Gender and Sustainable Mountain Development

Bhutan is preparing to host the Bhutan +10 conference from 15-19 October, bringing together mountain women and men, researchers, policy makers and development practitioners from the Hindu Kush-Himalayan region and around the world to share their vision and experience on gender and sustainable mountain development.

Themed Gender and Sustainable Mountain Development in a Changing World, the conference is been organised by the Integrated Centre for International Mountain Development, Bhutan's Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, and the National Commission for Women and Children and supported by SNV.

The five-day international conference will bring together experts from 35 countries for a series of plenary sessions, panels and discussions on the following six themes:

• Climate Change: Gender and Adaptation
• Livelihoods: Inclusive Sustainable Development
• Governance: Gender Responsive Policies and Plural Institutions
• Gender Positive Change: Successes, Challenges and Agenda Setting for Gender 'Mainstreaming'
• Ecosystems: Benefit sharing, Access and Equity in Diverse Environments and Common Property Regimes and
• Water: Equitable Access, Control, and Benefits of Water.

In one of the parallel sessions, SNV senior advisor for Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Gabrielle Halcrow will present on Integrating gender and inclusion within a regional sanitation and hygiene promotion at scale, while SNV governance advisor Tshering Choden and senior agriculture advisor Rik Van Keulen will present on Benefit-sharing in mountain households – a case of NTFPs: A gendered approach to informing national level policies.

SNV is dedicated to a society where all people enjoy the freedom to pursue their own sustainable development. To achieve this, gender and social inclusion are mainstreamed as core components in our work alongside the integration of issues related to climate change, disability and environmental protection. SNV focuses on low-income target populations and ensures delivery of quality basic services to achieve more equitable results in our three focal sectors – food, energy and water.

For more information, please visit the Bhutan +10 website here.