Gender stock-taking in the Forestry Department April 2012 Roberta Gentile, Consultant
Gender stock-taking in the Forestry Department
April 2012
Prepared by
Roberta Gentile, Consultant
Contents
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Executive summary
The present exercise studies the gender related work that has been done in the Forestry
Department during the biennium 2010-2011 and examines particularly the extent to which gender issues are involved in the complex and dynamic interaction between people and forests.
Although some of the activities of the Forestry Department are reasonably described as gender neutral, focusing exclusively on forest products, others can be addressed from a socioeconomic and political perspective, therefore providing for a wider range of considerations.
Special attention is dedicated to those sectors with a strong community component, such as community-based enterprise development and watershed management and arid zone forestry.
In this context, it is fundamental to understand the different roles of women and men in society and their specific responsibilities related to forest and natural resources management.
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The use of participatory gender-sensitive methodologies in FAO Forestry programmes can contribute to the achievement of a gender balance in decision making and bring the attention to women’s limited access to and control over forest resources, and their denied tenure rights.
Women’s increased participation in the “male-dominated” forestry sector could be achieved by involving them in capacity building activities and by creating and improving interactions with other sectors.
Moreover, the inclusion of all forest stakeholders, from government authorities, to civil society and the private sector, in the development processes, is an opportunity for considering the voice of women through women’s associations and community based organizations. Good examples on this regard are the partnerships established within the National Forest Programme
Facility (NFP Facility).
This report details the information gathered through interviews with Forestry staff in headquarters and through questionnaires submitted to forestry officers in field offices.
Comments received during consultations with Forestry staff members describe a variety of positions on the relation between gender issues and forestry work.
1 Gender refers to the social roles and relations between men and women. This includes the different responsibilities of women and men in a given culture or location. Unlike the sex of men or women, which is biologically determined, the gender roles of men and women are socially constructed and such roles can change over time and vary according to geographic location and social context. (Gender and Development Plan of Action
2002-2007 Fact Sheet, FAO, 2002)
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The core section is dedicated to those activities where the gender component is most relevant, it could be in projects formulation, implementation and evaluation or in data collection for the purpose of forest resources monitoring and assessment.
In particular, the case studies reported can be examples of good practices where the inclusion of the gender dimension is bringing about benefits in terms of sustainability of project activities and increased ownership, greater participation of the community and forest stakeholders in sustainable forest management, and improvement of national forest programmes.
The recommendations section highlights what steps could be undertaken to enhance the contribution of the Forestry Department to the promotion of gender equality.
2 Main recommendations are:
1.
Strengthen management commitment to the inclusion of gender issues in programme and project design
2.
Establish a targeted capacity building plan to ensure staff have the necessary tools and knowledge to integrate gender issues in their work
3.
Use existing tools related to gender issues in forestry
4.
Link the promotion of gender equality to the achievement of FAO Strategic Objectives
5.
Strengthen the links between technical aspects and socio-economic and political impact of forest management
6.
Target gender issues in field projects where appropriate
7.
Take into consideration the gender dimension in data gathering and analysis
8.
Encourage the inclusion of gender issues in climate change adaptation plans
9.
Mainstream gender issues in initiatives of the Mountain Partnership
10.
Foster the involvement of women’s groups/associations in all phases of the project cycle
11.
Enhance the collaboration with the Gender, Equity and Rural Employment Division (ESW)
12.
Improve inter-sectoral collaboration and increase interdisciplinary work
13.
Share more widely and make more visible gender related work in the Forestry
Department
14.
Update the gender webpage and improve communication
15.
Promote gender balance in images present in Forestry publications
2 Gender equality is when women and men enjoy equal rights, opportunities and entitlements in civil and political life. For FAO, gender equality is equal participation of women and men in decision-making, equal ability to exercise their human rights, equal access to and control of resources and the benefits of development, and equal opportunities in employment and in all other aspects of their livelihoods. (FAO Gender website, 2012)
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Include gender considerations in technical guidelines developed by the Department as appropriate.
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Introduction
Over the past years, increasing attention has been drawn on the implication of gender issues within the diverse areas of competence of FAO. Gender is most commonly defined as a cross-cutting sector, meaning that most of the interventions falling under the Organization’s mandate are affected by the existing gender relations. Wherever FAO tries to have an impact on the social and economic well being of people and attempts to free them from hunger and malnutrition, gender relationships must be taken into consideration as one of the key elements and, at the same time, as a fundamental tool to enhance people’s livelihoods, for instance, through a better use of natural resources.
Starting from inputs received from the Independent External Evaluation of 2007, the Strategic
Framework 2010-2019 3 includes the Strategic Objective K (SO-K) 4 - BOX 1-, which highlights the importance of addressing the gender dimension in all aspects of FAO work, from policy formulation and project implementation to data collection and programme evaluation.
BOX.1.
Strategic Objective K - Gender equity in access to resources, goods, services and decision-making in the rural areas
Relevance
The Objective addresses the critical gaps in embracing more gender and socially inclusive policies, capacities, institutions and programmes for agriculture and rural development.
It also helps to mainstream this approach across all of FAO’s Strategic Objectives.
Organizational Results
K1 - Rural gender equality is incorporated into UN policies and joint programmes for food security, agriculture and rural development.
K2 - Governments develop enhanced capacities to incorporate gender and social equality issues in agriculture, food security and rural development programmes, projects and policies using sexdisaggregated statistics, other relevant information and resources.
K3 - Governments are formulating gender-sensitive, inclusive and participatory policies in agriculture and rural development.
K4 - FAO management and staff have demonstrated commitment and capacity to address gender dimensions in their work.
3 Strategic Framework 2010-2019, FAO, 2009
4 SOK: Gender equity in access to resources, goods, services and decision-making in the rural areas.
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The Strategic Framework focuses on forestry when it identifies the Strategic Objective E- (SO-E)
“Sustainable management of forests and trees”, but in section I – The Challenges facing food, agriculture and rural development – it also points out that forestry has become more peoplecentered and stresses the interaction with other sectors and the critical role of forests in climate change mitigation and adaptation, bio-energy production, and biodiversity conservation.
The importance of including all forests stakeholders in the process of achieving an effective and sustainable forest management has gained major recognition and has subsequently called for increasing participation of all forestry actors, institutions as well as civil society.
In 2011 two comprehensive documents, the “Gender Audit” and the “Evaluation of FAO’s role and work related to gender and development”, have been completed and released. This shows
FAO recognition of the need to more effectively promote gender equality through all its programmes, and to give visibility and ensure gender mainstreaming 5 throughout the
Organization.
The present stock-taking stems from the recommendations of the “Gender Audit” 6 and aims at moving from the “Gender and Development Evaluation” to conduct an in-house assessment of gender related work done in the Forestry Department during the last biennium (2010-2011).
The chosen timeframe limits considerably the range of activities under examination; however this allows having a snap-shot of the current situation which could be easily compared with similar exercises that are presently undertaken by other departments and with possible future exercises in the Forestry Department itself.
The gender-stock taking not only identifies good practices and gaps, but it is also a window of opportunity to raise awareness on gender issues and on possibilities for contributing to the promotion of gender equality.
It is worth mentioning that in 2011, FAO has also been working on the “FAO Policy on Gender
Equality” 7 . The Gender Audit and the Gender and Development Evaluation recommended FAO
5 Gender mainstreaming is the globally recognized strategy for achieving gender equality and is defined by the
United Nations as the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action in all areas and at all levels. (FAO Gender website, 2012)
6 Recommendation 7: It is recommended that ESW staff working on SO K take stock of the gender work that is ongoing within FAO with a view to identifying priorities, lessons and successful practices.(Gender Audit, FAO,2009)
7 Draft FAO Policy on Gender Equality, December 2011
11 to develop a gender policy to provide FAO with a framework to guide its work on gender equality in its technical work and facilitate in the assessment of results. The document was launched on 8 March 2012, the International Women’s Day, and contains specific references on roles and responsibilities at all levels from staff to Director General and Programme Committee
(FAO Gender Policy Accountability Framework) and indications on the division of responsibilities for implementing FAO gender equality minimum standards.
