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Every morning after Mariam Ngare drops her grandchildren off at school, she goes to the beach in Msambweni, a small fishing village on the Kenyan coast.
So she buys freshly caught rabbitfish and parrotfish, cuts them into pieces and fries them. Ngare carries her tin plate of food on her head as she walks to the town’s main street, where she sells each piece for 50 Kenyan shillings (US$35) to passersby looking for a snack. There is.
Ngare is part of a community of women known locally as mama karanga (fishmongers). Many started their businesses with the support of a United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)-backed project that aims to build sustainable coral reef fisheries by strengthening women’s role in marine management.
The initiative, launched in 2020, provided women with start-up capital and trained them how to purchase adult fish. That second part, experts say, is critical to maintaining fish stocks and keeping coral reefs on the Kenyan coast thriving.
“This project is a great example of how providing women with the necessary economic tools can create economic opportunities and protect the biodiversity that makes Kenya’s coast unique. “, says Leticia Carvalho, UNEP Marine and Freshwater Branch Director.
This year’s International Women’s Day, celebrated on March 8, focuses on women’s lack of access to capital. Addressing this issue is considered essential to combating climate change and biodiversity loss and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
According to UN Women, globally women are less likely than men to use financial institutions or have bank accounts. They are also more likely to work both in informal jobs and in industries sensitive to climate change, such as the fishing sector. Globally, by 2030 it is expected that 340 million women and girls will be living in poverty. Due to climate change, that number could increase by 158 million by 2050.
To counter this trend, UNEP partnered with Indian Ocean Coastal Marine Research and Development, a research institute based in Mombasa, Kenya. Funded by the U.S. Department of State, we provided women with seed capital to start fish marketing businesses. The women used the money to buy necessities such as freezers, scales, tables, receipts, and trade permits.
Project officials also trained the women in basic accounting and record-keeping. Many people have opened group bank accounts to better manage their finances.
Eventually, women were able to stop buying cheap fry and buy large or medium-sized fish instead. This change was considered important. If too many young fish are captured, they will be removed from the ocean before stocks can replenish, damaging fragile coral reef ecosystems.
Women also save 10% of their income in joint savings plans. You can buy equipment or start a side business for personal emergencies. Some women have gone into the wedding and funeral catering business and found success.
Another group of women received funding, purchased saplings and planted 100,000 mangroves in nearby Munje. The group also receives technical advice and training on land-based afforestation from the Kenya Forest Service.
A total of four groups of women were trained in fish sales, mangrove restoration, beekeeping, and fish warehouse operations. A total of 81 women directly benefited from the project and an estimated 486 female household members indirectly benefited.
“This project showed that gender equality and sharing the benefits of natural resources is not only good for the economy, but also good for the environment,” says Carvalho. “What is important now is to scale up efforts like this.”
She said projects like the one along the Kenyan coast are critical to delivering on the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework and the Paris Climate Agreement, landmark agreements to protect and restore nature. said. According to her, women play an important role in introducing and promoting sustainable natural resource use practices.
But simply providing access to finance is not enough. Experts say women also need financial literacy training and grace periods built into loans in case of pregnancy.
For this reason, the UNEP Finance Initiative (UNEP-FI) is encouraging financial institutions to offer financing products that help reduce the risks that many women entrepreneurs face when starting a business.
In Nigeria, Wema Bank, a signatory to UNEP-FI’s Principles for Responsible Banking, launched a platform called SARA specifically for women entrepreneurs. The platform offers access to discounted health insurance and loans at low interest rates.
Similarly, in Cambodia, women farmers can access low-interest loans through the EmPower program, a joint initiative between UNEP and UN Women. This loan allows them to purchase clean technology to help grow their business.
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