Message 15: Jorge Mora Portuguez

Jorge Mora Portuguez highlights below, that equity is one of the most important reasons for gender mainstreaming in water management, also land rights issues are a serious concern for poor women farmers in developing countries. He also mentions, in line with the message by Pay Dechsel (message 11) that technicians are lacking valuable training on social issues, gender included.

Why is it important to mainstream a gender perspective in agricultural water management? (A maximum of 3 points preferably with supporting cases or examples)

It will allow to consider the different needs of women and men in the definition of policies and programs to ensure an equitable access to water for agriculture and departuring of that consideration, to define differentiated policies and programs that discriminate positively between men and women (access to credits, .special capacitation, legal assistance, children care centers, etc.)

What are the real issues that challenge the integration of gender concerns into water management and agriculture? (3 points with evidence-supporting cases and examples)

The legal status of land tenancy in poor countries is one of the main issues; because it is not enough to integrate gender concerns into water and agriculture, but also it is needed that those concerns contribute to transform the reality of rural women.

For instance, in Costa Rica, 10-15% of land for agriculture is handled by women in irregular conditions. In many cases they don’t have legal documents of their lands; or lands where these women leave with their children, have different registred owners (ex husbands, parents, relatives, etc.). That means a serious problem to have access to credits to enhance their irrigation systems; or in cases of agroforestry systems, they cant have access to benefits of Environmental Services Payments (PSA).

The irregular status of women´s land has serious implications in water management for agriculture, because that means that they cannot have access to a legal water concessions, so they must to use water without any control or registration about quality, quantity, intensity of uses, etc. In the majority of cases they use underground water sources in illegal conditions and without to pay nothing for this water use.

Why is gender not mainstreamed in water management in agriculture? (3 points with evidence)

That happen because the dominant decision makers in water policies elaboration prioritize the economical and financial uses. and many of them are technicians without any formation in social or gender issues (hydraulic engineers, agronomists, economists, etc.). For that reason is needed to advance in the transformation of the legal framework of water management to create participative river basin structures with participation of the different social sectors. That will allow that women organizations for example, participate in that structures and incorporate their visions, interests, and needs in water policies.

So, the approach that promotes civil society participation, river basin structures, and integrate water management, are so relevant to achieve the mainstream of gender concerns in water and agriculture.

Regards

Jorge Mora Portuguez