Gender and Sustainable Forest Management: Entry Points for Design and Implementation

Forest and trees play multiple roles in the landscapes and climate context, by serving a climate mitigation function as carbon sinks, through regulating water, sustaining agriculture and providing livelihoods and energy resources for women and men. Sustainable forest management projects with an explicit gender lens can help reduce women’s vulnerability by enhancing their socio-economic empowerment; by reducing informality in the production and marketing of non-timber forest products where women dominate; and by promoting legal reforms in land tenure, and institutional development through enhanced training and leadership development for women.

The note Gender and Sustainable Forest Management: Entry Points for Design and Implementation focuses on women’s livelihoods and employment in the forest sector, highlighting key issues of access to and ownership of forest resources and land, and practical guidelines, including a checklist and indicators, to mainstream gender in the sustainable forest management project cycle. The note presents an overview of the challenges women face in accessing forest resources and the impact on livelihoods and employment opportunities, and highlights a range of entry points for women’s socio-economic empowerment in the sector, including access to technology and extension support; participation at different levels of the value chain and in forest management committees.