Participatory rangeland management: A vehicle for pastoralist women’s empowerment in Ethiopia

Pastoralist tenure systems are highly complex. Where customary institutions are functioning well, pastoralist women access and use resources as a member of a pastoralist group. Although policy and legislation call for more equity across societies, providing individual titles to women is not necessar...

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Main Authors: Flintan, Fiona E., Eba, Bedasa
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Springer 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/132571
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author Flintan, Fiona E.
Eba, Bedasa
author_browse Eba, Bedasa
Flintan, Fiona E.
author_facet Flintan, Fiona E.
Eba, Bedasa
author_sort Flintan, Fiona E.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Pastoralist tenure systems are highly complex. Where customary institutions are functioning well, pastoralist women access and use resources as a member of a pastoralist group. Although policy and legislation call for more equity across societies, providing individual titles to women is not necessarily the answer. Strengthening women’s rights within the collective society while also supporting women’s capacities and abilities to participate meaningfully in decision-making processes and hold leadership positions will support more sustainable gender equality outcomes. Participatory rangeland management (PRM) is an approach developed in Ethiopia in 2010 that was then piloted by non-governmental organisations in several parts of the country in a bid to improve the security of tenure and good governance of rangelands, more inclusive participation of pastoralists in decisions pertaining to their lands and improve rangeland productivity. While not an explicit aim, it also sought women’s empowerment as part of the participatory process. A review of PRM implementation in Oromia and Afar regions, Ethiopia, showed that in the majority of cases, women participated equally with men in the PRM process. Women’s and men’s opinions on the involvement and satisfaction of PRM implementation activities were compared favourably. Overall, community members believed that PRM has improved women’s roles in rangeland management leadership and decision-making processes and their access to rangeland resources, thereby encouraging a transformative process of improving gender equality and women’s empowerment in pastoralist societies. This article considers the implications of these results for pastoral women and to what degree they have contributed to their empowerment. A conceptualised women’s empowerment framework is used for the analysis.
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spelling CGSpace1325712024-11-07T09:44:40Z Participatory rangeland management: A vehicle for pastoralist women’s empowerment in Ethiopia Flintan, Fiona E. Eba, Bedasa analysis empowerment equity gender governance institutions legislation management participation pastoralists productivity rangelands resources systems tenure tenure systems women Pastoralist tenure systems are highly complex. Where customary institutions are functioning well, pastoralist women access and use resources as a member of a pastoralist group. Although policy and legislation call for more equity across societies, providing individual titles to women is not necessarily the answer. Strengthening women’s rights within the collective society while also supporting women’s capacities and abilities to participate meaningfully in decision-making processes and hold leadership positions will support more sustainable gender equality outcomes. Participatory rangeland management (PRM) is an approach developed in Ethiopia in 2010 that was then piloted by non-governmental organisations in several parts of the country in a bid to improve the security of tenure and good governance of rangelands, more inclusive participation of pastoralists in decisions pertaining to their lands and improve rangeland productivity. While not an explicit aim, it also sought women’s empowerment as part of the participatory process. A review of PRM implementation in Oromia and Afar regions, Ethiopia, showed that in the majority of cases, women participated equally with men in the PRM process. Women’s and men’s opinions on the involvement and satisfaction of PRM implementation activities were compared favourably. Overall, community members believed that PRM has improved women’s roles in rangeland management leadership and decision-making processes and their access to rangeland resources, thereby encouraging a transformative process of improving gender equality and women’s empowerment in pastoralist societies. This article considers the implications of these results for pastoral women and to what degree they have contributed to their empowerment. A conceptualised women’s empowerment framework is used for the analysis. 2023-09-20 2023-10-31T12:27:30Z 2023-10-31T12:27:30Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/132571 en Open Access Springer Flintan, F.E. and Eba, B. 2023. Participatory rangeland management: A vehicle for pastoralist women's empowerment in Ethiopia. Pastoralism 13(1)
spellingShingle analysis
empowerment
equity
gender
governance
institutions
legislation
management
participation
pastoralists
productivity
rangelands
resources
systems
tenure
tenure systems
women
Flintan, Fiona E.
Eba, Bedasa
Participatory rangeland management: A vehicle for pastoralist women’s empowerment in Ethiopia
title Participatory rangeland management: A vehicle for pastoralist women’s empowerment in Ethiopia
title_full Participatory rangeland management: A vehicle for pastoralist women’s empowerment in Ethiopia
title_fullStr Participatory rangeland management: A vehicle for pastoralist women’s empowerment in Ethiopia
title_full_unstemmed Participatory rangeland management: A vehicle for pastoralist women’s empowerment in Ethiopia
title_short Participatory rangeland management: A vehicle for pastoralist women’s empowerment in Ethiopia
title_sort participatory rangeland management a vehicle for pastoralist women s empowerment in ethiopia
topic analysis
empowerment
equity
gender
governance
institutions
legislation
management
participation
pastoralists
productivity
rangelands
resources
systems
tenure
tenure systems
women
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/132571
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