Natural Resource Management From Gender Perspectives Manish Thapa1 Nepal Peace Initiative Alliance Presented at “When Women Gain, So Does the World,” IWPR’s Eighth International Women’s Policy Research Conference, June 2005
Abstract There has been a lot of debate on the relation between women and the environment. Feminists have focused this debate on analyzing women’s use and conservation of natural resources. The goal of this study is to examine women’s special role in protecting biodiversity and the environmentally sustainable use of natural resources. This study has analyzed different perspectives put forward by various feminist approaches and thus recommends a mid-way approach for lobbying to formulate a conducive policy by the Government’s and the Development Organizations that would recognize the special role of women in the use and conservation of natural resources.
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Manish Thapa completed a Masters in Peace & Conflict Studies from European University Center for Peace Studies (EPU). He is currently a Founder/Director with the Nepal Peace Initiative Alliance (www.peacenepal.org) and a prestigious Sauvé Scholars at McGill University at Montreal, Canada. He is grateful to Dr. Duman Thapa, Pushkar Lal Shrestha, Dr. Seira Tamang, Niru Shrestha, Dr. Bharat Shrestha and Dr. Ramesh Raj Kunwar for their highly constructive inputs. Email:
[email protected]
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Chapter one 1.1 Introduction Gender relations are the socially determined relations that differentiate male and female situations. People are born biologically as male or female, but have to acquire a gender identity. Gender relations refers to the gender dimensions of the social relations structuring the lives of individual men and women, such as the gender division of labor and gender division of access to and control over resources. This leads to the differentiation of roles that a male and female has to play in the society. Ortner and Ardner in their article, “Belief and the Problem of Women” point out that women are identified as symbolically associated with nature, while men are associated with culture and transcend nature. Since early 1980s, considerable interest has been shown in the relationship between women and the environment, and an effort has been made to identify the effects on women worldwide of the international environmental crises. At the NGO workshop, which ran parallel to the first World Conference on Women in Nairobi (1985), the themes of the women and the environment were coupled for the first time at the policy level. Since then, the issue of women and environment has always played a role in the policies of both donor and developing countries. The process received a further boost in the early 1990s when the Women Action Agenda 21 was drawn up in the follow-up to the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) (Sterling, 1999). UNCED’s Agenda 21 includes many points from the Action Agenda, and women were accorded a specific place in every chapter. This issue was highlighted further when 189 head of States and Government from the North and South, as representatives of their citizens, signed onto the Millennium Declaration at the 2000 UN Millennium Summit, special emphasis is drawn to “Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women” as its third goal, and ‘Ensure Environmental Sustainability’ as its seventh goal, to be achieved by 2015. This Millennium Declaration gave a further boost to the issue of linking Women and Environment at the policy level, to frame the conducive policy, which can be beneficial to each other. The debate on the relation between women and the environment which was launched in the early 80s’ and still continues to this day has had a definite influence on the policy process. Implicit in policy formulation is the assumption that because of women’s great involvement in the use of the environment (particularly in developing countries) and the adverse effects which women experiences as a result of environmental degradation, anything which is good for the environment will automatically benefits women. 1.2 Emerging Theories and Thoughts In the early 1980s, the subjects of women and the environment were already receiving some cautious attention – albeit as separate issues – within the framework of
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development cooperation. Around this time, feminist groups in the western world introduced a new element into the discussion by pointing out the similarities between the domination of men over the women and their domination of nature. The subjugation of women and the domination of nature were caused by the same factor: patriarchy. Moreover, women were purported to have a “special” relationship with the environment. This concept, dubbed as “Eco-feminism,” led to the view that feminist theory should have an ecological perspective and vice versa. Because the activities of women are directly inter-linked with nature, recent development planning incorporates the relevance of gender factors for the patterns of adaptation to change, the welfare impact of changes on the population, and the ramifications for resource management and livelihood generation. Gradually, the discussion about the precise nature of the relationship between women’s work, the environment, and the use of natural resources assumed momentum. There is an abundance of literature, some of which is scholarly and some of which is polemical, on the relationship between women and environment. The debate is polarized between the ‘Women & Environment’ school of thought and ‘an Eco-feminist’ school of thought. The former grew out of a WID (Women in Development) approach to project planning interventions. This concept played an important role in revealing the difference in the responsibilities, activities and authority of men and women in relation to use and management of natural resources. It emphasized the importance of women’s roles as environmental resource managers, their vulnerability to declines in resource availability, and the need to develop environmental programs directed at assisting women, essentially in parallel to, and separately from men’s programs. The Eco-feminist school has a different ideologically driven flavor. It derives from a philosophy of feminism grounded in women’s affinity with the forces of nature, as opposed to men’s urge to control and manipulate the natural world through the application of the scientific method. It similarly advocates respect and support for women’s efforts to conserve the environment. It puts greater stress, however, on the active initiatives displayed by women in defense of environmental resources in various Third World Settings (Shiva, 1989). These observations have since had their impact on development interventions. Women’s involvement in the issue and management of natural resources makes them ideally suited to act as environmental managers. Eco-feminists have pointed out the importance of working with women in environmental impact analyses and environmental interventions and recognizing them as a specific target group in environmental projects. This debate was taken a step further in the South by the Indian economist Bina Agarwal, who summarized her ideas as “feminist environmentalism’. She also emphasized the role of women as ‘critical agent[s] of change’, but observed that the gender differences in the use and management of natural resources were not so much gender-related to certain socially and culturally determined differences in the roles, tasks, rights and duties of men and women. According to Agarwal, the relationship between people and environment is determined by the way in which production, reproduction and distribution are organized