Once approved, the FAO Policy on Gender Equality could become a solid point of reference to guide all Departments of the Organization towards a more effective contribution to ensure that
FAO systematically addresses the gender dimensions in its normative and technical work.
Methodology
The gender stock taking has been carried out at Departmental level and tries to assess the ongoing work related to the promotion of gender equality in both the technical aspects of the department and those more related to the social, political and economic spheres. The Forest
Assessment, Management and Conservation Division and the Forest Economics, Policy, and
Products Division are both dealing with gender issues, although in a very different way and their staff members have a diverse sensitivity towards it.
Besides the above mentioned divisions, the Forestry Information and Liaison Unit was also consulted, for it plays a major role in ensuring that gender issues are properly tackled and visible and in reducing gender biases in forestry work.
The methodology used comprised both face-to-face interviews and focus group discussions with team leaders and other staff members based in headquarters, and questionnaires sent by email to field offices. Both the list of issues for discussion during headquarters interviews
(Annex 1) and questionnaires sent to Regional, Sub-Regional and Country Offices (Annex 2) are based on the “Guidelines for Gender stock taking in FAO” produces by the Gender, Equity and
Rural Employment Division (ESW, 2011).
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The following table summarizes the list of teams consulted with interviews and focus group discussions in FAO headquarters.
Forest Assessment, Management and
Conservation Division (FOM)
Mountain Partnership
Watershed Management
Forest Resources Management
FAO/Finnish Programme
National Forest Monitoring & Assessment
Climate Change
Global Forest Resources Management
Forest Economics, Policy and Products
Division (FOE)
National Forest Programme Facility
Forest Policy team
Participatory Forestry
Community-based Forest Enterprise
Development
Forest Law Enforcement, Governance &
Trade Support Programme
Forest Products Team
Forest Economics Team
In addition to staff consultation, the stock-taking consisted also in literature review covering the gender dimension of the different technical area of the Forestry Department. Documents review included policies, guidelines, reports and projects documentations that were identified through the interview process and that were produced or consistently used in the time frame under examination, namely the biennium 2010-2011.
Being an in-house exercise, the stock-taking followed the directions of staff and is meant to provide a picture of the awareness and sensitivity, interests and concerns around gender issues at departmental level.
In addition to the recommendations presented at the end of the report, it is also recommended to have an in dept analysis of specific activities related to gender and forestry, in particular those described in section 5, in order to be able to better assess the results achieved and explore further opportunities for promoting gender equality.
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Results/ Outcome: Consultation with Forestry staff members
Relevance of gender issues in the work of the Forestry Department
Although no consensus exists about the relevance of integrating gender issues in the work of
Forestry Department as a whole, all staff interviewed seemed interested in participating to the gender stock taking and in looking at their work through gender lenses. However, some of the sectors within Forestry are by their nature gender neutral and staff speaks about integrating gender issues as something good in principles but not affecting them directly.
A point that has been raised frequently is that gender issues should be integrated and gender equality should be promoted whenever it is possible, but this should not be included in areas where it is not relevant. In project formulation, for instance, the gender component should be included only when it is fundamental and not only for the sake of project approval. Some staff believes that if all projects are expected to tackle gender issues, those interventions with a real gender focus will lose importance.
While most of the Forestry staff show personal interest and curiosity towards gender issues, this is generally not considered a priority and therefore not tackled. Some of the reasons outlined include lack of time and budget and poor managerial support. Some colleagues mentioned the fact that they could select “Gender” as one of the areas of focus in work planning. However they are afraid that this will remain in the intent phase because no concrete guidance is provided on how to include gender issues in Forestry activities and those commitments risk to be left without application.
Difficulties and approaches for promoting gender equality
For those who are willing to contribute to the promotion of gender equality, the problem is the lack of specific and adequate tools to include gender issues in all aspects of their work. Possible solutions identified were: rediscover manuals and guidelines produced and used in the past; necessary support and guidance provided by Forestry Management on which activities are expected to include the gender component and how; seminar organized by the Gender, Equity and Rural Employment Division (ESW). Also field staff feels they could improve their contribution with the support of a gender expert for liaison and reporting.
Only a few staff members are committed to advocate for the gender cause, while others believe that they should be told to include it and how to do so in their work, which is essentially centered on technical issues. That is to say that a kind of “top-down enforcement” to include gender issues is by some felt as the only way to really make a difference. On the other end,
14 others feel that a prescriptive approach, such as that taken in the draft gender policy, will not achieve its purpose because staff will adopt the gender issue out of conviction because they are obliged to.
Constraints to including the gender dimension
A key element to take into consideration is the fact that the Forestry Department works mostly with FAO-United Nations member states, which means governments. Therefore the work is mainly related to institutional counterparts’ needs and what is perceived as priority and as forestry specific field of work, which sometimes encompasses a limited range of interventions.
FAO can never impose its principles to local actors; it could merely influence some decisions and propose guidelines. For example, all staff interviewed that had among project activities seminars or workshops tried to ensure equal participation of men and women, however FAO could advise to have a gender balance but the final decision is not under FAO control.
As decisions and priorities are set at Government level, also when it comes to partnerships and civil society involvement in programme implementation, FAO can only make recommendations for a more inclusive process but cannot endanger the relationship with local institutions or the overall outcome of the projects.
Some staff members believe that a grass-root approach is not always possible to achieve and considerable differences exist between countries according to the specific socio-political context. Consequently FAO has sometimes limited leeway and has to adapt to different and changing circumstances.
On the other hand, when some donors explicitly demand for gender issues to be more integrated in Forestry work, the commitments need to be concretized because of the necessity of funding. What came out from most of the interviewees is that Forestry used to do much more before, and this could be due to the presence of more Trust Funds support in the past 8
(e.g. Community Forestry Unit).
8 Some important examples of publications related to gender and forestry produced in the past include the following: “Gender Analysis and Forestry- International Training Package”, FAO- Forest, Trees and People
Programme, 1995. At cross-sectoral level: Gender and Agriculture Source Book (Module 15. Gender and Forestry,
FAO, 2008). At regional/country level: “Gender mainstreaming in forestry in Africa - Regional report”, FAO, 2007;
“Guía metodológica pala el diseño de políticas de desarrollo con enfoque de género en la región Amazónica”,
Venezuela 1999; La aplicación del enfoque de género- Una herramienta para su validación en proyectos de desarrollo forestal comunitario, Ecuador, 1998
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Gender issues are part of the social and economic spheres and some of Forestry colleagues do not believe they could include them in their work which is instead related to wood products and not to people and livelihoods.
Benefits of including the gender component
Only staff already with an interest in the topic believes that by targeting specifically women, activities could have a greater and long term impact, but those with a more technical background don’t see any benefit. Officers which had more frequent exposure to community work, have no doubts that gender relations are one of the key elements to take into consideration in all phases of the field work, and that by doing so the project will achieve better results.
Including women in programme implementation is seen as a step towards the full involvement of the community and not as a result to be obtained by itself. Women are rarely targeted purposely and are often considered as a vulnerable group, together with indigenous peoples.
Meaning that in case of emergency and crisis they are supposed to be more negatively affected by change in resource availability or deterioration of living conditions.
For those who are more gender-sensitive, the inclusion of gender issues is not obvious and this is why it is so crucial to give voice to the promotion of gender equality. The participation of women, often guardians of natural resources and with important chores related to collection of some forest products and their selling, needs to be stimulated at all levels. In fact women are the ones who are dealing with the daily management of natural resources and involved in activities such as tree nurseries establishment, plantations, gum harvesting and farming and they are very accountable.
In general, officers working in the field are more conscious of the gender implications of their work. They are particularly sensitive to gender issues which are considered as crucial factors in the planning phase as well as in the implementation of the activities and in the identification of partnerships. However, field staff underlines the difficulty to have statistics with data disaggregated by sex at national level, where FAO cannot have a direct implication.
Gender vs. Women
While it is very frequent that in developing countries women are the underrepresented and silent group and therefore special attention is dedicated to their involvement, it has to be clarified that considering gender issues in project activities does not necessarily mean an increased focus on women. In fact, there are cases where most of participants in meetings and workshops are women, and the participation of men should be instead encouraged. Similarly
16 men could be targeted by project activities in a context where they are more vulnerable due to difficult social environments.
