Chapter 24 of Agenda 21 urges governments to adopt a variety of objectives and initiate numerous activities aimed at integrating women fully and equally in all development activities. Among the objectives listed in the chapter are the following:

• "To increase the proportion of women decision makers, planners, technical advisers, managers and extension workers in environment and development fields";

• "To consider developing and issuing by the year 2000 a strategy of changes necessary to eliminate constitutional, legal, administrative, cultural, behavioural, social and economic obstacles to women’s full participation in sustainable development and in public life";

• "To formulate and implement clear governmental policies and national guidelines, strategies and plans for the achievement of equality in all aspects of society, including the promotion of women’s literacy, education, training, nutrition and health and their participation in key decision-making positions and in management of the environment…"

• "To implement, as a matter of urgency, in accordance with country-specific conditions, measures to ensure that women and men have the same right to decide freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children and have access to information, education and means, as appropriate, to enable them to exercise this right in keeping with their freedom, dignity and personally held values."

To achieve these and other objectives, governments are urged to undertake a number of activities, such as:

Reviewing policies and establishing plans to increase the proportion of women involved in all sustainable development activities;

• Increasing the enrolment and the educational standards of females;

• Instituting plans to lessen the heavy workload of women and girl children at home and outside through the provision of more and affordable kindergartens;

• Supporting and strengthening equal employment opportunities and equitable remuneration; and

• Introducing measures to enhance the economic opportunities of women.

The United Nations system, in particular, is asked to do its utmost to strengthen its programmes by incorporating the role of women. It is also called upon to improve opportunities for the advancement of women in the United Nations system itself.

Ever since it first became operational in 1969, UNFPA has been concerned with the health and status of women. A special four-year strategy for strengthening the Fund’s capacity for dealing with issues concerning women, population and development was initiated in 1987, and later extended to cover the period to 1994.

Apart from enhancing its own capability to deal with women and development issues, the Fund has embarked on extensive cooperation with other agencies. Concern for the health and status of women is also integral to UNFPA-supported country and intercountry programmes.

The Fund continues to strengthen links with NGOs and has supported a variety of activities on women, population and environment, including sponsorship of a workshop on this subject during UNCED. This workshop enabled women from NGOs in developing countries to participate more fully in the activities of the Conference. Following UNCED in 1992, the Fund supported a conference on women and health in Mexico. An example of a country-level activity is a family welfare project in India that is being implemented by the Working Women’s Forum in urban marginal areas of Madras and rural areas of Tamil Nadu.

In the area of research, UNFPA-supported projects are being implemented in Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico and Morocco to study the impact of environmental changes on women’s health and time use. This research, which is being conducted by local institutions, also indicates that there is a dearth of knowledge at the micro-level about the interactions between women, population and the environment. The findings of these projects should make a significant contribution to filling this void.