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in a society (given prevailing gender, class and race relations). Central to this view are concepts of ownership of, access to, and the right to use natural resources in combination with the effects of social discrimination. “Hence, insofar as there is a gender and class – based (or also caste-, race-based) division of labor and distribution of property and power, gender and class/race structure people’s interactions with nature and so structure the effects of environmental change on people and their responses to it” (Agarwal, 1992). That women within these socio-economic classes occupy a different position from men, is related to their gender roles and not to an inborn affinity with the environment (Agarwal,1992). Agarwal puts it as follows, “that women support a clean environment because they are concerned about the future of their children is closely linked to their role as careers and not because of their biologically determined sex. If men were to fulfill the same role they would be the ones demanding a cleaner environment for their children” (Agarwal, 1992). The socio-economic position of women is therefore related to their access to and control over resources. Agarwal also makes a distinction between the type and quality of resources, and further draws attention to the diversity within the group “women”. This provides room for a variety of relationships between women and the environment, with the possibility of both complementary and conflicting interests. In attempting to improve gender relationships, attention must be devoted not only to physical circumstances (including the quality and quantity of natural resources), but also to differences in distribution between social groups (age group, patrons and clients, landowners, and the landless) and women themselves. Relationships must then be revealed in all their complexities, between people and between people and the use of natural resources. Efforts must be made to examine the interests that are at stake in relation to a resource and the alternatives that may exist for sustainable development. It is only on the basis of such an analysis that conclusions can be reached as to those who stand to gain or loose by the introduction of specific measures for the better management of natural resources, and a program can be developed which brings the responsibilities and capabilities of men and women together. Any analysis of the use of the resources for the purpose of maintaining and improving management should therefore begin with a social and gender analysis. Though aspects of these emerging thoughts have certain shortcomings, from a “Developmentalist” perspective, we have to overcome the shortcomings of these approaches. We have to recognize that women do have primary responsibility for the use of natural resources and we have to lobby that they are the ones to have the major decision power in terms of their conservation activities, an idea that has been neglected in most of the cases. 1.3 Purpose of the Study The purpose of the study is centralized on the following set objectives.
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1. To examine the women’s special role in protecting bio-diversity and the environmentally sustainable use of natural resources. Chapter Two 2.1 Background The need to maintain biological diversity, the variety of life on earth, is readily apparent in the statistics that show a rapid and unprecedented decline in all types of habitats and, by extrapolation, in the species that reside in them. As habitats degenerate, the benefits deriving from them, such as temperature control, soil production, watershed protection and erosion control, diminishes. Conservationalists have tried a number of different approaches to prevent habitat loss and maintain biological diversity, such as the creation of national parks, wildlife reserves, and other types of protected areas. These efforts are performed with the support of the local people and communities. Integrated programs of conservation and development in cooperation with the local people are the emerging practice in natural resource management programs all around the world. One such stakeholder group of great importance in local communities is women (Sen, 1985). There are great differences between women and men in access to and control over resources; each gender has distinct roles and responsibilities in use and management of resources and in economic and household production (Agarwal, 1986b). Most conservation-led development programs seldom take into the consideration the roles and interests of women in conservation efforts. This chapter explores women’s roles in conservation and development, types of constraints that undermine women’s sustainable use of resources, and women’s integration into such conservation efforts. 2.2 Women’s Work, Poverty, and Conservation Through their economic and household work, poor rural women in developing countries are in daily and year-round contact with the agro-ecological system; they depend on land and water to grow food and on forests for wild foods, medicines, fuel wood, and a host of other products that enables them to generate income or that can be used for household subsistence (Agarwal, 1989). By such sustained interaction with ecological systems, women have a profound impact on it, and in turn, are deeply affected by change in it. There is also evidence that women’s interaction with the natural dependency on the ecological system fosters among some of them the ability to acquire, nurture, and disseminate knowledge and information about natural and biological resources, and about the use of sustained practices and conservation techniques (Sydie, 1994). Alternatively, as poverty and environmental stress increase, poor women’s chronic lack of access to the resources needed for survival and to new information and technology also sometimes results in resource depletion and degradation.
