Climate Change Adaptation- Natural Resource Management

SPO is currently implementing this project titled ‘Women’s Increased Access to Water Resources and Agricultural Markets’ with the financial support of Embassy of Royal Kingdom of Netherlands. The project started in December 2019 and will end in October 2021 and is being implemented in districts Badin, Tando Allahyar and Hyderabad in Sindh.

The overall goal of the project is to improve the role of women in water resource management to enhance their incomes and tenable them to effectively participate and contribute to decision-making in domestic and public spheres.

SPO under its ‘Climate Change Adaptation’ programme is aiming to broaden the process of social mobilization to cover 500 women to get organized in three districts. Twenty self-help groups will further be formed at cluster and District levels; who will be facilitated to expand their economic opportunities and choices from the selected 150 small landholder women, 100 landless sharecroppers, 200 women in Livestock rearing and 50 Bagri women through agro-enterprise development. The said methodology is designed to lead women towards attaining sustainable increase in their household incomes and enables them to play an enhanced and strategic role in the economic sphere. The project also aims to enhance political participation and representation of women in Water Course Associations so that they can contribute effectively in local decision-making regarding water resource management.

The program envisages working with mainly three cohorts women i.e. small landholder, landless sharecroppers and livestock owners in the Badin, Tando Allahyar and Hyderabad Districts of Sindh.  It aims to strengthen women’s social, economic and political empowerment by applying an integrated approach. The Project seeks to bring about sustained improvement in the quality of life of the rural women in Sindh by diversifying livelihood opportunities and strengthening low-income rural markets, which can also contribute towards the national development goals of inclusive economic growth, and poverty alleviation.

SPO successfully implemented the project titled ‘Strategic Partnership- Women and Marginalized Groups, Natural Resource Management and Peace-building: Unlocking the Potential’ in collaboration with Oxfam in Sindh from April 2016 to March 2019.

SPO under its ‘Climate Change Adaptation’ programme implemented this project to strengthen the role of women in water-resource management and to help them play an effective role in water related disputes in their communities. SPO increased capacities of women, ensured their inclusion in water-related decision making bodies at canal level in order to mitigate potential disputes over water distribution in their respective areas.

SPO has also submitted five amendments in Sindh Water Management Ordinance 2002 in the Sindh Provincial Assembly for inclusion of women in decision making bodies for water management in the province. The project targets were successfully aided in improving the inclusion of women in reducing water-disputes through their active participation in peace-building and water resource management decisions. SPO continues to further strengthen the role of women for the creation of an eco-friendly environment for all communities.