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Togo is leading efforts to ensure women are active participants in biodiversity conservation. The NBSAP Accelerator Partnership sat with Dr Amah Atutonu, the National Focal Point for the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), to learn how the country is working to integrate gender-responsive approaches into its National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP). ​

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF) recognises that gender equality and empowering women and girls is essential for its success. Equitable participation is especially important as biodiversity loss disproportionately impacts women–particularly Indigenous women, Afro-descendent women, and women from rural communities who rely heavily on natural resources for their livelihoods and daily care responsibilities. Therefore, to achieve meaningful change, amplifying women’s voices and ensuring their active participation in searching and implementing solutions to the biodiversity crisis is vital.

In recent years, Togo, a least developed country (LDC), implemented comprehensive gender equality reforms and is today among the fastest-reforming economies in improving the economic situation of women. Women’s groups were directly involved in the country’s NBSAP review process through national multi-sectoral bodies, but challenges remain in achieving gender equality in biodiversity conservation. At the Women’s Forum of the 16th Conference of Parties of the CBD (COP16), Togo was recognised as a gender and biodiversity champion.

Togo is one of seven countries collaborating with the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership on the Government of Canada-funded project “Accelerating Systemic Change for Gender Equality and Biodiversity Conservation through NBSAPs.” The NBSAP Accelerator Partnership supports these seven member countries in integrating gender and biodiversity concerns in national policies and actions, implementing targets 22 and 23 of the Global Biodiversity Framework, and carrying out the CBD Gender Plan of Action 2023-2030.

In her interview, Dr Atutonu explains Togo’s exciting approach, highlighting her experiences, challenges, and hopes:

Q: Could you briefly introduce yourself?
A: My name is Dr Amah ATUTONU, Epse KUEVIAKOE. I am the Director of Forest Resources at Togo’s Ministry of the Environment and Forest Resources and the National Focal Point for the Convention on Biological Diversity.

I am the founder of a women’s association that works to empower women and girls called “Association des Femmes pour la lutte contre la Pauvreté” (Women’s Association for the fight against poverty). This association is now heavily involved in revising and implementing the National Strategy and Action Plan for Biodiversity (NBSAP).

I am delighted to have this opportunity to share with you and other stakeholders my experience of taking gender into account in efforts to conserve biodiversity would like to express my sincere gratitude to the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership for the support it has given Togo in the effective implementation of targets 22 and 23 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which focus on gender.

Q: What does gender equality mean to you? What motivates you to work at the intersection of gender equality and biodiversity conservation?
A: If we accept that gender contributes to the socio-cultural construction of masculine and feminine roles and of relations between women and men, then gender equality in my view corresponds to a principle that aims to guarantee the same rights and to give the same opportunities and advantages to women and men in participating in decision-making on economic and social development policies. In the field of biodiversity, this principle enables women and men to enjoy the same rights in terms of access to resources and the distribution of benefits arising from their use.

With regard to my incentive to work at the intersection of gender equality and biodiversity conservation, I would like to point out that in our societies women are often relegated to the background, so that most of the time they do not have access to information or a voice, and do not benefit from development projects in their localities. In some cases, women are reluctant to make commitments and find it difficult to organise themselves to take better action.

Yet women are a category of stakeholders who make far greater use of natural resources than men, such as water (in the home and for farming), land (for farming) and biological resources (gathering firewood and non-timber forest products to meet food needs). Any decision taken at legal or political level, therefore, has an impact on the daily lives of these women, hence the need to involve them in the decision-making process and in the implementation of biodiversity conservation actions.

Q: Togo has made considerable progress in recent years in improving gender equality. How are gender aspects taken into account in national biodiversity policies and strategies in Togo? How is gender taken into account in Togo’s recent NBSAP?
A: Gender issues are central to the concerns of the Togolese Head of State, as shown by the composition of various governments in recent years. This is the case for several positions of responsibility in the country’s institutional administrative hierarchy, and I am just one example. This momentum generated by the government is gradually being transmitted to all levels, particularly in the various technical spheres that deal with nature conservation issues.

As part of the development of Togo’s forestry policy, particular emphasis has been placed on improving the capacity of women and vulnerable people in conservation efforts. This is reflected in the need to take account of the specific impact of certain regulations on women’s daily lives and to provide for alternative measures to improve their living conditions.

As far as the NBSAP is concerned, the gender issue is taken into account at two levels. Firstly, at the institutional level, the governance of the NBSAP review process was provided by two national multi-sectoral bodies whose membership included a large number of women’s groups – the latter were able to make a significant contribution to the definition of national targets in line with the Global Biodiversity Framework.  Secondly, this strong involvement of women had a positive impact on the content of the NBSAP, which defined specific targets and actions to take account of gender. Target 14 of the NBSAP provides for two flagship actions on gender, namely:

• Promoting the representation of women, young people and vulnerable people on communal biodiversity management committees; and
• Setting up educational and training programmes for women leaders to ensure their active participation in the decision-making process on biodiversity conservation.

Q: The Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) calls for a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach. How have government and civil society actors working on gender equality been involved in the NBSAP review process? And how will these actors continue to be involved in the implementation and monitoring of the NBSAP?
A: The NBSAP review process in Togo followed a pan-governmental and pan-societal approach, in line with the GBF. A decree issued by the Minister for the Environment set up a governance framework for the process, involving all sectors of government, local authorities, civil society organisations, women’s groups and youth groups. All these representatives formed what was known as the national review committee. The role of these players was to provide strategic guidelines for defining targets and ensuring that the concerns of all sections of society were taken into account. They also had a mandate to ensure that the proposed national targets corresponded to national aspirations in terms of biodiversity.

