Afghanistan is ranked as one of the most climate-vulnerable countries on earth, being exposed to floods, droughts, and associated diseases. i Residents of informal settlements, which number over 1,000 sites across the country, are acutely vulnerable. ii Many are located in hazard-prone urban or peri-urban areas and lack critical infrastructure and durable housing. Low-income residents are often migrants from drought-afflicted rural areas and lack the financial capacity to meet the costs of climate breakdown. As the country’s cities expand by over 3% per year – the highest rate in South Asia – growing numbers of people are located in these peripheral sites where they are exposed to more frequent and severe climate hazards. iii
Afghanistan’s climate breakdown is occurring in the midst of a gender-protection crisis, resulting in intersectional vulnerability for women. Globally, studies show that women’s role in childcare and domestic work (e.g. collecting water, preparing safe food/drink) increases during times of climate shocks. This ‘feminisation’ of the climate crisis both exacerbates gender inequalities and mediates women’s experiences of climate breakdown.v In Afghanistan’s informal settlements, the feminisation of climate crisis is amplified by protection risks, including Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and insecure land rights. The 2024 Law on the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (PVPV) has further restricted women’s access to employment, education, and public spaces, resulting in higher risk of negative coping mechanisms in times of shock. iv
This brief provides a case study of a UN-Habitat intervention that addressed gender-based climate vulnerability in a Kabul informal settlement. It presents a DG-ECHO-funded project: its design, implementation and outcomes in Kabul’s Kart-e-Sakhi informal settlement. Following this introduction, the brief provides the results of a participatory assessment of gender and climate vulnerability in Kart-e-Sakhi. It then presents UN-Habitat’s response to these challenges with community-scale, gender-based climate adaptation planning and investments. Finally, the brief proposes a way forward to up-scale gender-based adaptation across Afghanistan’s informal settlements...
Afghanistan is ranked as one of the most climate-vulnerable countries on earth, being exposed to floods, droughts, and associated diseases. i Residents of informal settlements, which number over 1,000 sites across the country, are acutely vulnerable. ii Many are located in hazard-prone urban or peri-urban areas and lack critical infrastructure and durable housing. Low-income residents are often migrants from drought-afflicted rural areas and lack the financial capacity to meet the costs of climate breakdown. As the country’s cities expand by over 3% per year – the highest rate in South Asia – growing numbers of people are located in these peripheral sites where they are exposed to more frequent and severe climate hazards. iii
Afghanistan’s climate breakdown is occurring in the midst of a gender-protection crisis, resulting in intersectional vulnerability for women. Globally, studies show that women’s role in childcare and domestic work (e.g. collecting water, preparing safe food/drink) increases during times of climate shocks. This ‘feminisation’ of the climate crisis both exacerbates gender inequalities and mediates women’s experiences of climate breakdown.v In Afghanistan’s informal settlements, the feminisation of climate crisis is amplified by protection risks, including Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and insecure land rights. The 2024 Law on the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (PVPV) has further restricted women’s access to employment, education, and public spaces, resulting in higher risk of negative coping mechanisms in times of shock. iv
This brief provides a case study of a UN-Habitat intervention that addressed gender-based climate vulnerability in a Kabul informal settlement. It presents a DG-ECHO-funded project: its design, implementation and outcomes in Kabul’s Kart-e-Sakhi informal settlement. Following this introduction, the brief provides the results of a participatory assessment of gender and climate vulnerability in Kart-e-Sakhi. It then presents UN-Habitat’s response to these challenges with community-scale, gender-based climate adaptation planning and investments. Finally, the brief proposes a way forward to up-scale gender-based adaptation across Afghanistan’s informal settlements...
Afghanistan is ranked as one of the most climate-vulnerable countries on earth, being exposed to floods, droughts, and associated diseases. i Residents of informal settlements, which number over 1,000 sites across the country, are acutely vulnerable. ii Many are located in hazard-prone urban or peri-urban areas and lack critical infrastructure and durable housing. Low-income residents are often migrants from drought-afflicted rural areas and lack the financial capacity to meet the costs of climate breakdown. As the country’s cities expand by over 3% per year – the highest rate in South Asia – growing numbers of people are located in these peripheral sites where they are exposed to more frequent and severe climate hazards. iii
Afghanistan’s climate breakdown is occurring in the midst of a gender-protection crisis, resulting in intersectional vulnerability for women. Globally, studies show that women’s role in childcare and domestic work (e.g. collecting water, preparing safe food/drink) increases during times of climate shocks. This ‘feminisation’ of the climate crisis both exacerbates gender inequalities and mediates women’s experiences of climate breakdown.v In Afghanistan’s informal settlements, the feminisation of climate crisis is amplified by protection risks, including Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and insecure land rights. The 2024 Law on the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (PVPV) has further restricted women’s access to employment, education, and public spaces, resulting in higher risk of negative coping mechanisms in times of shock. iv
This brief provides a case study of a UN-Habitat intervention that addressed gender-based climate vulnerability in a Kabul informal settlement. It presents a DG-ECHO-funded project: its design, implementation and outcomes in Kabul’s Kart-e-Sakhi informal settlement. Following this introduction, the brief provides the results of a participatory assessment of gender and climate vulnerability in Kart-e-Sakhi. It then presents UN-Habitat’s response to these challenges with community-scale, gender-based climate adaptation planning and investments. Finally, the brief proposes a way forward to up-scale gender-based adaptation across Afghanistan’s informal settlements...
