Abstract
Gender and equity studies on participatory natural resource governance in India have remained highly concentrated only to the aspects of men vs. women in the joint forest management (JFM), and the reasons for failure and non-participation of the women in JFM. Research studies thus far on gender lacks focus on the diversity existing among women as a forest resource user group. Earlier studies have also ignored the role of women in large scale self-initiated CBFM systems found in the states of Odisha, Jharkand and Bihar. Although, earlier studies mentioned about the spaces and supporting structures that would enable better participation of women in participatory natural resource management programmes, however, they did not identify the spaces and structures that are in operation at the grassroots. A case study adopting the multiple case study approach was conducted on the self-initiated community-based forest management in the Indian state of Odisha to identify the enabling spaces and supporting structures that might be helping women to participate actively in participatory forest management in Odisha. In this article based on our case study we present the enabling spaces and supporting structures that were perceived to be enhancing women's participation in the self-initiated community-based forest management in the Indian state of Odisha.
Highlights
The impact of women’s participation in the participatory natural resource governance is indisputable; gender and equity studies related to participatory natural resource governance in India have remained highly concentrated only on two aspects
The preliminary results of the study were based upon the villages that were predominantly Schedule Tribe (ST) communities
It is necessary to notice the fact that the societies of the Schedule Tribes (ST) communities are more equal in terms of gender
Summary
The impact of women’s participation in the participatory natural resource governance is indisputable; gender and equity studies related to participatory natural resource governance in India have remained highly concentrated only on two aspects. Last but not the least, except for few studies (Singh, 2000, Singh, 2001; Siripurapu, 2012) or cursive indication of women in self-initiated Community-based forest management (CBFM) (Jeffery et al, 1998; Kelkar and Nathan 2005; Saxena, 2011) research studies on gender in participatory natural resource management in India were confined mostly to participation of women in JFM but ignored the role of women in large scale self-initiated CBFM systems found in the states of Enabling Spaces and Supporting Structures - Enhancing Women’s Participation in the. The veracity of the findings cannot be dismissed as the opinions were collected from personal interviews and focus group discussions
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