The Role of Women’s Participation in Participation in Co-Management of the Sundarban Mangrove Forest of Bangladesh

Abstract

<p>The world's forests provide valuable contributions to the local people through serving as sources of income, therefore practicing forest conservation is important for the future generation benefits and environmental sustainability. Despite challenges to gender equality in many countries of the world, women can play a fundamental role in forest conservation through their involvement and active participation in forest conservation initiatives. Forest co-management is an important conservation initiative that is considered worldwide to effectively manage and conserve protected forest areas and forest resources through inclusion of local men and women in their management. The Bangladesh government is seeking to achieve both improved biodiversity conservation and community well-being through co-management practices. A particular initiative for the Bangladeshi Government's effort is in the Sundarban mangrove forest ecosystem that constitutes 60% of mangrove forest ecosystem in Bangladesh but is also bordered by smallholder agrarian populations. To manage these area more sustainably the Government has sought greater involvement of forest-dependent people and increasing female participation in the forest management system. Women's involvement in forest management practices is considered to positively contribute to the protection of forest resources and result in positive livelihood outcomes for the rural poor people. However, exploration of women's role in forest management and related equity issues remains limited in the existing literature. Therefore, the focus of this research is on the influence of gender on environmental management, specifically the role of women's participation in forest co-management activities of the Sundarban mangrove forest and the impact these have on the women's household, community and forest conservation outcomes.</p> <p>To understand the role of women's participation in forest co-management, this study selected four villages in the Chandpai forest range of the Sundarban mangrove forest in Bangladesh to collect primary data from interviews and focus group discussions. Two villages, Purbo Dhangamari and Poschim Dhangamari, are in the Banishanta Union of the Dacope sub-district in the Khulna district, and two villages, Baidyamari and Kachubunia, are in the Sundarban Union of the Mongla sub-district in the Bagerhat district. The villages were selected based on their proximity to the Sundarban mangrove forest, their general reliance on forest resources, the variation in the predominant religion, and the participation of local villagers in comanagement activities. The differences in geographical locations and religion allowed the research to examine differences in the harvesting activities, outcomes and perceptions of the local participants along with other stakeholders who have expertise in the management area. A purposive sampling procedure was developed to select respondents for the focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews (KIIs). For the KIIs, different categories of stakeholders who are involved or not involved in forest co-management were interviewed. A total of 29 key informants (KIs) were interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule, 24 of whom were from the villages and five of whom were from outside the village and represented the NGO and the District and National Forest Departments. Following the KIIs, FGDs were conducted to understand the particular roles of the local community and women's participation in forest co-management. Four FGDs were conducted in each village with the key selection criteria being based on gender and participation in co-management activities. Thus, there were 16 FGDs. Data collection was conducted from November 2019 to February 2020. A series of open-ended questions were discussed with the participants in each FGD. Qualitative data collected from the study villages was thematically coded using NVivo 12 Plus software.</p> <p>In the first step (Chapter 2), this study identified and examined the current co-management institutional activities and local people's understanding of these activities in the implementation of the co-management approach. The key forest co-management activities and practices identified were forest protection and monitoring, meetings, local livelihood initiatives, and organisational support. These co-management activities are implemented through local-level institutions, such as the Village Conservation Forum (VCF), People's Forum (PF), and community patrol groups, and higher-level institutions such as the Co-management Committee, where the participants are local, district and national-level stakeholders. It was demonstrated that forest-dependent local people participate in forest co-management activities, and that their awareness of forest conservation and social networks has increased. However, local people also reported that top-down decision-making, insignificant financial support, absence of alternate income sources during restricted seasons, lack of designated meeting places for VCF members, gender inequality in participation, corruption and limited skill-based training all affect the frequency and quality of their participation. There is limited access to the government organisations that oversee policy and institutional control, while non-government organisations provide important institutional capacity-building support to local communities and act as a conduit to higher-level committees. Greater influence could be achieved by increasing local participation, especially women, through genuine collaboration with other stakeholders and sharing of ideas from the study villages with other VCF villages.