Afghanistan is ranked as one of the most climate-vulnerable countries on earth, being exposed to floods, droughts, and associated diseases. i Residents of informal settlements, which number over 1,000 sites across the country, are acutely vulnerable. ii Many are located in hazard-prone urban or peri-urban areas and lack critical infrastructure and durable housing. Low-income residents are often migrants from drought-afflicted rural areas and lack the financial capacity to meet the costs of climate breakdown. As the country’s cities expand by over 3% per year – the highest rate in South Asia – growing numbers of people are located in these peripheral sites where they are exposed to more frequent and severe climate hazards. iii
Afghanistan’s climate breakdown is occurring in the midst of a gender-protection crisis, resulting in intersectional vulnerability for women. Globally, studies show that women’s role in childcare and domestic work (e.g. collecting water, preparing safe food/drink) increases during times of climate shocks. This ‘feminisation’ of the climate crisis both exacerbates gender inequalities and mediates women’s experiences of climate breakdown.v In Afghanistan’s informal settlements, the feminisation of climate crisis is amplified by protection risks, including Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and insecure land rights. The 2024 Law on the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (PVPV) has further restricted women’s access to employment, education, and public spaces, resulting in higher risk of negative coping mechanisms in times of shock. iv
This brief provides a case study of a UN-Habitat intervention that addressed gender-based climate vulnerability in a Kabul informal settlement. It presents a DG-ECHO-funded project: its design, implementation and outcomes in Kabul’s Kart-e-Sakhi informal settlement. Following this introduction, the brief provides the results of a participatory assessment of gender and climate vulnerability in Kart-e-Sakhi. It then presents UN-Habitat’s response to these challenges with community-scale, gender-based climate adaptation planning and investments. Finally, the brief proposes a way forward to up-scale gender-based adaptation across Afghanistan’s informal settlements...
Afghanistan is ranked as one of the most climate-vulnerable countries on earth, being exposed to floods, droughts, and associated diseases. i Residents of informal settlements, which number over 1,000 sites across the country, are acutely vulnerable. ii Many are located in hazard-prone urban or peri-urban areas and lack critical infrastructure and durable housing. Low-income residents are often migrants from drought-afflicted rural areas and lack the financial capacity to meet the costs of climate breakdown. As the country’s cities expand by over 3% per year – the highest rate in South Asia – growing numbers of people are located in these peripheral sites where they are exposed to more frequent and severe climate hazards. iii
Afghanistan’s climate breakdown is occurring in the midst of a gender-protection crisis, resulting in intersectional vulnerability for women. Globally, studies show that women’s role in childcare and domestic work (e.g. collecting water, preparing safe food/drink) increases during times of climate shocks. This ‘feminisation’ of the climate crisis both exacerbates gender inequalities and mediates women’s experiences of climate breakdown.v In Afghanistan’s informal settlements, the feminisation of climate crisis is amplified by protection risks, including Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and insecure land rights. The 2024 Law on the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (PVPV) has further restricted women’s access to employment, education, and public spaces, resulting in higher risk of negative coping mechanisms in times of shock. iv
This brief provides a case study of a UN-Habitat intervention that addressed gender-based climate vulnerability in a Kabul informal settlement. It presents a DG-ECHO-funded project: its design, implementation and outcomes in Kabul’s Kart-e-Sakhi informal settlement. Following this introduction, the brief provides the results of a participatory assessment of gender and climate vulnerability in Kart-e-Sakhi. It then presents UN-Habitat’s response to these challenges with community-scale, gender-based climate adaptation planning and investments. Finally, the brief proposes a way forward to up-scale gender-based adaptation across Afghanistan’s informal settlements...
Afghanistan is ranked as one of the most climate-vulnerable countries on earth, being exposed to floods, droughts, and associated diseases. i Residents of informal settlements, which number over 1,000 sites across the country, are acutely vulnerable. ii Many are located in hazard-prone urban or peri-urban areas and lack critical infrastructure and durable housing. Low-income residents are often migrants from drought-afflicted rural areas and lack the financial capacity to meet the costs of climate breakdown. As the country’s cities expand by over 3% per year – the highest rate in South Asia – growing numbers of people are located in these peripheral sites where they are exposed to more frequent and severe climate hazards. iii
Afghanistan’s climate breakdown is occurring in the midst of a gender-protection crisis, resulting in intersectional vulnerability for women. Globally, studies show that women’s role in childcare and domestic work (e.g. collecting water, preparing safe food/drink) increases during times of climate shocks. This ‘feminisation’ of the climate crisis both exacerbates gender inequalities and mediates women’s experiences of climate breakdown.v In Afghanistan’s informal settlements, the feminisation of climate crisis is amplified by protection risks, including Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and insecure land rights. The 2024 Law on the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (PVPV) has further restricted women’s access to employment, education, and public spaces, resulting in higher risk of negative coping mechanisms in times of shock. iv
This brief provides a case study of a UN-Habitat intervention that addressed gender-based climate vulnerability in a Kabul informal settlement. It presents a DG-ECHO-funded project: its design, implementation and outcomes in Kabul’s Kart-e-Sakhi informal settlement. Following this introduction, the brief provides the results of a participatory assessment of gender and climate vulnerability in Kart-e-Sakhi. It then presents UN-Habitat’s response to these challenges with community-scale, gender-based climate adaptation planning and investments. Finally, the brief proposes a way forward to up-scale gender-based adaptation across Afghanistan’s informal settlements...