Forestry vs. Forests
Some clarifications need to be done regarding the difference between the terms Forestry and
Forests. The first term is referred to the sector which is “male dominated” both in developed and developing countries, while the latter includes all systems and social and economic structures that derive from the forest and its resources.
The fact that the majority of professionals in the forestry sector are male could be overcome by linking Forestry to other sectors and making it a broader and more inclusive sector (e.g. agroforestry). A more cross-sectoral approach would allow the involvement of women, with a less technical role, for instance in the planning and evaluation phase and use the existing interdependence with other fields to strengthen the interdisciplinary aspects of forestry work.
By fostering the participation of women in forestry workshops and seminars, the Forestry
Department aims also at creating a new proactive generation of female forestry professionals who could also become facilitators in future workshops providing an additional value to this field. The fact that women are often undervalued in the work place and do not have equal access to promotion and recruitment opportunities in the forestry sector is also stressed by some field officers.
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When it comes to Forests and its resources, the role of women and gender relations should be studied to understand the implications of access to and control over forest resource, resources management and women’s function in the production and economic chain. Information acquired in this regard, for instance through a stakeholder analysis, will facilitate the implementation phase and ensure the sustainability of the programmes. It should be specified that women should be included in decision-making at all levels in a fully participatory process which involves all members of the society, but it is commonly understood that FAO activities are not meant to change existing traditional practices. Wherever women are traditionally engaged in a particular forest activity (e.g. collection of medicinal plants in some regions), their role should be valued and emphasized, while women’s contribution in other possible male dominated activities should not be forced in case this could have a negative effect in the
9 On this regard, the establishment of the Caribbean Professional Women in Forestry Network should be particularly commended. This was one of the outcomes of the first symposium on “Women in Forestry in the
Caribbean” held in Tobago in October 2011. The symposium was hosted by the Forestry Division of Trinidad and
Tobago under the auspices of the Ministry of Housing and the Environment and FAO.
17 balance of gender relations existing in the community. This rationale it’s applicable also to particular cultures and traditions that assign different responsibilities to individuals according not only to the sex but also to the age of the person.
Project formulation and assessment
One of the questions asked during the interviews was about the inclusion of the gender component in project formulation. Only a few interviewees have been involved in project design but they seemed to be aware of the fact that gender is one of the criteria used when planning, approving and evaluating projects proposals. In order to comply with these criteria, a standard formulation is usually included in the project document stating how this is going to involve women and how they will benefit from project activities, not taking into account the difficulties which could be encountered during implementation due to the socio-cultural context where the project will be implemented.
In addition to this, normally no gender indicators are foreseen to assess the project’s impact on gender equality or on women’s well-being, making it difficult to assess the relevance of the project in terms of promotion of gender equality. Other colleagues, instead, refer that while data disaggregated by sex is mostly available in project field implementation and performance indicators, this is not systematically done in cases of workshops and normative work.
Role of Gender Focal Point
Finally it is perceived that the Gender Focal Point (GFP) needs to have precise Terms of
Reference which will enable a clearer and more comprehensive role to advocate for the promotion of gender equality. Some staff didn’t know who was the Gender Focal Point in the
Forestry Department and others recalled that before there was a GFP in their division so they knew a bit more about it.
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10 Among the Institutional Mechanisms for Implementation and Oversight, the Draft FAO Gender Policy outlines the following: “All Gender Focal Points are appointed from senior staff; have written terms of reference; at least 20 per cent of their time is allocated to GFP functions and tracked in the PEMS system. Special funds are allocated to support gender focal point networking.” (Draft FAO Policy on Gender Equality, December 2011)
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Gender related work in the Forestry Department
This section describes the gender-related work across the Forestry Department identified during the stock-taking exercise. The activities described below refer mainly to work carried out in the 2010-2011 biennium. The idea was to provide a snapshot of current gender-related work in the Department or a baseline against which to assess future work. Reference is also made to materials developed previously that are still in use in the department (e.g. manuals or guidelines. The case studies reported in this section are examples of good practice of how the gender dimension can be incorporated into the work of the Forestry Department and illustrate that the gender dimension is important in forestry.
National Forest Programme Facility
The National Forest Programme Facility (nfp-Facility) has played a very important role since
2002 in involving all stakeholders in the forest policy process. Hosted by FAO, the Programme was created in response to the demand by many governments for support to implement their national forest programme addressing the forest sector issues through a cross-sectoral and decentralized approach.
In particular civil society associations were encouraged to participate with grants in the formulation process as well as in the very implementation of the activities. The added value provided by local inputs to the national policy decision makers has positive and multiplier effects on the sustainability of the projects and the ownership of the results achieved.
Through the Growing Forest Partnership, the NFP Facility creates a network of local, national and international actors and ensures a global discussion around forests that gives voice not only to institutional entities but also to private sector and civil society through an inclusive approach.
During the past ten years, the NFP Facility has advocated for the inclusion of the most marginalized groups and for a joint governmental programme across the sectors, not only forestry but also water, energy and agriculture, linking forest management to climate change and good governance.
The third phase of the NFP Facility starting in 2013 will see the Facility renewing its commitment to sensitize governments to the need of adequate participation, facilitate the partnerships amongst smallholders, local communities and indigenous peoples and improve
19 their access to financing and investments. Those partnerships will also support national and sub-national governments to establish multi-sectoral government platforms and therefore enhance coordination of all stakeholders.
The new phase of the NFP Facility foresees a greater support at community level with local people involved to organise and engage with forest policy and providing local experience and perspectives in decision-making about sustainable landscape management across all sectors.
Case studies
Listed below, there are a few examples of Partnership Agreements established between the
Facility and the partner countries, within the timeframe taken into consideration, where the implementing organization was a women association and/or where women where targeted as main beneficiaries of the activities.
NFP Facility Partnership- Sudan
The first Partnership Agreement between the NFP Facility and Sudan was signed in 2004 and then renewed in 2010 with the major objective to reorient the nfp process on the basis of important policy changes and new constitutional directives affecting the forestry sector. Among these, a call for wider participation of all stakeholders and land-based sectors in the national forest programme process has emerged and civil society involvement was needed to boost participation.
In October 2011 the Babiker Badri Scientific Association for Women Studies 11 , an association that intends to enhance women’s status towards equality, empowerment, development and full realization of their human capacity, was selected as one of the implementing actors for the
NFP Facility Parnership in Sudan. Activities aim at utilizing the media to make the public, and in particular women, aware of the importance of Sustainable Forest Management, including impact on their livelihoods and the role of forest and trees in mitigation of climate change.
NFP Facility Partnership- Zimbabwe
The Partnership Agreement between the NFP Facility and Zimbabwe was signed in 2009 to assist in the development of a national forestry policy in order to incorporate the land reform programme, increase the community participation in forest resources management, enhance
11 In November 2007 the association organized a training and awareness raising activities for village women about environmental conservation, tree planting, forestry and non-wood forest products in the Lower River Atbara, River
Nile State of Sudan
20 the integration of forestry into national poverty reduction strategies, and create a broad framework for inter-institutional collaboration and coordination on forestry issues.
Within this context, since August 2011, the Lusumpuko Trust has started activities with the objective to support studies on gender mainstreaming in Forestry. These comprised, for instance, literature review, development of field data collection and quality control tools based on participatory techniques and appropriate analysis packages.
NFP Facility Partnership- El Salvador
The Partnership between the NFP Facility and El Salvador was formally established in 2007 to support the implementation and monitoring of National Forest Strategy of El Salvador (EFSA) and facilitate its plan of establishing a mechanism for stakeholders’ participation.
The activities taken into consideration for the present study started in April 2010 and are implemented by a women organization called Movimiento Salvadoreño de Mujeres. The project objective is to strengthen the capacity of the community organizations in San Juan del Gozo and
Sisiguayo to manage and preserve forest resources in protected areas located in the southwestern part of Bahía de Jiquilisco.
