Gender and Sustainable Forest Management in East Africa and Latin America

Abstract

ABSTRACT. This paper presents a comparative study of forest management across four countries in East Africa and Latin America: Kenya, Uganda, Bolivia, and Mexico. It focuses on one question: Do varying proportions of women (low, mixed, high) in forest user groups influence their likelihood of adopting forest resource enhancing behavior? We found that higher proportions of females in user groups, and especially user groups dominated by females, perform less well than mixed groups or male dominated ones. We suggest that these differences may be related to three factors: gender biases in technology access and dissemination, a labor constraint faced by women, and a possible limitation to women's sanctioning authority. Mixed female and male groups offer an avenue for exploiting the strengths of women and men, while tempering their individual shortcomings.

Gendered forests: exploring gender dimensions in forest governance and REDD+ in Équateur Province, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

“…The differences between men and women in knowledge, access, and use of forests have long been recognized (Meinzen-Dick et al 1997, Rocheleau and Edmunds 1997, Mwangi et al 2011, Ingram et al 2014, Sunderland et al 2014. This gender disparity is due to the unequal power relations between men and women.…”

Forests and Food Security: What’s Gender Got to Do with It?

“…Data from a recent analysis of 151 forest user groups in 56 sites in Uganda, Kenya, Bolivia and Mexico indicate that groups dominated by women are less likely to conduct forest regeneration activities and less likely to adopt new technologies than men. Female dominated groups in this survey have less positive outcomes for forest conservation overall [105]. In other words, disadvantages in different domains condition women's ability to participate, access and effectively manage forests.…”

What is the evidence that gender affects access to and use of forest assets for food security? A systematic map protocol

“…Other studies show that when women and men have more equal positions and bargaining power within a household, they also access and utilise forest resources in more equitable ways [14,15]. Furthermore, a number of studies also point to the role women play in managing forest resources, even though these contributions remain largely unrecognised [12,16,17]. While, others highlight the important differences between the management and utilisation of forest resources for household needs by women and men's forest groups [17].…”