For centuries, the people around Manchar Lake, Pakistan, have relied on the freshwater lake as a source of livelihood. Due to poor irrigation planning and management, the lake is now highly polluted, which has wide-ranging effects: the loss of livelihoods for women and men; women’s decreased mobility; and child labour and the gap between boys’ and girls’ education. Despite the connections between environmental degradation and social impact, there is a prevailing view among some stakeholders that the solution to Manchar Lake is a matter of irrigation and construction. Using focus group discussions with men and women, as well as interviews with key informants, this talk provides a gender analysis of how women and men are affected, and discusses the way forward.

Dr Joyce Wu is a joint Research Fellow with Crawford School and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). She is working on gender integration of a DFAT-funded program, Sustainable Development Portfolio, of which CSIRO is a partner.

The Crawford School Research Seminar (CSRS) is a forum for scholars from across Crawford School of Public Policy to share their research and receive input from faculty and doctoral candidates on works-in-progress.