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...

The Gender Policy and Plan (GPP) 2020-2023 is UN-Habitat’s roadmap for promoting gender equality throughout its work. It is aligned with the organizational Strategic Plan (2020-2023) and supports the New Urban Agenda (NUA) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through its contribution to their implementation. The GPP elaborates the gender dimensions of the programmatic results and the relevant indicators for measuring success, as well as steps to strengthen gender equality across UN-Habitat systems and processes. It builds on the evaluation results, lessons learned and recommendations from the independent external evaluation of UN-Habitat’s Policy and Plan for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women in Urban Development and Human Settlements, 2014-2019 that was conducted in 2020.

Cambodia is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to natural disasters and has suffered repeatedly from floods, storms and strong winds which have caused the loss of lives and destruction of livelihoods.

In 2018, due to the heavy rainfall from Tropical Storm SON-TINH, the Sepa-Nam Noi dam in Lao PDR collapsed affecting 62,317 households residing near the Mekong river. The massive floods caused 16 deaths and forced 5,398 households to evacuate in the five downstream provinces in Cambodia. The rural poor communities near the river suffered the destruction of their houses. Many families were forced to evacuate their homes to the temporary shelters with no sufficient food and access to clean water and sanitation.

To support the recovery process and strengthen climate resilience of the population affected by the floods, UN-Habitat in collaboration with the Royal Government of Cambodia implemented the “Project for Improving Living Environment and Disaster Prevention Capacity in Cambodia” (April 2019 – March 2020) with grant aid from the Government of Japan.

The project was completed with the reconstruction and rehabilitation of 202 houses with 1,098 people in the target area of Cambodia. It also benefited nearly 10,000 people through a wide range of capacity building activities related to disaster risk reduction (DRR) and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH).

Securing land tenure is the fundamental right of every individual. It is particularly important for the vulnerable groups including female-headed households. The project “Strengthening Land Management for Peaceful Co-Existence in Darfur” (2015-2018) was designed to improve current land title system in Darfur and to contributes in the development of evidence-based land policies, laws and regulations.