The impact of gender-blindness on social-ecological resilience: The case of a communal pasture in the highlands of Ethiopia

We studied how the failure to take into account gendered roles in the management of a communal pasture can affect the resilience of this social-ecological system. Data were collected using qualitative methods, including focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, and participant observations from...

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Autores principales: Aregu, Lemlem, Darnhofer, Ika, Tegegne, Azage, Hoekstra, Dirk, Wurzinger, Maria
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Springer 2016
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/78124
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author Aregu, Lemlem
Darnhofer, Ika
Tegegne, Azage
Hoekstra, Dirk
Wurzinger, Maria
author_browse Aregu, Lemlem
Darnhofer, Ika
Hoekstra, Dirk
Tegegne, Azage
Wurzinger, Maria
author_facet Aregu, Lemlem
Darnhofer, Ika
Tegegne, Azage
Hoekstra, Dirk
Wurzinger, Maria
author_sort Aregu, Lemlem
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description We studied how the failure to take into account gendered roles in the management of a communal pasture can affect the resilience of this social-ecological system. Data were collected using qualitative methods, including focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, and participant observations from one community in the highlands of Ethiopia. The results show that women are excluded from the informal institution that defines the access and use rules which guide the management of the communal pasture. Consequently, women’s knowledge, preferences, and needs are not taken into account. This negatively affects the resilience of the communal pasture in two ways. Firstly, the exclusion of women’s knowledge leads to future adaptation options being overlooked. Secondly, as a result of the failure to address women’s needs, they start to question the legitimacy of the informal institution. The case study thus shows how excluding women, i.e., side-lining their knowledge and needs, weakens social learning and the adaptiveness of the management rules. Being blind to gender-related issues may thus undermine the resilience of a social-ecological system.
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spelling CGSpace781242024-08-27T10:35:34Z The impact of gender-blindness on social-ecological resilience: The case of a communal pasture in the highlands of Ethiopia Aregu, Lemlem Darnhofer, Ika Tegegne, Azage Hoekstra, Dirk Wurzinger, Maria livestock animal feeding pastures resilience gender We studied how the failure to take into account gendered roles in the management of a communal pasture can affect the resilience of this social-ecological system. Data were collected using qualitative methods, including focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, and participant observations from one community in the highlands of Ethiopia. The results show that women are excluded from the informal institution that defines the access and use rules which guide the management of the communal pasture. Consequently, women’s knowledge, preferences, and needs are not taken into account. This negatively affects the resilience of the communal pasture in two ways. Firstly, the exclusion of women’s knowledge leads to future adaptation options being overlooked. Secondly, as a result of the failure to address women’s needs, they start to question the legitimacy of the informal institution. The case study thus shows how excluding women, i.e., side-lining their knowledge and needs, weakens social learning and the adaptiveness of the management rules. Being blind to gender-related issues may thus undermine the resilience of a social-ecological system. 2016-12 2016-12-04T13:48:06Z 2016-12-04T13:48:06Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/78124 en Open Access Springer Aregu, L., Darnhofer, I., Tegegne, Z., Hoekstra, D. and Wurzinger, M. 2016. The impact of gender-blindness on social-ecological resilience: The case of a communal pasture in the highlands of Ethiopia. Ambio 45(Supplement 3):287–296.
spellingShingle livestock
animal feeding
pastures
resilience
gender
Aregu, Lemlem
Darnhofer, Ika
Tegegne, Azage
Hoekstra, Dirk
Wurzinger, Maria
The impact of gender-blindness on social-ecological resilience: The case of a communal pasture in the highlands of Ethiopia
title The impact of gender-blindness on social-ecological resilience: The case of a communal pasture in the highlands of Ethiopia
title_full The impact of gender-blindness on social-ecological resilience: The case of a communal pasture in the highlands of Ethiopia
title_fullStr The impact of gender-blindness on social-ecological resilience: The case of a communal pasture in the highlands of Ethiopia
title_full_unstemmed The impact of gender-blindness on social-ecological resilience: The case of a communal pasture in the highlands of Ethiopia
title_short The impact of gender-blindness on social-ecological resilience: The case of a communal pasture in the highlands of Ethiopia
title_sort impact of gender blindness on social ecological resilience the case of a communal pasture in the highlands of ethiopia
topic livestock
animal feeding
pastures
resilience
gender
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/78124
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