</p> <p>In the second step (Chapter 3), this study examined stakeholders' views and particularly local stakeholders' understanding of the forest co-management activities in the Sundarban mangrove forest. The study revealed that stakeholders held both positive and negative views on the identified co-management activities of forest protection, monitoring, meeting role, training and organisational support. It was demonstrated that the positive views related to the benefits from forest co-management practices (e.g., increased knowledge, awareness and ability to obtain entry permits), while the negative views related to the obstacles frequently faced by local stakeholders, such as limited harvesting opportunities, poor meeting support and strict rules on eligibility for VCF/PF membership. The findings further identified comanagement benefits, problems and challenges of the local people, and showed where they differed. However, this study identified some potential ways to strengthen co-management activities that can increase local participation in the co-management system of the Sundarban mangrove forest.</p> <p>In the third step (Chapter 4), identified and evaluated women's role in Sundarban mangrove forest co-management in order to identify the impacts of their involvement on forest conservation and their livelihoods. Women participate in all tiers of forest co-management institutions, including the VCF, the PF, the Community Patrol Group and the Co-management Committee. Women's participation benefited them by increasing their awareness, their social networks, their understanding of Forest Department rules regarding forest conservation and their involvement in alternative income-generating activities. The culmination of these benefits was greater financial input into their families, which raised women's status in the family. Local women's knowledge of sustainable forest resource-harvesting methods and wildlife protection had also increased. Although women contribute to forest conservation through their participation, their representation is lower than that of men in the comanagement of the Sundarban mangrove forest, especially at the lowest level of governance. Therefore, this study suggests to equalise gender participation in the co-management system and increase women's livelihood support that policy interventions such as greater recognition of women's roles by men in the society, increased representation of women in each comanagement institution, and gender-specific programs are needed.</p> <p>In the fourth step (Chapter 5), analysed stakeholders' views on the barriers that affect women's participation in forest co-management and the factors that motivate women to participate. Participation of women is limited by four main barriers: family, personal, religious and societal. Religious and societal expectations embodied in strict Muslim and Hindu religious beliefs restrict women's participation outside the family home. However, an improved economic position would motivate women to be involved in forest comanagement. A women's sense of responsibility to protect the forest and their income were also considered to be motivating factors for them. Men considered that the local women's knowledge about the importance of the forest, such as protecting it during natural disasters or the forest's ability to provide an income source, drives their sense of responsibility to protect the local forest. Taking into account these motivating factors, women consider future financial support, alternate income-generating activities, a sense of responsibility and increased awareness of forest protection to be motivating factors. However, some policy options such as valorisation of women's involvement in forest co-management, training, social security and gender-balanced involvement are needed to motivate women and to increase participation of women in forest co-management.</p> <p>The key recommendations from the synthesis are that there should be a transparent selection system for selecting local stakeholders and an equitable gender inclusion so that women's participation in, and benefits from forest co-management is increased. Economic incentives, an alternate income source during the restricted seasons and altering gendered behavioural norms can increase local participation, especially that of women. Interventions are needed by the government, external-funded organisations and local stakeholders to improve comanagement governance, the institutional and social structure and equity for women. Recommended activities such as providing an alternate or diversified income source during the restricted seasons, arranging a meeting place for VCF members, community discussion, proper distribution of resources and implementing gender-responsive actions. The diverse perspectives of multiple stakeholders on the co-management activities could be a significant topic for future research. To identify these perspectives and address any issues with conflicting gendered views, separate FGDs for men and women are needed to gain balanced gender-based views on co-management activities. Thus, identifying gendered views, especially where they diverge has importance for future researchers to examine why this is the case and the implications for forest conservation. This research has relevance to policy makers and the global researchers in knowing when to intervene in order to increase women's participation in forest co-management by removing identified barriers to women's participation. Where there is equal and equitable participation by men and women in forest co-management the goal is it will lead to sustainable forest ecosystem that can provide for forest dependent communities.</p> <p>The lesson learned from this study is that women's involvement in forest co-management provides them with a new opportunity to contribute financially to their family and raise their status in the family. However, to increase the level and status of women's participation, several institutional and socio-cultural factors need to be addressed. Therefore, by shifting institutional and socio-cultural norms, women's participation in forest co-management could be increased, which would valorise women's role in the family and society and thus allow them to contribute to forest conservation.</p>