By Deneita Fredericks
The critical role of females in forest conservation and management was one of the issues highlighted at a workshop on Friday that homed in on gaps in gender equality in forest-dependent communities.
The Gender and Forests Group (GFG) in collaboration with the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) and the Iwokrama Rainforest Centre on Friday hosted the workshop to also reveal findings on recent community-based research on women in forestry.
Forests are said to be invaluable ecological assets, providing a wide array of ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration, clean water, and biodiversity conservation. They are also said to provide a vital source of livelihood, offering opportunities for sustenance and economic growth. However, the gender dynamics within these forest-dependent communities have long been underexplored and often overlooked.
The primary objective of the workshop at the GFC was to explore innovative approaches for documenting, analysing, and strengthening the relationship between gender and forests. This initiative aims to fill the existing data gaps crucial for enhancing forest management policies, ultimately ensuring that women in these communities gain equitable access to forest resources, employment, asset ownership, and capacity-building opportunities.
According to the Forest Governance Facilitator, Lawrence Lachmansingh, women tend to play a major role in forestry and their efforts go unrecognised. He noted that females are the group of persons that aim to provide a more sustainable and manageable approach towards using the forest.
“Females have proven without a doubt that they are able and up to the challenge; driving tractors, working on farms. In the next decade forestry may be female dominated”, he stated.
Present at the workshop were representatives from local communities, national development partners, from both the private and government sectors, as well as international development partners. Their collective efforts culminated in a comprehensive discussion that shed light on the challenges faced by women in forest-dependent communities and identified practical recommendations to strengthen forest-related public policy.
The Gender and Forest Group recognised that understanding the intricate interplay between gender and forests is essential for creating effective policies and initiatives. To that end, the workshop participants presented findings from their research efforts, highlighting the unique challenges faced by women in forest-based communities and proposing solutions to address these disparities.
The workshop featured presentations on research conducted in four distinct forest-based communities within Guyana. These presentations revealed common challenges faced by women in these areas, including limited access to forest resources, insufficient ownership of assets, and a lack of opportunities for capacity-building and development.
One of the key findings presented by Salima Bacchus-Hinds, a Gender and Social Development Specialist, underscored the critical role of women in forest management and conservation.
She noted that Guyanese women and girls represent just over 50 per cent of the population and yet are underrepresented in the labour market. It was further highlighted that men and women tend to use the forest for different purposes.
“The way men and women interact with the use, management and conservation of the forest varies comparatively. Wider social norms around work and gender, means that men and women are represented at different places along the value chain.” she noted.
Expertise
The Gender and Forest Group recommended that forest management policies recognise and incorporate the knowledge and expertise of women in sustainable forest management practices. Furthermore, the participants emphasised the need for targeted capacity-building programmes for women in forest-dependent communities.
These programmes should encompass a range of skills, from forest management techniques to entrepreneurship and leadership training, empowering women to take on more significant roles in decision-making processes related to forest resources.
The United Nations in September, 2015 launched the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to tackle 17 different development and human rights goals globally. Several goals were highlighted as it related to forest and gender equality. These are:
Goal 1: Target 1.4 – “By 2030, all men and women, in particular the poor and vulnerable have equitable rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services, ownership and control over land and other forms of property, inheritance, natural resources, appropriate new technology and financial services, including micro finance.”
Goal 2: Target 2.3 – “By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in particularly women, indigenous people, family farmers, pastoralists and fishers, including through secure and equal access to land and other productive resources and inputs, knowledge, financial services, markets and opportunities for value addition and non-farm employment.”
Goal 5: Target 5.5 – “Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision making in political, economic and public life.”
Ownership of forest assets was another significant issue discussed during the workshop. It was revealed that women in forest-dependent communities often lack secure rights to land and forest resources, making them vulnerable to displacement and resource exploitation. To address this, the Gender and Forest Group suggested implementing land tenure reforms that prioritise women’s land and resource rights, thereby ensuring their long-term security and autonomy.
Actionable
In addition to highlighting challenges and recommending actionable solutions, the workshop served as a platform for the participants to contribute to the enhancement of forest-related public policies. The insights garnered from the research and discussions were instrumental in shaping policy recommendations aimed at promoting gender equity in forest management.
Key policy recommendations included the development of gender-sensitive forest management plans, the inclusion of gender-specific indicators in forest monitoring and reporting mechanisms, and the establishment of mechanisms for women’s participation in decision-making processes related to forest management and allocation of resources.
Additionally, the participants stressed the importance of fostering partnerships between government agencies, private sector entities, and international development organisations to ensure the effective implementation of gender-responsive forest policies. Such collaborations, they asserted, can leverage resources and expertise to create lasting change in forest-dependent communities.
The findings and recommendations put forth during the workshop also served as a clarion call for governments, development partners, and civil society organisations, to prioritise gender equality in forest-related policies and initiatives.
