GGCA Gender and Climate Change Training Manual - Women's ...

Box 3 Gender considerations when promoting PES
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Access and control over resources. Economic, social, cultural, political and legal
environments affect the rights of women and men to control forest resources and own
land. Even where women have ownership rights to land, their access to forest products
and opportunities for forest-generated income may not be ensured. Different members
of the community may have established informal rights to use different parts of the forest
or even of a tree – women may have access to the leaves but not to the wood. This
differentiation by gender has major implications for the ownership and usufruct rights to
the forest and its by-products; it affects the decision-making process and its management.
Therefore it is fundamental that PES systems take into account formal and informal land
ownership aspects, in order to avoid reproducing traditional roles (giving benefits only to
“male owners”). For example in Costa Rica funds given to the Ministry of Environment for
PES were used to support women groups to buy land under their name so that they could
benefit from the PES programme.
Knowledge base. Gendered knowledge may vary by class, age and ethnicity, underscoring
its complexity. For instance, tribal women in India have been found to know medicinal uses
for almost 300 forest species. In other parts of the world, an older man from an indigenous
group may have different practices for the sustainable use of forest soil and trees than
a young man living outside his native community. Understanding the wide spectrum of
knowledge possessed by women and men in different socio-economic circumstances
helps to determine appropriate and efficient forestry policies.
Decision-making structures. There is a need to ensure gender-balanced decision
making to include women’s perspectives and concerns in the formulation, implementation
and evaluation of policy decisions and outcomes related to PES. In order to achieve this,
sometimes women will require the development of skills in order to fully participate (i.e.,
teaching them how to speak in meetings).
Equal access to benefits. It is fundamental to ensure that there is an equitable distribution
of the benefits derived from PES. Sex-disaggregated data should be collected in relation
to budget allocations in order to identified the distribution of the funds.
Mitigation responses should avoid a narrow criterion that leads to
environmentally and socially harmful consequences. These responses should
have broad goals that aim to reduce climate change, protect natural resources,
improve social wellbeing, promote equality, and recognize that women are key
agents in climate change processes.
5.1.2 Reducing emissions through clean energy sources and
technologies
In developing countries, especially in rural areas, there is a direct
connection between energy supplies and gender roles. Currently, overall