Linking gender and forestry research

What does gender have to do with research on forest genetic resources? That was the question 22 social and biophysical scientists discussed in Kuching, Malaysia, during the inception workshop of Bioversity International’s Gender Research Fellowship Programme.

Through the Gender Research Fellowship Programme, five research fellows in countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia, and South and Southeast Asia will study the differences in women's and men's knowledge, skills and management practices regarding tree resources in connection with several research projects led by Bioversity International and carried out with local partners.

Through a learning-by-doing approach, workshop participants identified many
ways in which knowing more about gender relations can improve the relevance and quality of the tree and forest-related research they carry out. 

They discussed how women and men often know, manage, and use trees in different ways. For instance, in some regions women can identify more tree species with medicinal properties than men, while the opposite is true in other regions. Women and men also tend to have different and inequitable access to trees, as well as to markets for selling tree products, and to organizations that could help them improve their forest-based livelihoods. This means that the forest genetic resources prioritized by men may be different than those favoured by women, and that both women and men need to be involved in forest genetic resources research. It also means that special efforts may be needed to make sure that women can contribute to and benefit from this research.

These are some of the issues that the Fellows will study during the next year to generate more gender-equitable interventions, guidelines and policies for the conservation of forest genetic resources.

One way to fully integrate both women and men in forestry research is to use participatory approaches.

According to Maria Fernandez, Honorary Research Fellow at Bioversity International and facilitator of the inception workshop, gender and participatory research go hand-in-hand. Working with local women and men in ways that promote social learning and reflection can foster transformative changes that lead to greater gender equality, all the while promoting the conservation of forest genetic resources.

Understanding how gender relates to forest management practices starts with thinking about how gender shapes our own lives, and examining our gender biases. Workshop participants therefore examined some of the ways gender influences how they too have been socialized to think and act. Working in gender-segregated groups, participants were asked to list how they would spend US$ 50 to buy groceries for their family for one week. They had a good laugh when they realized that women and men had prioritized different foods…and drinks!

Workshop participants were keen to apply this new gender awareness to their own research on forests. As Pearlycia Brooke, crop scientist for Malaysia’s Department of Agriculture who works on a tropical fruit tree project coordinated by Bioversity International, explained: “Once you’re exposed to it, you can’t turn away.”

Other participants echoed that after the workshop it will no longer be possible to conduct ‘business as usual’. They left the workshop equipped with new knowledge, including first-hand experience using participatory research tools, and a community of practice with whom to continue learning to bridge the biophysical and social sciences to conserve forest biodiversity and promote social equity.

The Gender Research Fellowship Programme is funded by the CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry and is coordinated by Bioversity International’s Forest Genetic Resources Programme.

The inception workshop was co-organized by Bioversity International and the University of Freiburg’s Centre for Anthropology and Gender Studies. National partner institutes actively involved in the Gender Research Fellowship Programme include Life Trust (India), the Department of Agriculture (Malaysia), the Institut de l’Environnement et de Recherches Agricoles (INERA) (Burkina Faso), the Innovation Centre of Phytotechnologies of the National Academy of Sciences (Kyrgyz Republic), and the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR).