From the ground up – Women at the forefront of sustainable forest and land management implementation
Growing numbers of women in important decision-making positions signals not only the mounting male recognition of the importance of listening to the concerns and visions of their female counterparts, but also a shift in the mindset of women themselves.
.jpg?sfvrsn=9f4a38d9_0 "From the ground up – Women at the forefront of sustainable forest and land management implementation")
©FAO/Ivo Balderi
Centuries of challenges and women breaking barriers have led us to a time where participatory approaches are now possible and ever more needed. This year’s International Women’s Day on the 8th March 2021 highlights the role of women in leadership and the key roles they fulfill at various levels (“as health care workers, caregivers, innovators, community organizers and as some of the most exemplary national leaders” UN Women, 2021) in tackling the global COVID-19 crisis. In a similar vein, women are important stakeholders and crucial innovators in the fight against land degradation processes in dryland regions, both before and during the pandemic. The International Women’s Day thus represents the perfect opportunity to reflect on the important and manifold contributions women make in managing and protecting natural resources in arid regions. To this end, FAO’s Dryland Forestry Team evaluated some of the challenges and successes experienced by women within the GEF-7 Sustainable Forest Management Drylands Sustainable Landscape Impact Programs (SFM-DSL IP).
An initiative like Making every voice count for adaptive management highlights the importance of participation at all levels, in all contexts – locally, nationally and internationally. In this initiative, we see women’s involvement at all stages that ensure change is brought and impact is made. Across the drylands, “women are key players in land, livestock, and pasture management” says Tselmeg Chaluunbaatar, FAO Communication Coordinator in Mongolia. Women’s roles are highly varied, endowing them with extensive knowledge. As part of the participatory video initiative Making every voice count for adaptive management, for instance, footage from Ntechu in central Malawi shows Edah Mabalani presenting her conservation agriculture practice of zero tillage for improved soil health. Similarly, vetiver farmer Zaina Anodi explains some of the benefits of hedgerow planting, for instance, to reduce soil erosion.