KARACHI, Nov 21: Women are invisible and unrecognized players in management of natural resources particularly in agriculture sector This was stated by Sindh Secretary for Environment and Alternate Energy Shamsul Haq Memon at the opening session of one-day training workshop “Linking gender and human rights to the environmental sector”, here on Monday.

The workshop was organized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN-Pakistan) in collaboration with a local NGO Shirkatgah.

The secretary said gender equality was both an essential element of any development process and a result of sustainable development. He said that rural women and the environment shared a symbolic relationship and any unsustainable exploitation of natural resources had its direct implications on women.

Environmental degradation not only required women to spend more energy, but was likely to damage their home-based enterprises.

He said women were also affected by the use of pesticides and other chemicals, as pesticides left residues on crops mainly on cotton, which were picked only by women.

IUCN Pakistan representative Mahmood Akhtar Cheema said that several laws and policies existed in the country with regard to environment, gender and human rights which needed to be implemented in true spirit.

Meher Marker of Shirkatgah said that integration of three important components such as environment, gender and human rights was a real challenge for the stakeholders, who were involved in the development.

IUCN Sindh representative Nasir Ali Panhwar said sustainable development could not be achieved in isolation and that a holistic approach be adopted.

Zubaida Birwani said women were more close to nature and natural resources and they had great knowledge about the right use of these resources. In modern world, she added, this folk wisdom should also be capitalized.

On the occasion, the participants representing government and civil society organizations across the country said forest resources had been degraded by the influential that had also resulted in increased poverty.

The workshop was attended by the representatives of planning commission, environment department, PITE, WWF, Shehri, LEAD, NRSP, Thardeep, HANDS, IRC, TRD, PILER, SPO, Aurat Foundation and others. —APP