Bhubaneswar: Emphasising the inseparable link between gender and environment, former Kerala Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Prakriti Srivastava said, “Without gender justice, environmental protection and solutions to climate-related challenges cannot be achieved,” during the inaugural session of 16th Odisha Environment Congress (OEC) at Rama Devi Women’s University (RDWU) in Bhubaneswar Saturday.
Women are more adversely affected by environmental imbalance and climate change, but existing gender inequalities further aggravate their vulnerability, Srivastava noted. “There is an urgent need to integrate gender justice into environmental governance. Out of 3,100 Indian Forest Service officers, only 284 are women. Similarly, out of 2.5 lakh field-level forest staffs, women count only 5,000. This is deeply concerning when women play a vital role in forest protection,” she said.
PNN