NFP Facility Partnership- United Republic of Tanzania
The first Partnership Agreement between Tanzania and the NFP Facility was signed in 2002 to promote the involvement of the private sector and civil society organizations (CSO) in
Tanzania's national forest programme implementation. The gender component has been present since 2004-2005, when the National Forest Programme Facility Project commissioned the study on gender relation and the level of Women Involvement in Forestry Activities (WIFA).
The main objective of the study was to review women’s involvement in forestry sector including their roles and legal rights in order to improve their participation and welfare as stipulated in the National Forestry Programme (NFP) 2001-2010.
In February 2010 a new phase of the Partnership has started having as implementing organization the Tanzania Association of Women Leaders in Agriculture and Environment.
Activities focus on the review of women involvement in the forestry sector including their roles and legal rights to promote their participation in the sector.
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Community-based forest enterprise development
Community-based forest management encompasses the management of forests and forest resources by local people, for commercial purposes or household use. Through this programme, FAO assists people living on forests and relying on its resources for food, fuel, fodder, and medicines. Participatory methodologies are used to establish community-based tree and forest product enterprises which will help also in the protection and sustainable management of those resources.
Women’s involvement is felt necessary as they contribute significantly to local enterprises activities. Their representation is fostered also by working with women’s groups.
Case study
Mobilisation et renforcement des capacités des petites et moyennes entreprises impliquées dans
les filières des produits forestiers non ligneux en Afrique Centrale (GCP/RAF/408/EC)
The project is illustrative of the extent to which the gender component is crucial to the community-based forest enterprise development work.
The countries of Central Africa involved are Cameroon and Democratic Republic of Congo
(RDC).
The project targets all actors, the majority of whom are women, directly involved in the management of forest resources and in the utilization of forest products. In this context, people engaged in the collection, processing and trade of the non timber forest products are mainly women of disadvantaged rural groups.
12 Hence women are identified as direct beneficiaries of project activities, aiming also at enhancing the professionalization of local populations.
The key role of women in the NTFP trade is underlined in the project documents and the importance of gender issues and their relation to inequality in poverty, is taken into account as a decisive socio institutional component in the evaluation of NTFP market chains.
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The project takes into consideration the gender component also in the data collection, specifying the sex of participants in trainings, which were 71% women, while community leaders where 10 women and 13 men in the 49 pilot communities selected.
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12 94 % of traders in Cameroon wetlands are women (FAO, 2005)
13 Valuation of Non-Timber Forest Product Chains in the Congo Basin- A Methodology for Valuation, June 2009
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With regard to the socio-economic impact of the project, 40% of the small and medium enterprises established are managed by women, and expected result of the project is also the credit sale of machinery for mango processing to women.
In the framework of the project, a good example of an activity with a significant gender focus is the production of honey in the provinces of lower Congo and Kinshasa.
15 The study produced stresses that women have a major role in securing the revenues and in particular in the planning and transporting of the apiaries. Moreover a women association, AFEBO, Association des Femmes de Boko, was involved in the selling of the product.
It is also acknowledged that the increasing participation of women in this sector could be an opportunity for their empowerment.
Market Analysis & Development (M A & D)
The objective of the Market Analysis & Development approach is to assist people living in rural communities to develop enterprises. It is underlined that enterprise development should not increase the inequalities between man and women, but instead a gender balance should be ensured throughout the MA &D process.
16 The Market Analysis & Development is a gender
“friendly” participatory tool. The leading principle is the active participation of local people who are dependent on forest resources from the identification and planning of forest enterprises to the sustainable use and management of forest environments. The MA & D process takes into consideration issues of gender balance recognizing that women’s potential is not always valued.
Special attention is therefore drawn on women as key actors in community economic systems.
MA&D provides a flexible framework to guide entrepreneurs, individuals or groups, in planning and developing their product-based enterprises and provides suggestions for including both men and women in a fully participatory process. Thanks to the MA&D activities women have opportunities to discuss among them and with men major issues affecting all the community and advocate for their priorities.
In addition to all these considerations, the project location is sometimes selected considering the presence of organized women’s groups who could be further empowered with the development income-generating activities for women.
14 Rapport d’avancement du projet GCP/RAF/408/EC Janvier-Décembre 2010, FAO, January 2011
15 Etude de base de la filière miel dans les provinces dus Bas Congo et de Kinshasa (RDC)
16 Community-based tree and forest product enterprises: Market Analysis and Development Manual, FAO, 2011
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Forest Products
The development of small enterprises, particularly those managed by women, is related to the use of non-wood forest products (NWFP), which is an important area of forest management related both to the conservation of natural resources and to the improvement of food security of people living in forest surroundings. The NWFP programme focuses on the gathering, analysis and dissemination of information; appraisal of NWFP socio-economic contributions to rural development; networking and technical assistance.
The complexity of the sector derives from the variety of landscapes and cultural patterns that characterize the communities in different regions of the world. Hence the role of women in
NWFP activities differs substantially also within the same country.
Often women are responsible of fodder and fuel wood collection, and contribute to family income through processing of tree and forest products activities.
In Bangladesh women typically make bamboo products and collect raw materials, while the marketing is carried out by men. In the Sahel region women sustain their livelihoods by collecting shea nuts used in confectionery and natural cosmetics. During the process of honey production in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), women play an important role in planning post-harvest activities and in transporting beehives.
17 Moreover women, together with children, are frequently involved in the gathering of edible insects in forests and areas surrounding the village. These are then consumed by the family or sold in local markets.
Both men and women participate in the collection and processing of forest resources. However, studies from Latin America, Asia and Africa confirm that usually women specialize in products for direct household use, while men tend to specialize in the harvest of forest products for sale and generate the greatest income.
18 In fact, with regard to the gender differentiation of roles in rural livelihoods, it is interesting to note that women from poor households are generally responsible for family subsistence.
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17 “Non-wood News- An information bulletin on Non-Wood Forest Products”, FAO, April 2011
18 Gender gap: data disaggregated by sex is not always available as NWFP is an informal sector.
19 “Non-wood News- An information bulletin on Non-Wood Forest Products”, FAO, November 2011
24
Participatory Forestry
Through the participatory forestry approaches FAO tries to include all stakeholders in multiple aspects of forest management, decision making, and policy formulation processes. By definition the gender component has a strong influence in the implementation of the activities at country level. Field programmes purposely try to include representatives of those groups most affected by forestry such as small informal forest enterprises and women.
20 Through the participatory forestry approach, the Forestry Department collaborates extensively with the National Forest
Programme Facility providing capacity building tools (e.g. training manuals) used to enhance and promote the active participation of local communities. One of those is focused on conflict management and aims at involving in consensual negotiation all actors, namely government agencies, civil society, forest users and the private sector, who have often divergent interests on forest management. Creating a broad debate around forest issues, and enabling all stakeholders to resolve issues in a participatory way will minimize the emergence of conflicts and strengthen the impact of national forest programmes.
According to the training guidelines, one of the aspects to be carefully considered in the selection of participants is a balanced representation of female participants. Also in the selection of trainees, efforts are made to achieve a balance in terms of gender.
However, while a conscious effort is made to achieve a gender balance, this is not always possible especially when working with governments under regular programme. In these cases
FAO can only provide guidance but cannot have complete control over the process of selection of participants.
Case study
Initiating Participatory Forestry in Afghanistan for Sustainable Livelihood (GCP/AFG/052/GER)
The project targets rural communities, both men and women, living in three districts of Balkh
(Shulgarah, Dehedadi and Marmul) and involved in the conservation and sustainable management of natural forest and other natural resources.
The objective of the project is to create livelihood opportunities and improve the quality of life of the rural population, including women, by supporting them in planting forest trees and building their capacities for managing their natural resources. The activities of the project focus on capacity building, production of forest plants in home based nurseries, agro-forestry,
20 “Enhancing Stakeholder Participation in National Forest Programmes: A Training Manual”, FAO, 2010
25 establishment of forest plantation, management of native forests, soil conservation work, and formation of terraces and pits.
The project is implemented in an area that has been frequently affected by draught and conflict, and where subsequently population is living below poverty line and unable to get education. Given the attitudes and perceptions about gender roles in the area, women are strongly marginalized and their responsibilities and rights are subjugated under the male dominated society.
