This brief recognises that the equal involvement of women and men in all levels of adaptation planning efforts is needed to ensure that policy, programmes and projects address socially and culturally specific climate change impacts. The brief calls for raising awareness of the Adaptation Fund, particularly among national women’s machineries. The Fund’s governance and financing instruments provide entry points for developing countries to play the leading roles. In a departure from the traditional donor-driven and donordependent assistance model, the beneficiaries (national implementing entities) are able to take direct ownership of approved projects and programmes; they are responsible for their overall management and are allowed to directly access the funds.Recommendations include:

The Fund should particularly target women in adaptation strategies and actions, since they are the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, primary managers and providers of food and water, and communities’ principal adaptation infrastructure builders.
Give priority funding consideration to small-scale, community-based projects in order to engage women more directly, provide greater benefits for women and opportunities to participate in decisionmaking about the funds. Priority areas include natural resource management (particularly water) and small-scale local farming, as well as energy and land tenure.
Information and communications technology capacity training should be integral to funding considerations and awards, allowing women the opportunity to directly access funding agencies’ information and application processes.
Organisations with observer status should routinely coordinate with the Adaptation Fund Board, the committees, the secretariat, the trustees and with national and multilateral implementing agencies on projects’ gender impacts. It is also suggested that an observer space be reserved for gender experts or women’s civil society organisations.
Gender dimensions should be mainstreamed in all of the Adaptation Fund’s operations and management. A regularised and standardised approach is needed within the Fund to ensure gender equality.
A gender quota should be put in place for the Adaptation Fund Board. Of its 16 members, currently only two are women; and four of the 16 alternate Board members are female.