conservation specialist, said the study was timely and relevant.
"Generally climate change impact researches are focused on rural area, this research presents evidence of climate change in the urban context as well," said Pradhan.
Yasoda Timsina, a journalist and a former commissioner at the National Information Commission, underscored the need for improving the access of vulnerable groups to information related to climate change. She also highlighted the requirement to conduct training for mediapersons in communicating complex idea of climate science effectively to the people in vernacular language.
Ward Chair of Godawari Municipality-3 Bal Mukunda Ghimire said the elected representatives in the local government lacked sufficient knowledge about the climate change which resulted in inaction and apathy towards the issue. "This lack of knowledge and sensitivity about the climate change among the local government representatives has barred them from fulfilling the duties and responsibilities in addressing the climate change impacts. They need to be trained and sensitised," Ghimire added.
Sarbani Kattel from HomeNet South Asia Trust said women homebased workers, who lacked unity and were without recognition as labourers, had been excluded from social security net despite their huge contribution to the economy.
A version of this article appears in the print on January 29, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