The study on women empowerment 21 carried out in the framework of the project outlines the most important aspects of the project related to the promotion of gender equality and the improvement of women’s capabilities.
The project has a crucial gender component that is concretized in the following interventions:
Mobilization of women in pilot sites for formation of Female Forest Management
Committees (FFMCs).
Capacity building of women in raising forest nurseries.
Providing inputs to female nursery growers in raising home based nurseries.
Ensure participation of women in field level Participatory Reflection and Action workshops.
The gender mainstreaming of project activities, in a context where women have restricted mobility in their villages, no women are leading their own family business or working in private sector, has been achieved through a culturally sensitized social mobilization strategy which suggested reaching women through permission from men (e.g. male Forest Management
Committee members were consulted before approaching women and forming the FFMC).
According to the study, from a women empowerment perspective, the success of the project is not just limited to the establishment of home based nurseries and generation of income for women, but it is in the realization of a women coordinating forum with multifunctional roles on women development matters. This could represent a starting point of a process that will lead to a change in the attitude of women and men in the communities.
21 “Initiating Women Empowerment in Northern Afghanistan- a case study on women empowerment from Balkh,
Afghanistan”, Rashida Faquiry, National Natural Resources District Assistant FAO Forestry Project, Balkh Province,
June 2010
26
Watershed Management
Watershed management comprises all the aspects of life occurring within the geographical area drained by a water course (e.g. when rain or melting snow drains downhill into a river, lake, dam, estuary, wetland, sea or ocean).
22 Due to this “landscape approach”, watershed can range from very small farm micro watersheds to larger watersheds such as river basins. The community component is very strong in watershed management programmes because these deal with the population living in the identified area and their sustainable use of watershed resources.
Watershed management is connected to human populations’ dynamics, including demographic aspects regarding the people living in the area and the changes in socio economic compositions. This could be caused by migrations or by changes in the natural growth of the population (e.g. number of successful pregnancy and women’s reproductive life).
Women’s participation is one of the key dimensions to be considered in integrated and participatory watershed management and gender balance in decision making processes has been introduced among the key elements of the guidelines for the next generation of watershed management programmes.
23
In West Africa, for instance, the Niger Trans boundary Watershed Management Programme, set to combat hydrological erosion, adopts a participatory, gender sensitive approach, aimed at strengthening local stakeholders’ responsibilities and involving them in rehabilitation activities.
Expected outputs of the programme include also women’s empowerment through income generating activities and literacy.
24
Case study
Project to assist the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) and its partners in restoring livelihoods in the earthquake-affected areas of Pakistan
( OSRO/PAK/701/SWE PROJECT)
The damage assessment carried out after the earthquake identified women and children as the most affected by the devastation. The post-earthquake situation has resulted in increased out-
22 “Why invest in watershed management?”, FAO, 2007
23 The Sassari Declaration, 2003
24 “The New Generation of Watershed Management Programmes and Projects” , FAO, 2006
27 migration of the male labour force, leaving behind mainly women with huge responsibilities of reconstruction, farming and caring for children, orphans and disabled.
25
Within this context, one of the expected medium-term outcomes of the project is to at least restore the livelihoods of earthquake-affected people to pre-earthquake levels through a community-based development approach and in a gender sensitive and environmentally friendly manner.
Throughout its interventions, the project focuses on gender mainstreaming through collecting gender disaggregated data, ensuring that men’s and women’s priorities are both identified in the community livelihood rehabilitation planning process, addressing specific gender issues related to the more vulnerable position of women as widows or as carers of disabled and orphans, and ensuring that agencies involved in rehabilitation take into account gender issues when planning, supporting, implementing and monitoring livelihood rehabilitation interventions.
26
To this end, women have been targeted specifically in project activities such as small enterprise development, livestock management and kitchen gardening. With regard to the need to support participation of women in decision making processes, women have been involved in local watershed committees (approximately four female members in a 10-12 members committee).
In addition to this, trainings on participatory and gender sensitive planning and development techniques are organized for livelihood managers, coordinators and officers in the framework of capacity building of local authorities.
Mountain development
The role played by women in the sustainable use of mountain resources is vital. The living situation of mountain women is challenging and their access to education and health care is not
25 Project Document
26 This will be addressed through linkages with other projects supporting ERRA (e.g. the CIDA-funded project
“Gender Equality Technical Assistance to ERRA”)
28 always possible, not only due to local traditions and cultural beliefs, but also because of isolation of mountain areas.
27
Although women in many cases do not hold ownership and tenure rights and lack decision making power and economic independence, they are greatly involved in mountain work. In addition to agricultural and livestock tasks, mountain women are also responsible for the collection of water, fuel wood and fodder, the preparation of food and the care of children.
Women become heads of households when men leave the mountain community to lowland cities or even to move to another country. When men migrate, women face heavier workloads and it is difficult for them to maintain agricultural infrastructures (e.g. terraces of irrigation channels) which are labour intensive and time consuming activities. Therefore the impact of migration on mountain livelihoods is a key aspect to be studied.
In these circumstances, women need to maintain farms and households, and participate in small-scale trade and income earning activities. However, they rarely are given title to farmland, which is often required to access loans, subsides and other forms of assistance. As a consequence of the outmigration of men, women face greater hardship.
Mountain Partnership
The Mountain Partnership is a platform, comprising governments, civil society, intergovernmental organizations and the private sector, 28 collaborating at national, regional and global level to promote international negotiations on mountain issues.
One of the initiatives supported by the partnership members focuses specifically on gender, as a cross-cutting concern affecting sustainable mountain development.
It is indeed recognized that women have a crucial role in mountain development for they are guardians of local resources and knowledge and that the “feminization of poverty” is a common feature of mountain areas.
27 In some cases, women living in isolated mountain regions have more freedom of movement and independence in decision-making than those living in lowlands or urban areas where religious beliefs have a stronger influence.
28 Members of the Mountain Partnership are also two women organizations, namely the Akwapim Mountain
Women’s Forum and Women Organization for Change in Agricultural an NRM
29
The Gender Initiative 29 seeks to ensure that gender equality is mainstreamed in mountain development policy and action. Its first workshop was held in 2004 in Rome and was followed by a special session on this topic at the Cusco Conference 30 the same year. Follow-up actions of the Conference included also a position paper to enhance understanding of gender-related issues in mountain development and to show the added value of integrating the gender perspective in mountain development; the production of a leaflet/brochure to present the
Gender Initiative’s approach; and improved cooperation with the other Mountain Partnership initiatives.
Finally the International Conference "Women of the Mountains" was held in Orem, Utah, in
March 2007. The final outcome of the Conference was ‘The Orem Declaration of Mountain
Women’. This highlighted the importance of empowering mountain women, and their crucial role for forest and environmental conservation and pointed out that achieving gender equality is at the core of improving the overall welfare in mountain regions.
After the first promising steps, the Mountain Partnership did not organize follow-up events focusing specifically on the promotion of gender equality, but moved the attention towards other issues, such as climate change.
Case study
Fortalecimiento de la gestión participativa para el desarrollo sostenible de los Andes
The project aims at contributing to the sustainable development of the Andes, to the conservation of the environment and natural resources and the enhancement of living conditions of people living in the Andes. This is obtained through the establishment or improvement of mechanisms for sustainable mountain development at national and regional level and though the formulation of a joint regional plan of action.
Given the relation of the project with mountain communities, the project foresees a consultancy to assist in including properly the aspect of gender in the conclusions and agreements established at country level.
29 The creation of the Gender Initiative is in line with the Thimphu Declaration, endorsed during the Celebrating
Mountain Women conference in Thimphu, Bhutan, October 1-4, 2002. The Declaration was submitted to the
Bishkek Global Summit (BGMS 2002)
30 Second Global Meeting of the Mountain Partnership (Cusco- Peru, 28-29 October)
30
The gender consultant will help to incorporate the gender perspective in techniques and methodology for national assessments as well as in the plan of action.
Furthermore, the project includes the gender component among the cross-cutting objectives and priority interventions. In fact, the project comprises the formulation of policies of gender inclusion promoting the articulation and complementarities between networks and boosting local participation.
