TOGETER FOR CHANGE: WHY MEN`S SUPPORT FOR WOMEN`S LEADERSHIP IS KEY TO CLIMATE ADAPTATION

BY KHELEF NASSOR, ZANZIBAR@@@@

In the global fight against climate change, women’s leadership is no longer optional—it is essential. Women, especially in environment-dependent communities like Zanzibar, have demonstrated outstanding ability to lead innovative strategies for climate adaptation. However, this progress cannot be sustainable without genuine support from men as allies and champions of change.

The ZanzADAPT project, implemented by Community Forests Pemba (CFP) in partnership with Community Forests International (CFI), and Tamwa-Zanzibar, has recognized this truth. Through this project, women in Zanzibar are being empowered to take leadership roles in climate adaptation efforts, particularly through agroforestry, mangrove conservation, and environmental entrepreneurship.

Yet creating lasting change requires more than empowering women; it requires bringing men along on the journey. When men become allies for women’s leadership in climate adaptation, they help dismantle the traditional systems that limit women's participation in decision-making spaces.

In many communities, men still hold a significant share of influence within families, social organizations, and local governance. Engaging them in promoting women's leadership accelerates change, strengthens social cohesion, and builds communities that are more resilient to the impacts of climate change.

The ZanzADAPT project has modeled this well by involving both men and women in planning conservation and farming initiatives. This inclusive approach helps men understand that women's success is not a threat, but a benefit to the family and the community as a whole.

Women leaders in agroforestry, mixed farming, and mangrove restoration under ZanzADAPT are producing outstanding results. They are innovating ways to tackle drought, soil erosion, and declining crop yields—challenges that climate change has exacerbated.

But women cannot carry this burden alone. They need men to support their leadership—by ensuring women’s access to land, sharing decision-making power, and helping unlock resources needed for climate adaptation projects.

Men’s engagement also challenges harmful social perceptions. When men begin to see women’s leadership not as an erosion of their authority but as a shared opportunity for collective growth, communities become stronger and more adaptive.

It is critical to create learning spaces for men about gender and climate change. The ZanzADAPT project has set a good example by involving both men and women in various capacity-building initiatives, such as trainings and study tours. These initiatives allow men to witness firsthand the positive outcomes of women’s leadership in climate adaptation and environmental stewardship.

In deeply traditional settings , where culture holds significant sway, having male champions advocating for women’s leadership is vital. These men can act as role models and catalysts for cultural transformation, encouraging other men to embrace positive change.

Male allies must also help challenge discrimination against women leaders, promote girls’ education, and support women in decision-making roles across farming cooperatives, conservation groups, and community networks.

Together, women and men can build communities that not only survive the effects of climate change but thrive within new environmental realities. By putting gender equality at the forefront, projects like ZanzADAPT are laying the foundation for a better and more resilient future for Zanzibar.

In this future, men and women walk side by side, each contributing their unique strengths to protect their land, forests, and the livelihoods of generations to come.

Engaging men as true allies for women's leadership in climate adaptation is no longer a choice—it is a shared responsibility. Now is the time to stand together and build communities that are resilient, sustainable, and just for all.

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