What is the value of Women's Participation in Forest Governance?
Forest
ecosystems are becoming more and more vulnerable to alterations in temperature,
precipitation patterns, and pollutant concentrations, which can result in
drought, forest fires, and a decline in biodiversity. Women, who make up the
majority of the world's poor population and are mostly reliant on natural
resources, face threats from both climate change and the slow loss of forests.
Women suffer additional social, economic, and political obstacles that make it
more difficult for them to participate in activities for mitigation and
adaptation.
For
Adivasi women, having access to forests is very important. According to
studies, the country's food production system depends heavily on the work that
Adivasi women do collecting food and other products from the jungle. Many
populations in rural Africa and Asia, particularly India, rely on forest
biomass for their daily needs and household fuel.
The
majority of these tribes' women are in charge of gathering and using this
biomass. As the amount of forest cover decreases, these women must go further
to get the material, which can sometimes take more than 20 hours. The amount of
time left over for a job, politics, or even education is little. This not only
perpetuates a cycle of disempowerment, but the long hours and greater distances
make these women more susceptible to accidents and harassment.
Therefore,
forests support women's social identity, economic freedom, and possibilities
for progress. Women are excluded from forest governance and conservation
despite having a close link with forests.
Lack
of Female Decision-Makers in the Governance of the Forest
The
Indian Forest Service hired its first female officers in 1980. Since then, this
number has hardly increased, with women making up a pitiful 9% of the workforce
as of 2020. Women are systemically underrepresented in positions of authority
and decision-making, and their participation in community-led initiatives is
even lessened. When Dalit, Bahujan, and Adivasi women are taken into account,
this gender gap becomes even more pronounced.
But
why does it matter that woman hold senior positions in the conservation of
forests? For starters, because of their reliance on forests, women have a
thorough understanding of the environment and the knowledge and abilities
necessary to locate, gather, and manage its supplies. More than half of the
world's population who depend on the land are believed to be indigenous and
rural women. Therefore, eliminating their voices from conservation and land
management decisions entails excluding all of the group's expertise and rights
to forest management.
Adivasi
women have made a substantial contribution to the preservation of their woods
while being consistently excluded by administrative authorities.
Storytelling
from India's Adivasi women on defending their land
The
"Thengapalli" practice practised by its ladies has garnered media
attention in the past year in the Odisha tribal community of Kodarapalli. The
term "sticks-turn" refers to a system whereby women alternately
patrol the forest with lathis. In an effort to safeguard the resources and
forest area, they crack down on smugglers, thieves, and the timber mafia.
The
women are adamant about preserving the forest that ensures their survival,
having already preserved more than 50 acres of forest land. The Forest Rights
Act of India predates this conservation strategy. In the 1970s, a group of
women started it in Nayagarh by bringing a timber thief to justice. Because
they tended to be more stern with smugglers, the women gradually took charge of
the forest patrol operations.
Within
the forest, villages display impressive localised conservation initiatives. As
a consequence of strategies like forming socio-economic partnerships between
communities and providing water to put out fires in the summer, 135 villages
now protect 1/3 of Odisha's woods.
Jamuna
Tudu from Jharkhand is well-known across the country for her work protecting
the state's woods. Over 60 women make up her organisation, the Van Suraksha
Samiti, which patrols the forests in shifts while occasionally risking their
lives to thwart smugglers, thieves, and vandals. Although Jamuna received
recognition from the President for her efforts, she began her career in forest
conservation knowing that authorities are not very helpful. Another
illustration of how reverently Adivasi people regard the forests that support
them is the Van Suraksha Samiti's willingness to pursue criminals despite the
risks.
Community
forest rights are giving women in Gondia, Maharashtra, financial independence.
2013 saw the community forest rights granted to Dhamditola village, providing
the residents with a source of income. Water and cooking gas were also made
available to the community, giving women more time to work in the fields and
make money. These women progressively gained the financial freedom and autonomy
they needed to assume key leadership positions in the community.
At
least one woman attends each gramme sabha meeting, and many villages have
women-only self-help groups that regularly donate money to build a fund that
can be utilised for low-interest loans. These women have been able to
reconstruct their homes and even buy themselves nice apparel because of their
financial independence and access to cash.
The
protection of India's forests depends on women's understanding and
participation in governance. These women's ability to participate in
decision-making results in economic independence.
Promoting
Women's Involvement in Forest Governance
Giving
women positions in bodies that make decisions, however, is not the only way to
include them. The majority of women are reluctant to take the initiative
because of the social, economic, political, and cultural traditions that give
the man's word the most weight. As a result, the approach is progressive and
geared at long-term education, rights recognition, and independence developed
for women to not only represent but also actively engage in important
conservation issues.
It
is important to acknowledge Adivasi women's traditional knowledge and
connection to the forest. The amount of forest cover in India has already
increased thanks in part to Adivasi women. Be it the women of Kodarapalli who
saved a third of the forests in Odisha or the Muturkham women in Jharkhand who
rescued 50 hectares of forest land from the timber mafia. However, these women
and their contributions go unmentioned in the publications illustrating India's
rising forest cover.
According
to studies, local people and the forest ecology both benefit when decisions are
made in the forest by women. Future female leaders are more likely to be
inspired by the active policy leadership of women in a region. For effective
participation, it is crucial to understand what the appropriate proportion or
"critical mass" of women in forest conservation is. Though the final
target must be 50%, this percentage is now assessed to be at 30%.
The
gathering of data is an excellent starting point for obtaining critical mass. This
contains information on how vulnerable groups are distributed throughout
India's forested regions and an awareness of their socioeconomic and cultural
circumstances. In order to effectively encourage women's participation and
conservation, solutions must be localised and contextualised to the community.
Data collection on gender equality in forest governance in India is also an
essential first step.
The
provision of forestry training, skill-building workshops, and networking
opportunities are necessary for ongoing engagement while encouraging more women
to take on decision-making responsibilities. In contrast to the Draft National
Forest Policy of 2018, which made no reference to women or gender, they must be
made a crucial component of national legislation to emphasise the relevance of
women in forest decisions.
More
women need to be in leadership positions in community-led forest conservation
activities. These may include measures to reduce forest fires, knowledge
exchange, and the planting of native plant species.
India
has committed to ambitious climate change mitigation goals in response to the
global climate catastrophe. Experts are urging the inclusion of
community-focused adaption strategies in State Climate Action Plans as they
become more prevalent. The climate divide will only get wider and efforts will
be ineffective if efforts to establish these essential climate-resilient
policies continue to ignore the concerns and views of women.
The
underlying cycle of caring between women and trees must be recognised at this
pivotal time in the fight against climate change. Women increase their social
position, acquire knowledge and skills, become economically independent, and
preserve biodiversity through protecting and expanding forest cover. Women's rights
are without a doubt forest rights.