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2.3 Women’s Work and Resource Use The majority of poor women in developing countries are engaged in farming related enterprises such as animal husbandry and fishing, which are highly dependent on the availability and quality of resources such as land, water, forests, and seeds (Agarwal, 1991). Although patterns of participation vary, women play important and sometimes critical roles in household survival through their subsistence and income generating activities. Women also depend on the availability of fodder, trees, grasses, and water for livestock production – to which they contribute labor. This constitutes an important source of income for them. Women use trees and tree products for a wide range of items such as fuel wood, fodder, fibers for clothing and mats, roofing materials, basketry, and medicines to earn income and to meet household needs (Jodha, 1986). Women are also active in the capture and use of wildlife. Although men kill far more large mammals, women help to sight and track them. Women throughout Africa also capture insects, fish, reptiles, birds, bats and rodents. They use insects and insect products extensively for subsistence and cash income. In many parts of the developing world, women are active participants in small-scale fishing enterprises (Jain, 1984). 2.4 Women and Conservation: Knowledge & Practices Although information on gender differences in knowledge and use of local flora and fauna are just beginning to become available, what is known so far shows that women are quite knowledgeable both about the environment and about the natural resource base and its uses. The variety of knowledge women have about forestry, forest products, and plant and tree species is immense and includes the degree of scarcity of products such as fodder, fuel, medicinal plants, resins and dyes, fruits and berries, and nuts and mushrooms; the distance a tree plantation site can be from the village and still allow women to meet work responsibilities at home and on the plantation; and the type of planning required to integrate harvesting and processing of minor forest products with other work responsibilities. Women also have knowledge of the medicinal uses of plants and information on the varieties of wild fruits and plants that are important supplements in the diets of poor rural people, especially during the hungry season. The rapid pace of resource depletion and environmental degradation in developing countries, combined with women’s poverty and limited access to technical information and productive resources poses significant constraints for women. 2.5 Socio-economic & Institutional Constraints on Women The ability of poor women in developing countries to overcome poverty, enhance productivity, and use resources without depleting them is hampered by social and institutional factors that include lack of access to land, credit and education. Women are
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often excluded from membership in the community organizations that make decisions with respect to production and conservation. In addition, women’s multiple economic and household responsibilities impose severe time constraints. Thapa (2002, 2004) points out the following hindering factors: a) Lack of access to land, credit, and education b) Exclusion from organizational membership c) Time constraints d) Policy and program constraints Chapter Three 3.1 Conclusion Traditionally, women have been active participants in both agricultural and forestry components- they have developed a deep affinity towards these resources (Sen & Sen, 1985). Women are an intimate part of nature, both in imagination and in practice. On one level, nature is symbolized as the embodiment of the feminine principal and at another, she is nurtured by the feminine to produce life and provide sustenance. To say that women and nature are intimately associated is not to say anything revolutionary. After all it was precisely just such an assumption that allowed the domination of both women and nature (Jayewardene, 1986). The new insight seen among the rural women in the third world is that women and nature are associated not in passivity but in creativity and in maintenance of life. As we know, women are an underprivileged group. Those facing the biggest threats offer the best promise for survival because they have two kinds of knowledge that are not accessible to dominant and privileged groups. First, they have the knowledge of what it means to be the victims of progress, to be the ones who bear the cost and burdens. Second, they have the holistic and ecological knowledge of what the production and protection of life is all about. They retain the ability to see nature’s life as a precondition for human survival and the integrity of inter-connectedness in nature as a precondition for life. (Shiva 1989). The following changes could be made if women were to be included in the planning and policy making for natural resource management programs: i.
Projects that link women’s economic survival needs with conservation efforts have a great likelihood of success.
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Demonstrating to women producers that their future livelihoods depend on the present use of renewable resources is likely to result in the adoption of sustainable practices and protective action.
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Recognizing the roles of poor women in the economy and the environment, and incorporating this information into the initiation and design of conservation and development projects, can enhance project success.
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iv.
Women cannot be considered a homogenous group of “stakeholders” in the processes of sustainable land use; homogeneity of a group reduces the likelihood of conflicts of interest and thus increases the chance of successful intervention.
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Recognizing, seeking, and incorporating the information and knowledge that women have about the environment, conservation of resources, and biological diversity can result in better-designed projects.
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Intermediary institutions with information technology and economic and political access can help women overcome their chronic lack of access to resources which can constrain their productivity and hamper conservation efforts.
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