In the implementation phase of the NBSAP, this body will continue to play a fundamental role. Indeed, the monitoring mechanism established by the NBSAP indicates that the national review committee is responsible for monitoring the work of the review, which acts as the monitoring body for the implementation phase of the national targets. Consequently, it is these same actors who will monitor the implementation of the actions defined in the NBSAP to ensure the consistency and effectiveness of the interventions.

Q: Togo is one of the 62 Parties to the CBD to have appointed a Gender Focal Point. What role does this focal point play in Togo?
A: The Gender Focal Point for Biodiversity ensures that the Conference’s decisions relating to gender are taken into account in decision-making processes in the field of biodiversity conservation. To this end, it:

• analyses the implications of legal frameworks and administrative decisions on the daily lives of women, young people and people with disabilities;
• proposes measures to strengthen the participation of these groups in decision-making at local and national level;
• proposes solutions aimed at strengthening the resilience of vulnerable groups to changes brought about by biodiversity protection measures, etc.

Q: Can you tell us about your experience and the main lessons learnt from your participation at COP 16, in particular at the Women’s Forum, where Togo was designated as a gender and biodiversity champions?
A: I am delighted to have been involved in the discussions at the Women’s Forum at COP16. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Women’s Caucus, which organised the forum, for its unwavering determination to make [addressing] gender considerations a reality in the decision-making processes of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Coming back to the essence of the forum, it was an excellent opportunity to share experiences on the efforts made by States, both politically and legally, to take gender into account in development projects. The sharing of experiences also focused on actions undertaken in different countries that integrate women or actions undertaken by women to contribute to the conservation of biodiversity. Women are both actors and beneficiaries of biodiversity conservation efforts.

Another lesson is that taking gender into account in biodiversity conservation involves a diversity of players. This was clearly reflected in the diversity of stakeholders who took part in the forum: representatives of the public sector, international organisations, indigenous peoples, the private sector, civil society organisations, etc.

It should also be noted that women are committed to making their contribution to the conservation of biodiversity, with a view to enhancing its value for the well-being of the population. With this in mind, they are taking initiatives that are not coming to fruition due to a lack of financial resources. The forum encourages the provision of substantial financial resources to women.

Q: How do the decisions taken at COP16, such as the recognition of the role of Indigenous peoples and local communities, impact on your work in Togo?
A: In reality, Togo did not wait for the COP16 decision to put local communities at the heart of national biodiversity conservation priorities. Indeed, in strategic planning processes, local communities – through the traditional chieftaincy – participate in the decision-making process concerning the management of resources in their localities. The COP16 decision reinforces these efforts already underway at national level, and will enable communities to be given more attention and a greater role in defining the strategic directions for the resources in their areas. This will involve:

• providing more support for the various communities in their organisation, structuring and formal recognition as local biodiversity conservation entities;
• promoting their traditional biodiversity conservation practices; and
• building their capacities to facilitate their involvement and intervention in national and international forums.

Q: What are the main challenges you face in integrating gender equality into biodiversity policies and actions?
A: The challenges encountered in integrating gender into biodiversity conservation policies and actions include the following:

• The lack of gender specialists in biodiversity management;
• Insufficient representation of vulnerable groups in national and local bodies
• The relatively low level of education and knowledge of most women at local level;
• The effect of socio-cultural constraints ([e.g.] difficulty for women to speak in public, exclusion of women from decision making meetings).

Q: What strategies and actions are you planning to meet these challenges?
A: Togo intends, as part of the implementation of its NBSAP:

• To ensure that women, young people and vulnerable people are represented on local biodiversity management committees;
• To promote the active participation of women in decision-making processes relating to biodiversity conservation through the implementation of training programmes for women leaders;
• To formalise and support community-based women’s biodiversity conservation groups;
• To support women’s and youth associations in their resilience initiatives.

Q: What are your expectations of the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership’s project on gender equality and biodiversity in Togo?
A: This is an opportunity for us. Our expectations of the project in Togo are threefold: to gain expertise in gender mainstreaming through the planned capacity building; to determine as exhaustively as possible the factors limiting the development of women and to take into account gender in all sectors of biodiversity conservation; and to define appropriate approaches to meeting the challenges of gender mainstreaming.

Q: How do you plan to work in partnership with women’s organisations, Indigenous Peoples and local communities and other relevant non-state actors to identify their needs, fill capacity gaps and jointly design solutions?
A: In all our projects we try to take all stakeholders into account. Partnership with women’s organisations, representatives of local communities and other relevant non-state actors will be achieved through: representation on the national committee and the technical committee for implementing the project; identifying them as target stakeholders for data collection purposes; for this, it is important to carry out a mapping exercise; and participation in workshops to identify needs and formulate approaches to solutions (a percentage would be defined for this purpose).

Q: Based on your experience in Togo, what has the greatest impact on promoting gender equality in biodiversity policies and actions?
A: Promoting gender equality in biodiversity policies and actions requires political commitment, as is the case in our country, Togo, where gender is recognised as one of the guiding principles for boosting socio-economic development. The country has drawn up a guide to gender mainstreaming in all development projects, while encouraging gender-sensitive budgeting in all sectoral planning. There is also a need for capacity-building through training to fill the gaps left by the various development players, especially women, so that they have a better understanding of how to take gender into account in development actions.

Photo by IISD/ENB