The Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) has urged Government to step up efforts in empowering women with land.
CEJ Executive Director Maggie Mwape states that women have continued struggling to have control over land both under statutory and customary tenure systems.
Ms. Mwape points out that women are often the worst affected when land becomes degraded and water is scarce due to the effects of desertification and drought.
Ms. Mwape says the 2023 International Day against Desertification and Drought emphasised that investing in women’s equal access to land and associated assets is a direct investment for their future and that of humanity.
She observes that the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) recognised that droughts are among the greatest threats to sustainable development, especially in developing countries and she further states that UNCCD forecasts estimate that droughts may affect over three-quarters of the world’s population by 2050.
Ms. Mwape is of the view that numbers and duration of droughts have increased by 29 percent since 2000, compared to the two previous decades according to the World Meteorological Organisation 2021 Report.
