Climate Change Impacts on Women in Senegal: Here's how nature-based solutions can help

How is climate change impacting Senegal right now?

Senegalese mangrove forests lost 31.9% of their area between 1980 and 2005 due to the impacts of climate change and deforestation. Meanwhile, rising sea levels have caused massive coastal erosion, destroying homes and entire villages. More communities are at risk of disappearing, including in Gandiol, where the entire village of Doune Baba Dièye was lost following the decision in 2003 to open a breach—a small canal to evacuate rainwater. This worsened erosion in the area, eventually wiping out the entire village. A few years later, 30 homes were wiped out in Djiffer, a community in the Sine Saloum delta. The phenomenon has also occurred in other areas, such as Rufisque, Mbao, and Bargny, where at least 30 houses were engulfed by the sea in August 2024. 

To help the country face these challenges, the non-profit organization SOCODEVI is supporting local communities in adapting to climate change. Their project, Natur’ELLES, funded by Global Affairs Canada, places women at the heart of these efforts, recognizing their vulnerability and critical role in sustaining local livelihoods.  

How are climate change impacts increasing the vulnerability of women and girls in Senegal? 

In Senegal, women play an important role in small-scale entrepreneurship. A study by Senegal’s National Agency of Statistics and Demography, released in 2022, shows that 62% of informal production units are owned by women. Many of them collect oysters and other seafood growing within the mangrove ecosystems to sell at markets. The destruction of these vital ecosystems effectively wipes out this source of income. 

With livelihoods lost, options become limited—especially for women and girls. Migrating to urban areas to look for other job opportunities, while socially accepted for men in Senegal, is widely viewed as unsafe when it comes to women and girls due to higher rates of gender-based violence (GBV). 

Senegalese women taking part in SOCODEVI’s leadership program know these impacts all too well, and they are voicing what comes next for those who lose their livelihoods.

 “Women are the most affected group because they are at the forefront when it comes to providing for the basic needs of their families and supporting children's education,” notes Awa Sylla, one of the participants in the training.

When schooling is disrupted, it’s women who often step in to fill the gap. “They feel an additional burden of having to guide their children to avoid seeing them become delinquents,” notes another participant of Natur’ELLES feminist leadership program, Niorta Fatou Diatta, who is also president of the Women’s Fish Processing Union in Kafountine. 

For girls, this support is crucial, as the consequences of abandoning school can be severe. As Diatta explains, some girls who cannot proceed with their studies due to financial hardships might engage in prostitution to meet their basic needs. 

What solutions could help curb the effects of climate change and empower women? 

As climate change-driven poverty gains ground, locally owned initiatives can help fight its effects and better support women. That is why the Natur’ELLES project puts communities and women at the forefront of nature-based solutions. These actions restore and protect vital ecosystems while also helping communities adapt, sustain livelihoods, and build long-term resilience.

Restoring mangrove ecosystems in communities

In Casamance and Sine Saloum, mangrove ecosystems are hotbeds of rich biodiversity, and their extensive root systems protect against wave action and storm surges to help curb coastal erosion. 

But despite their benefits, these ecosystems are at risk. In Casamance and Sine Salome, a quarter of the total surface area - 45,000 hectares - of mangroves has already been lost since the 70s. To help reverse this trend, projects like Natur’ELLES are emphasizing the cost savings and co-benefits of restoring mangrove forests, including carbon storage, enhancing fishing opportunities, and conserving biodiversity. The Natur’ELLES project is supporting restoration initiatives in 123 villages affecting the lives of over 85,000 people. The project will reach 8,000 direct beneficiaries, including 5,600 women. More mangroves mean more habitats that support fish and oysters, leading to greater food security, higher income for women and their communities, and greater well-being. The more women improve their financial security, the more they are equipped to escape any form of GBV while also increasing their self-confidence and investing in their growth.

Building the capacities of women

Natur’ELLES supports women by empowering them with technical and soft skills to enhance their financial independence and their professional opportunities through the literacy program and the Women’s Leadership program. The literacy program offers women who did not attend school the opportunity to learn how to read and write, thereby improving their independence. The Women’s Leadership program equips participants with the necessary soft leadership skills and tools to advocate for their causes, assume greater leadership roles within their communities, and participate effectively in decision-making processes related to the governance of natural resources in Senegal. 

To date, 661 women have been enrolled in the literacy program, with 100% graduation expected by the end of 2025. For the Women's Leadership program, 79 women have been enrolled to date, including 45 young women identified as “emerging leaders” and 34 established leaders (most experienced leaders).

By providing comprehensive services, Natur’ELLES ensures that women and girls have safe spaces to express their leadership. These include awareness-raising programs on gender equality and the prevention of GBV—targeting spouses, community leaders, traditional chiefs, and rights-holders. This process helps establish community dynamics that are conducive to empowering women and creating GBV-free communities.

Social and behavioural change for gender equality and the adoption of good environmental practices

Natur’ELLES brings together local organizations—such as the Coordination of Actions for Mangrove Ecosystem Restoration, NEBEDAY (Moringa), and the Network of Women in Small-Scale Fisheries in Senegal—who work at the community level on issues of biodiversity, fishing, mangrove restoration, women’s empowerment, etc. These organizations are helping to raise awareness locally through community radio programs and campaigns to promote positive masculinity, women’s leadership, and good environmental practices. 

Informing policies through evidence generation and Sustainable Asset Valuation analysis

IISD’s unique Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) methodology provides a comprehensive framework for decision making, incorporating gender-sensitive perspectives to align nature-based infrastructure projects with national economic goals, community needs, and environmental protection. As an economic valuation tool, SAVi integrates system dynamics to map an infrastructure project’s key indicators and analyze the connections between social, economic, and environmental factors, recognizing that challenges, causes, and consequences are inherently linked. 

Why is it critical to involve women in decision-making processes, and specifically the governance of natural resources? 

Climate change has important impacts on communities, including loss of homes and income-generating activities, as well as loss of life. Women are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change because they rely on natural resources that they primarily safeguard, and they have fewer backup options when facing the loss of their livelihoods. 

Considering the role they play in the well-being of their families and communities and their critical contributions to the overall economy—including their leadership on fish value chains—it is past time to equally involve them in decision-making processes, fully considering their insights and concerns, as well as specific challenges and needs. Achieving climate and social justice depends on recognizing and valuing the role of women and their knowledge while also including them in decision-making processes. This is, first and foremost, a matter of human rights as well as a necessary condition for economic development.