National Forestry Monitoring and Assessment
Through the National Forestry Monitoring and Assessment (NFMA) Programme, FAO supports countries in their efforts to design and implement forest inventories and establish forest information services. Since its establishment in 2000, the programme had to adapt to new challenges in order to be able to respond to emerging information needs.
In fact, cross cutting global issues such as poverty alleviation and food security require the availability of comprehensive and accurate information regarding forest and natural resources as well as their social, environmental and economic aspects.
In this context, information needs vary considerably with time and according to the circumstances of each country, but they usually encompass a wide set of both biophysical and socio-economic variables.
As an example, the National Forest Monitoring and Assessment (NFMA) approach promoted by
FAO includes methodologies to collect and analyze socio-economic data on rural communities and use of forest resources to provide gender and poverty-related information for national policy and decision making processes.
For what the present study is concerned, it is important to note that gender specific questions are always included in forms used for field data collection in National Forest Monitoring and
Assessment. Methods for collection of data on gender issues have been prepared in collaboration with FAO Gender, Equity and Rural Employment Division (ESW).
Gender disaggregated data are gathered about the human population present in the sampling unit where the survey is carried out and about the household composition.
More specific questions regarding the uses and users or forest and other land resources and products and services are enquiring on the role of women as harvesters. In some countries, where integrated land use assessments are carried out, the
31
Moreover, with regard to the field team composition, it is recommended that one of the team member assigned to the interview activity is female, as some interviews, especially focus group interviews, often have to be gender separated.
31
In the case of household survey, for example, the two members assigned to the task should be a male and a female to allow gender separated interviews.
Recommendations for interviewing and group discussions techniques include also that it would be preferable having female interviewers to respect female space and also to facilitate a more open attitude. People working in the field, both men and women, are trained to be gender sensitive and are aware of constraints facing particularly rural women when taking interviews.
Finally gender considerations are crucial when applying cross-checking and triangulation techniques. In fact, in order to minimize biases in interviewing, information should be collected among at least three different sources (men/women, old/young, diverse ethnic groups, etc.) as focus groups or individuals. This means that it is advisable to encourage women’s participation in the NFMA Programmes.
Case study
The Gambia- National Forest Assessment 2008-2010
This is a good application of the NFMA where, besides the collection of biophysically evident data in the field, interviews were held with field guides and households to explore management practices and other socio-economic data, including gender aspects.
The assessment reveals that women are actively involved in the harvesting of forest products, in particular in the collection of fuel wood and charcoal, while their involvement in industrial wood and wood carving is less prominent.
32
FAO/Finnish Programme
Gender equality in access to forests, forest products and services from forests for people’s wellbeing and livelihoods is a cross cutting issue in the Programme, as outlined in the four year programme on “Strengthening Forest Resource Management to Sustainable Development,
Land use and Livelihoods”.
31 “National Forest Monitoring and Assessment- Manual for Integrating Field Data Collection”, FAO, 2009
32 “The Gambia- National Forest Assessment 2008-2010”, FAO, 2011
32
Within the FAO/Finnish Programme, a good example of national forest monitoring systems 33 is the National Forestry Resources Monitoring and Assessment of Tanzania (NAFORMA) 34 .
The manual contains instructions for socioeconomic data collection which takes place alongside with biophysical data collection within the framework of the NAFORMA Programme in
Tanzania, assisting in gathering data and information on the state, governance and use of the forestry resources. The gender dimension is taken into consideration both in the sampling design and in the household and key informant survey.
In particular, in the identification of household in Sampling Unit, as a general rule the head of the house and his/her spouse should be both interviewed. However, in the household survey 35 while data disaggregated by sex are gathered regarding the heads of the household, no information is requested on the gender composition of the household.
Moreover, according to the manual, ideally two interviewers, one female and one male, should work together to enable the team to conduct interviews separately and at the same time. This is to ensure gender balance in the sample.
It is worth to be noted also that in the key informant interview form, one question asks about the presence of efforts to manage or organize the forest resources use in the area and the gender composition of the group.
However, it is not specified that there should be a gender balance among key informants selected.
Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA)
The FRA is based on the data provided by each country responding to a common questionnaire.
Over the years the assessments have taken into consideration a broader set of thematic areas related to sustainable forest management, going beyond the mere wood supply, encompassing socio-economic aspects of forest use and management.
33 National Forestry Resources Monitoring and Assessment of Tanzania (NAFORMA)-Field Manual Socioeconomic
Survey, the United Republic of Tanzania, Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism-Forestry and Beekeeping
Division, December 2010
34 The NAFORMA methodology is a product of a joint effort of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, FAO and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland.
35 Section C-Household Characteristics
33
FAO can influence countries and encourage them to collect more detailed information on specific issues. However these changes have to go through a consensus process at regional and national level and, also when agreement is achieved, the availability of the data is not always possible because their collection is complicated and expensive. In the 2010 FRA, the analysis of the socio-economic function of forest resources section, comprising information on forest ownership and management right, has been expanded to include more information about different types of private ownership (e.g. individual, corporate and community/indigenous) as well as new information about who manages public forests. This allows considering sex disaggregated data when available.
The Global Resources Assessment 2010 introduces also an additional chapter on “Legal, Policy and Institutional Framework”. In this chapter the gender component is considered when addressing the issue of the number of staff working in public forest institutions 36 and the number of university students graduating in forest related education 37 . Data from the 68 countries that reported on the proportion of the female graduates confirmed the progressive increase in the proportion of women studying forest sciences at university between 2000 and
2008 (at global level the change was from 30% in 2000 to 34% in 2008) 38 . On the contrary, figures from 66 countries reported that between 2000 and 2008 the proportion of female staff remained basically unchanged, accounting for the 22.1 %.
39
Forest Resources Management – Forest Fire
Effective prevention and management of forest fires requires the full engagement of communities living in and around forest areas. One of the focus areas of the Department’s work on forest fire is community base forest fire management. The case study below highlights the gender dimensions of this work.
36 Percentage of female staff in public forest institutions by region, 2008, Figure 8.5- Global Forest Resources
Assessment 2010- Main Report, FAO, 2010
37 Percentage of female graduates in forest-related education, 2008, Figure 8.8- Global Forest Resources
Assessment 2010- Main Report, FAO, 2010
38 Forest Education and Research 2000-2008, Table 18, Global Forest Resources Assessment 2010- Main Report,
FAO 2010
39 Human Resources within public forest institutions 2000-2008, Table 17, Global Forest Resources Assessment
2010- Main Report, FAO 2010
34
Case study
Integrated and community based fire management (follow-up phase to GCP/SYR/010/ITA)
(GCP/SYR/012/ITA)
The project 40 is implemented in Syria and gives special attention to gender issues in rural settings. In fact, amongst poor rural communities, rural women are targeted as beneficiaries of new income generating activities implemented by the project in the process of developing participatory approaches on forest and fire management.
41 Women are considered agents for development and social change. In particular, the focus is put on the promotion of access to education, health services and care; the promotion of economic support and independence; increasing understanding of human rights and women’s participation in all aspects.
42
Additionally the Women Union has been identified as one of the stakeholders to be consulted for the formulation of a National Integrated Forest Fire Management Strategy.
40 The project relates to the PPRC (Programme and Project Review Committee) assessment criteria 3FP01
“Promoting Gender Equity, Social Equity, Education and Communication”
41 Gender gap: It is not clearly specified how women are to be involved in project activities and in the achievement of project outputs (e.g. output 1: “community mobilization and support”), given the different roles hold by men and women in the identified communities. Therefore, despite the good intentions, the project risks not to fully achieve its potentials.
42 Project review sheet, FAO, 2008
35
Conclusions
Consultations with forestry staff members show that, despite the widespread awareness of the importance of gender issues in FAO work and a general knowledge of the gender dimensions of forestry, only a few staff members have a proactive role in promoting gender equality in their specific field of competence.
The figure below shows the extent to which staff are concerned by gender issues in the Forestry
Department. The majority is aware of the importance of including the gender dimension in the forestry work. Not everyone thinks this is a priority for the work of the Department and only a few are recognize and actively seize opportunities of tackling gender issues in their technical work. A very limited group is committed to purposely contribute to the promotion of gender equality through their work.