Afghanistan is ranked as one of the most climate-vulnerable countries on earth, being exposed to floods, droughts, and associated diseases. i Residents of informal settlements, which number over 1,000 sites across the country, are acutely vulnerable. ii Many are located in hazard-prone urban or peri-urban areas and lack critical infrastructure and durable housing. Low-income residents are often migrants from drought-afflicted rural areas and lack the financial capacity to meet the costs of climate breakdown. As the country’s cities expand by over 3% per year – the highest rate in South Asia – growing numbers of people are located in these peripheral sites where they are exposed to more frequent and severe climate hazards. iii
Afghanistan’s climate breakdown is occurring in the midst of a gender-protection crisis, resulting in intersectional vulnerability for women. Globally, studies show that women’s role in childcare and domestic work (e.g. collecting water, preparing safe food/drink) increases during times of climate shocks. This ‘feminisation’ of the climate crisis both exacerbates gender inequalities and mediates women’s experiences of climate breakdown.v In Afghanistan’s informal settlements, the feminisation of climate crisis is amplified by protection risks, including Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and insecure land rights. The 2024 Law on the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (PVPV) has further restricted women’s access to employment, education, and public spaces, resulting in higher risk of negative coping mechanisms in times of shock. iv
This brief provides a case study of a UN-Habitat intervention that addressed gender-based climate vulnerability in a Kabul informal settlement. It presents a DG-ECHO-funded project: its design, implementation and outcomes in Kabul’s Kart-e-Sakhi informal settlement. Following this introduction, the brief provides the results of a participatory assessment of gender and climate vulnerability in Kart-e-Sakhi. It then presents UN-Habitat’s response to these challenges with community-scale, gender-based climate adaptation planning and investments. Finally, the brief proposes a way forward to up-scale gender-based adaptation across Afghanistan’s informal settlements...
Seizing the Urban Opportunity: A 3-step guide for strengthening Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) 3.0
This guide offers a practical framework to integrate urban priorities into national climate plans (NDCs), ensuring they are more inclusive, grounded, and ready to implement where climate action happens – in cities.
Cities are at the centre of the climate crisis, yet they remain underrepresented in national climate plans. While urban area cities consume 78 per cent of the world's energy and produce more than 60 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, only 27 per cent of NDCs include strong urban content. Financing is another major gap: urban requests for finance, technology, and capacity-building are outnumbered by national ones up to 40 to 1. Furthermore, only 40 per cent of NDCs include both urban mitigation and adaptation strategies.
This guide provides policymakers, national climate planners, and other stakeholders with a clear path forward. It offers a structured 3-step approach to assess current NDCs, prepare, and co-design stronger NDCs which reflect the challenges and opportunities of cities.
Co-developed by UN-Habitat and SDU Resilience, with support from over 15 partners organizations, including C40 Cities, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, the Global Covenant of Mayors (GCoM) and UNDP Climate Promise, this guide builds on Urban Content of NDCs, which became UN-Habitat’s most downloaded publication of 2024 (behind the World Cities Report on Cities and Climate Action), and serves as a timely tool to support governments and stakeholders in designing inclusive, locally grounded, and implementation-ready climate plans.
The Future Saudi Cities Programme is a joint programme developed by the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs in Saudi Arabia and UN-Habitat, implemented in close cooperation with the municipalities of 17 major Saudi cities, the cities have been selected based on their different population sizes, geographic distribution, and a range of criteria based on capacities and economic potential to create a more balanced regional development among the cities of Saudi Arabia. The chosen cities include Riyadh, Makkah, Jeddah, Taif, Madinah, Tabuk, Dammam, Qatif, Al-Ahsa, Abha, Najran, Jazan, Hael, Arar, AlBaha, Buraidah, and Skaka. one of FSCP outcomes is the city profiles.
The city-profile performs as a thinking tool that constitutes together an assessment tool and guidance for the current and future planning of the city, whilst defining a clear strategy for sustainable development. This tool is based on the UN-Habitat’s three-pronged approach considers spatial planning in relation to legal and institutional frameworks, in addition to financial mechanisms. In this way, success criteria for the sustainable implementation of a spatial plan should include flexible but enforceable rules and regulations, in addition to a financing strategy and projections. The City Profile Methodology, that is applied to Tabuk, is contenting the following steps:
1- Evidence based input approach.
2- The City reviews.
3- The City Prosperity Index assessment report.
4- The GIS spatial analysis.
Share
