Women and men work together on an agroforestry project in Cambodia FAO/19655 /G. Bizzarri Forests play a vital role in global food security, providing food, fodder, fuel and medicine. Throughout the developing world, women make a significant contribution to forestry. Together with men, they have a decisive role in agroforestry, a farming system that incorporates trees, crops and livestock production. Women also participate fully in watershed management, where actions to reduce soil erosion, such as maintaining forest cover, lessen the risk of floods and silting of reservoirs and waterways. They collaborate in tree improvement and propagation to ensure the profileration of useful tree species and to protect and conserve forests. This in turn protects the many animal and plant varieties that depend on forests for their survival and improves the overall health and maintenance of forest ecosystems. Forests are often a major source of paid employment for rural women. Much of what they gather from the forests is processed and marketed to bring in supplementary cash for the family. Women tend to be more dependent than men on trees and small-scale forest industries for income. One study in Uttar Pradesh, India, showed that women derived 33 to 45 percent of their income from forests and common land, compared with only 13 percent for men. However, although a significant proportion of the forestry industry workforce is made up of women, their roles are not fully documented or recognized, their working conditions tend to be poor and their wages lower than those of men. In Malawi, villagers weed a community woodlot FAO/17773 /A. Conti In many countries, large areas of communal forest land are being cleared for agriculture or for commercial forestry. In addition, to its negative ecological effects, this widespread deforestation reduces access to forest products that are required on a daily basis, thereby adding to the drudgery of women who are forced to cover long distances and spend more time in search of much-needed fuelwood and other forest products. This situation is compounded by male migration, which inevitably increases the work and responsibilities that fall on women, leaving less time for the demanding tasks of collecting and processing forest products. Women tend tree seedlings in a forest nursery in Peru FAO/17452 /A. Odoul Rural women are often the principal caretakers and guardians of the forests. In many regions, women grow trees together with other crops in their home gardens. In Thaliand, for example, in the home gardens of a single village, researchers found 230 different plant species, many of which had been rescued from a neighbouring forest before it was cleared. And in a single African home garden, more than 60 species of food-producing trees were counted. Women have extensive knowledge of forest resources. This helps them select specific forest foods that are an important source of income and nutrition for the family. As food supplements, forest foods provide certain proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals that are not found in many staple crops, and may even stave off hunger and famine when drought, floods or pests and diseases cause crops to fail. Throughout Sahelian Africa, roots from the baobab are consumed as a drought food. In Senegal, the Wolof use the wild yam as a staple when grain crops fail. People living on the Chotanagpu plateau in India depend on forest foods for four to five months a year when agricultural production cannot meet their needs. Women also use bark, roots and herbs for medicines. Tribal women in India have been found to know medicinal uses for almost 300 forest species. In Uganda, a woman sells pulp from the Baobab at market FAO/14850 /H. Schuh In many areas, women have demonstrated that they are not only the primary users but also the most effective protectors of the forests. In India, women who recognized the link between deforestation and recurring floods and landslides formed the Chipko Movement. By literally putting their bodies between tree and loggers, they prevented tree felling and applied pressure on the government to investigate and eventually impose a 10-year ban on logging in the affected area. And in Kenya, the Green Belt Movement has mobilized more than 80 000 women to plant trees. The sustainable use of forests requires the participation of all rural populations, including women. Although women's needs often differ from those of men, many programmes tend to overlook women's specific needs regarding forestry, mainly because policy-makers and planners lack adequate data, information and methodologies to address them. The lack of gender awareness constrains the sustainable use and management of forests and forest ecosystems throughout the world.            Further information  Home gardens in Java Forests for food Facts and figures