Exploring the intersection of climate change, gender, and food security in Latin America

Abstract

Introduction: The consequences of climate change for women in Latin American countries are more severe due to persistent gaps in education, land ownership and access to information services. These inequities heighten health, welfare and livelihood risks among rural women.

Objective: To describe the relationship between climate change and food security from a gender perspective in Latin America.

Materials and methods: An exploratory review was conducted in Redalyc, SciELO, Google Scholar, EBSCO, Web of Science and Scopus. We analyzed 36 documents published between 2010 and 2022 focusing on Latin American countries

Results: he most frequently described extreme events were droughts, floods, rising temperatures, and landslides, all of which contributed to food supply shortages. Evidence shows persistent gaps in health, access to resources and information, security and human rights, which perpetuate social vulnerability and hinder the effectiveness of public policies addressing the impacts of climate change and the social consequences of the pandemic. Climate-related risks are particularly severe for indigenous and Afro-descendant women and girls, older women, LGBTIQ+ people, women with disabilities, women in migration contexts, and those living in rural, remote or disaster- and conflict-prone areas.

Conclusions: Climate change is not gender-neutral, and there remains a gap in the implementation of gender-sensitive climate adaptation policies.