Advocacy: Deliberately promoting gender equality; Targeting women as beneficiaries of projects and programmes;
Identifying new opportunities for promoting gender equality
Capacity to seize opportunities: Recognizing possible opportunities of including the gender component in the work
Sensitivity: Making the promotion of gender equality one of the expected results in the field of work and being able to assess results achieved
Awareness: Awareness of what is gender equality and what is the present contribution of the Forestry Department in the promotion of gender equality
The gender stock-taking exercise identifies some lessons that should be taken into consideration in order to strengthen future efforts in including gender issues in Forestry work.
Profound understanding of regional specificities in gender roles related to forest resources management is essential as well as the identification of vulnerabilities based on these roles.
In work related to community forestry the use of participatory, gender-sensitive methodologies is critical to ensure full community involvement, ownership and sustainability.
The close collaboration with government institutions is a core aspect of the work of the
Forestry Department and an opportunity to integrate gender issues in national forestry programmes and agendas
36
The involvement of all forest stakeholders, including government institutions, civil society and private sector, men and women is fundamental for the success of forestry activities.
Recommendations
1. Strengthen management commitment to the inclusion of gender issues in programme and project design
Forestry Department management, including Team Leaders, should provide guidance to staff on programmes and projects that should have a focus on gender or include the gender dimension and ensure staff is capable to properly address gender issues. Management should ensure concrete actions are undertaken.
In addition, management should make sure that the appointed Gender Focal Point (GFP) can allocate sufficient time for gender work, is a person with a particular interest in the issue and committed to further specialize in the subject.
2. Establish a targeted capacity building plan to ensure staff have the necessary tools and knowledge to integrate gender issues in their work
Trainings to staff should be organized, in collaboration with or through ESW, to provide tools and concrete examples on how to include gender issues in forestry technical areas. Such trainings will be also an opportunity to raise awareness on the importance of incorporating the gender dimension in forestry work and illustrate benefits arising from a gender sensitive approach.
3. Use existing tools related to gender issues in forestry
Staff should be encouraged to use the already existing tools related to gender issues in forestry, for instance the “Gender analysis and forestry international training package” and other manuals developed at country or regional level. Those tools should be available to all forestry staff. Some of the tools date back to the 90s and may have to be updated.
4. Link the promotion of gender equality to the achievement of FAO Strategic Objectives
Within the context of FAO Strategic Framework 2010-2019, forestry is specifically addressed in
Strategic Objective E “Sustainable management of forests and trees”. The Forestry Department has the opportunity to contribute to the overall gender mainstreaming of the organization by
37 better integrating gender considerations into the PWB for Strategic Objective E, especially in the Organizational Results that are related to policy and socio-economic aspects of forestry.
5. Strengthen the links between technical aspects and socio-economic and political impact of
forest management
The Forestry Department does not have to be considered as a merely technically focused
Department. Enhance the understanding of the interconnectivity between forest management and the socio-economic values for people living in forest landscapes.
6. Target gender issues in field projects where appropriate
While acknowledging that not all projects can tackle gender issues, ensure the inclusion of gender aspects whenever appropriate. When a project has the potential to contribute to the improvement of gender equality, this should be explained and highlighted clearly in the project document. Although women are often among the vulnerable groups, their specific needs and privations need to be addressed separately from those of other marginalized groups (e.g. such groupings as “local communities, women and indigenous people”).
The living conditions of women need to be taken into consideration within the socioeconomical, political and cultural environment where the project will be implemented (avoid generalizations and, if needed, ask advice from gender experts).
The gender dimension needs to be taken into consideration in monitoring and evaluation of the performance and impact of forestry projects and programmes. Projects that are meant to contribute to the promotion of gender equality should foresee gender specific indicators to measure the impact of the project. These could be quantitative (e.g. increased employment, crop yields) or qualitative (e.g. degree of participation of an adequate number of women in important decision making to be measured through stakeholder responses and by qualitative analysis of the impact of different decisions).
During feasibility studies and the project formulation phase, make sure local gender roles are understood and consider the possible benefits of targeting purposely women in terms of long term impacts and sustainability of results (ask gender experts for advice when needed).
7. Take into consideration the gender dimension in data gathering and analysis
Ensure gender balance in the selection of key informants, who are identified to represent different interests regarding forest resources. Ensure the collection of relevant sexdisaggregated data. For example, information about the gender composition of the household
38 should always be requested in household surveys. Capacity building of local counterparts on these matters is fundamental to enhance the effectiveness of gender-disaggregated data collection.
8. Encourage the inclusion of gender issues in climate change adaptation plans
When supporting countries in developing climate change adaptation plans, the Forestry
Department should underline that women tend to be more vulnerable than men to external shocks. Therefore their adaptive capacity needs to be improved in order for them to be able to cope with climate change impacts. In fact, due to their limited access to resources and land rights, education and health care, women could be more negatively affected by difficult environmental conditions (e.g. scarcity of fuel wood and longer distances/collection times). The identification of those vulnerabilities should be linked to the use of good forestry practices to enhance the livelihoods of at-risk populations.
9. Mainstream gender issues in initiatives of the Mountain Partnership
Revive the documents previously produced and endorsed by the Mountain partnership (e.g.
The Orem Declaration of Mountain Women) and bring them to another level, liking gender with other priority issues such as climate change (considering for instance how women are particularly affected by the impact of climate change). By improving the cooperation with other
Mountain Partnership initiatives such as Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development in
Mountains (SARD-M), gender issues could be still brought to light without losing importance.
10. Foster the involvement of women’s groups/association in all phases of the project cycle
Forestry field projects should identify existing women’s groups or associations and promote their participation in project activities, from project formulation and the baseline surveys to the implementation and evaluation phases. This should be applied wherever it is possible, and not only to those projects with a strong gender focus.
11. Enhance the collaboration with the Gender, Equity and Rural Employment Division (ESW)
ESW could assist in the process of developing clear Terms of Reference for the Gender Focal
Point (GFP), including means to make the work of the GFP more visible and thorough outputs to be delivered. ESW staff could provide practical tools on how to include gender issues in forestry work, for example advising on a specific project/country, or on a specific field of interest. To this end, focus group discussions or ad hoc individual consultations may be more efficient than trainings organized at departmental level.
39
12. Improve inter-sectoral collaboration and increase the interdisciplinary work
The nature of the forestry sector has changed during the past decades. It includes the participation of a broader range of stakeholders and emerging issues such as climate change and ecotourism. Stronger collaborations with professionals of other sectors will allow gaining specific expertise necessary for a more sustainable use of forest resources. The work of the
Forestry Department should therefore become more interdisciplinary and include cooperation with experts in forest related areas in the project design, implementation and evaluation processes. The participation of female professionals from other, less male-dominated sectors may contribute to creating a more gender-balanced environment.
13. Share more widely and make more visible gender related work in the Forestry Department
Enhance knowledge sharing and collaboration between Headquarters and field offices around gender issues. Raise attention to and make available literature related to gender issues in forestry and related sectors. A good example is the State of Food and Agricuolture 2011 on
Women in agriculture, which provides a wealth of data on the role of women and the impacts of the gender gap on hunger and food security.
14. Update the gender webpage and improve communication
Update the gender webpage on the forestry intranet with all publications related to gender and forestry, also those not produced by the Forestry Department. Publications that are available only in hard copies should be scanned and uploaded on the website.
Moreover, gender issues should be included in communication strategies and tools of the
Department to increase awareness of the gender dimension of forestry.
Special attention should be given to gender balance in the use of photos and images in forestry publications. Pictures can be used as a means to highlight the important contribution of women in forest activities.
15. Include gender considerations in technical guidelines developed by the Department as appropriate.
Developing technical guidelines and best practices documents is part of the core normative work of the Forestry Department. Even though many of these guidelines include socioeconomic aspects, gender is rarely included as an issue and gender-related recommendations are absent. For the development of future guidelines it should be ensured that the gender dimensions are appropriately reflected wherever they are relevant.
