Women’s participation and the gender perspective in sustainable forestry in Cambodia: local perceptions and the context of forestry research

Abstract

We analyzed local stakeholders’ perceptions on women’s engagement in sustainable forestry and the challenges women face. We additionally examined the publication of scientific papers on women’s participation and gender perspectives in forestry research. We employed Kendall’s W to examine the concordance of local peoples’ assessment of the knowledge of rural women related to forestry, the major barriers preventing women participating effectively in sustainable forestry and the tasks required to engage women better. The study revealed only very weak agreement regarding the knowledge of rural women about forestry (Kendall’s W = 0.47, p < .000). Local people considered women knew most about sustainable forestry and use of forest for various purposes and less about the trees and forests. The study found moderate agreement (Kendall’s W = .118, p < .000) concerning the major barriers preventing women participating effectively in sustainable forestry, with the most significant barrier being low female participation in decision-making bodies. There was very weak agreement on the highest priority task required to engage women better in forestry management (Kendall’s W = .035, p < .000). Quantitative content analysis was used to analyze the scientific papers. From 1992 to September 2018, 537 scientific papers were published in 171 journals, with study sites in 83 countries, related to women and gender in 1) forest, 2) REDD + and 3) community-based forestry. The countries most covered by the research were: Indonesia (27 articles), India (39), United States (45) and Nepal (51). There was a significant increase in the number of papers on women’s participation and gender mainstreaming in 1) forest (n = 482), and 2) community-based forestry (n = 20) from 2007, and in 3) REDD + discourses (n = 34) from 2011. This study suggests further scientific research is needed on women’s participation and gender perspective in sustainable forestry and environmental concerns if the collective action needed for sustainable forest management is to be effectively addressed.