Abstract

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity today. The prerequisite to respond to the effects of climate change is widely recognized in scholarly literature. Climate change will bring with it increased frequency of natural disasters that distresses crop farmers and livestock keepers which eventually affects the livelihoods of rural households. Uganda is one of the African countries severely hit by these impacts with women being the most affected. Despite the existence of institutions and policies, evidence shows that climate change effects are real. This paper provides a comprehensive review of different concepts, theories, models and frameworks using a gender perspective. It describes theories and a framework for gender analysis, attitudes and adaptation mechanisms to climate change for sustainable livelihoods. Gender socialization, role constraint; intra-household decision making and institutional theories were underpinned using gender lenses to identify conceptual framework to identify practical strategies for addressing climate change. The paper emphasizes that a successful adaptation hinges on the nature of participation of the existing formal and informal institutions through focusing on the involvement of both men and women. The paper concludes by proposing a gender sensitive theoretical and conceptual framework that should be adopted in rural communities of marginal productive lands in sub-Saharan Africa.

Key words: Climate change, gender, sustainable livelihoods.