40
Annex 1
List of issues discussed during interviews in FAO headquarters
How gender is integrated into the work of your team/Division and how the work on integrating gender has changed.
Give examples of how the activities give specific attention to involving women, and contribute to promoting gender equality.
Are data disaggregated by sex always available?
What are the obstacles encountered at country/local level that prevent the promotion of gender equality and the meaningful participation of women in programme and project activities? (provide cases of countries/projects)
What are the benefits and opportunities, if any, of taking into consideration gender issues in your work?
Advise projects which successfully addressed gender issues in your technical field and could therefore be studied to highlight good practices (preferred time frame: last biennium)
Is the gender dimension taken into consideration in work planning and project formulation? And in the identification of stakeholders and partnerships?
How can the work of your team/Division on gender issues be strengthened?
Advise colleagues in FAO regional/country offices who were involved in gender-related activities and who could be interviewed on this subject.
41
Annex 2
Questionnaire- FAO Field offices
How gender is integrated into your work and how the work on integrating gender has changed.
Give examples of how the activities give specific attention to involving women, and contribute to promoting gender equality.
Are data disaggregated by sex always available? If not, what are the main reasons?
What obstacles do you encounter at country and local levels that prevent the promotion of gender equality and the meaningful participation of women/girls in programme and project activities? How do you think these obstacles could be overcome?
What are the benefits and opportunities, if any, of taking into consideration gender issues in your work?
Is the gender dimension taken into consideration in work planning and project formulation? And in the identification of stakeholders and partnerships? give examples of how your division/office has advocated for the inclusion of gender equality issues
Can you highlight one or more good practice case studies illustrating a project which successfully addressed gender issues in your technical field? Can you identify relevant results and extrapolate any lessons learned? (preferred timeframe: last biennium)
Is joint action taken to coordinate gender mainstreaming efforts with UN and other agencies? Which UN Agencies take the lead on gender issues in the UN Country Teams and generally in the field?
Are you able to identify and prioritize relevant gender equality concerns in programme development?
Can you give examples of specific results related to a reduction of gender inequality that your division/office wants to achieve or contribute to? What gender-sensitive indicators are used to monitor and track changes in process and gender relations?
42
Can you give examples of gender equality information and analysis in your division/office that could contribute to national policy development or to the implementation of existing policies?
How can the work of your team/Division on gender issues be strengthened?
43
Annex 3
List of people interviewed/answering the questionnaire
Forest Assessment, Management and Conservation Division (FOM)
Mette Wilkie
Mountain Partnership: RosaLaura Romeo
Watershed Management: Thomas Hofer
Forest Resources Management: Douglas McGuire, Cesar Sabogal, Pieter Van Lierop, Michelle
Gauthier, Nora Berrahmouni
FAO/Finnish Programme: Mikko Leppanen
National Forest Monitoring & Assessment: David Morales, Rebecca Tavani
Climate Change: Susan Braatz, Simmone Rose
Global Forest Resources Management: Orjan Jonsson, Tomasz Juszczak
Forest Economics, Policy and Products Division (FOE)
Michael Martin
National Forest Programme Facility: Johan Lejeune
Forest Policy team
Participatory Forestry: Fred Kafeero
Community-based Forest Enterprise Development: Sophie Grouwels
Forest Law Enforcement, Governance & Trade Support Programme: Robert Simpson
Forest Products Team: Paul Vantomme
Forest Economics Team: Adrian Whiteman
Forestry Information and Liaison Unit (FODL)
Peter Csoka
Rebecca Obstler
Field Officers:
Marketta Juppi, Technical Officer, Fouta Djallon Highlands Integrated Natural Resources
Management Officer, FAO, Guinea
Hivy Hortiz Chour, FAO Sub-regional Forestry Officer for South America
Claus-Martin Eckelmann, FAO Regional Forestry Officer in the Caribbean (SLC Barbados)
Athar Ali Khan, Chief Technical Advisor, Participatory Forestry Expert, FAO Afghanistan
44
Dominique Reeb, Forestry Officer, FAO Mongolia
Annex 4
List of Projects/case study reviewed
Mobilisation et renforcement des capacités des petites et moyennes entreprises impliquées dans les filières des produits forestiers non ligneux en Afrique Centrale (Projet
EuropeAid/121998) (GCP/RAF/408/EC)
Initiating Participatory Forestry in Afghanistan for Sustainable Livelihood
(GCP/AFG/052/GER)
Programme GCP/GLO/194/MUL “Strengthening Forest Resource Management to
Sustainable Development, Land use and Livelihoods” financed within the
GCP/GLO/194/MUL Sustainable Forest Management in a Changing Climate
Project to assist the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) and its partners in restoring livelihoods in the earthquake-affected areas of Pakistan
(OSRO/PAK/701/SWE PROJECT)
Fortalecimiento de la gestión participativa para el desarrollo sostenible de los Andes
TCP/RLA/3301(D)
Integrated and community based fire management (follow-up phase to GCP/SYR/010/ITA)
(GCP/SYR/012/ITA)
The Gambia- National Forest Assessment 2008-2010
National Forestry Resources Monitoring and Assessment of Tanzania (NAFORMA), 2010
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Annex 5
References
“Strategic framework 2010-1019, FAO, 2009
“Evaluation of FAO’s role and work related to gender and development”, FAO, 2011
“Gender audit of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations”, FAO, 2011
“Report of the Independent External Evaluation of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)”, FAO, 2007
“Guidelines for Gender stock taking in FAO” produces by the Gender, Equity and Rural
Employment Division (ESW), FAO, 2011
“SOFA 2010-2011- The State of Food and Agriculture- Women in Agriculture- Closing the
Gender Gap for Development”, FAO, 2011
“(Draft) FAO Policy on Gender Equality”, Draft FAO, December 2011
“Gender mainstreaming in forestry in Africa - Regional report”, FAO, 2007
“Time for action- Changing the gender situation in forestry”, FAO, 2006
“Gender and Agriculture Source Book” (Module 15 - Gender and Forestry), FAO 2008
“Gender Analysis and Forestry- International Training Package”, FAO- Forest, Trees and
People Programme, 1995
“Guía metodológica pala el diseño de políticas de desarrollo con enfoque de género en la región Amazónica”, Venezuela 1999
“La aplicación del enfoque de género- Una herramienta para su validación en proyectos de desarrollo forestal comunitario”, Ecuador, 1998
46
Annex 6
List of documents reviewed
“Rapport d’avancement du projet GCP/RAF/408/EC Janvier-Décembre 2010”, FAO, January
2011.
“Valuation of Non-Timber Forest Product Chains in the Congo Basin- A Methodology for
Valuation”, FAO, June 2009
“Community-based tree and forest product enterprises: Market Analysis and Development
Manual”, FAO, 2011
“Initiating Women Empowerment in Northern Afghanistan- a case study on women empowerment from Balkh, Afghanistan”, Rashida Faquiry, National Natural Resources
District Assistant FAO Forestry Project, Balkh Province, June 2010
“Enhancing Stakeholder Participation in National Forest Programmes: A Training Manual”,
FAO, 2010
“National Forestry Resources Monitoring and Assessment of Tanzania (NAFORMA)-Field
Manual Socioeconomic Survey”, the United Republic of Tanzania, Ministry of Natural
Resources and TourismForestry and Beekeeping Division, December 2010
”Critical Analysis of Household Interview Forms Collected During First 5 Months of Field
Work (May-September 2010): A Preview, Draft Report-Volume II”, FAO, November 2010
“The New Generation of Watershed Management Programmes and Projects” , FAO, 2006
“Why invest in watershed management?”, FAO 2007
“Why invest in sustainable mountain management?”, FAO, 2011
“National Forest Monitoring and Assessment- Manual for Integrating Field Data Collection”,
FAO, 2009
“The Gambia- National Forest Assessment 2008-2010”, FAO, 2011
“Global Forest Resources Assessment 2010- Main Report”, FAO, 2010
“Non-wood News- An information bulletin on Non-Wood Forest Products”, FAO, April 2011
“Non-wood News- An information bulletin on Non-Wood Forest Products”, FAO, November
2011
