Unpacking 'gender' in India's Joint Forest Management Program: lessons from two Indian states

India’s Joint Forest Management (JFM) programme is among the first and largest initiatives for collaborative forest governance worldwide. In JFM, the state, represented by the Forest Department (FD), and the village community share responsibilities and benefits of jointly protecting and managing for...

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Main Authors: Elias, Marlène, Grosse, A.
Format: Poster
Language:Inglés
Published: Bioversity International 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/88231
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author Elias, Marlène
Grosse, A.
author_browse Elias, Marlène
Grosse, A.
author_facet Elias, Marlène
Grosse, A.
author_sort Elias, Marlène
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description India’s Joint Forest Management (JFM) programme is among the first and largest initiatives for collaborative forest governance worldwide. In JFM, the state, represented by the Forest Department (FD), and the village community share responsibilities and benefits of jointly protecting and managing forests adjoining villages. The agreement is operationalized through JFM Committees (JFMCs) – referred to as Village Forest Committees (VFCs) in some states – where elected community representatives and a FD official make forest-related decisions in a supposedly collaborative manner. In an effort to promote gender equity and social inclusion, seats are reserved on these committees for women and marginalized groups, such as Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Schedule Tribes (STs). Yet, despite reservations, the ability of these groups to actively engage in JFM processes remains limited. This study addresses two primary questions: 1) Do local people perceive JFM, as implemented in two Indian landscapes, as equitable and inclusive?; 2) How can gender equity and social inclusion be improved in India’s JFM Program? Our research shows continued social exclusions from JFM processes on the basis of gender and ethnicity. Gender and ethnicity do not operate independently of each other to influence active participation in JFM. Participation is shaped at the intersection of gender and ethnicity, such that women and men from different ethnic groups have distinct experiences with JFM. Our findings underscore the need to reframe the issue of ‘women’s participation’ to capture inequalities among women from different ethnic groups. We conclude with recommendations for enhancing gender equality and social inclusion in JFM.
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spelling CGSpace882312025-11-05T08:30:08Z Unpacking 'gender' in India's Joint Forest Management Program: lessons from two Indian states Elias, Marlène Grosse, A. gender forests social participation India’s Joint Forest Management (JFM) programme is among the first and largest initiatives for collaborative forest governance worldwide. In JFM, the state, represented by the Forest Department (FD), and the village community share responsibilities and benefits of jointly protecting and managing forests adjoining villages. The agreement is operationalized through JFM Committees (JFMCs) – referred to as Village Forest Committees (VFCs) in some states – where elected community representatives and a FD official make forest-related decisions in a supposedly collaborative manner. In an effort to promote gender equity and social inclusion, seats are reserved on these committees for women and marginalized groups, such as Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Schedule Tribes (STs). Yet, despite reservations, the ability of these groups to actively engage in JFM processes remains limited. This study addresses two primary questions: 1) Do local people perceive JFM, as implemented in two Indian landscapes, as equitable and inclusive?; 2) How can gender equity and social inclusion be improved in India’s JFM Program? Our research shows continued social exclusions from JFM processes on the basis of gender and ethnicity. Gender and ethnicity do not operate independently of each other to influence active participation in JFM. Participation is shaped at the intersection of gender and ethnicity, such that women and men from different ethnic groups have distinct experiences with JFM. Our findings underscore the need to reframe the issue of ‘women’s participation’ to capture inequalities among women from different ethnic groups. We conclude with recommendations for enhancing gender equality and social inclusion in JFM. 2017 2017-10-10T13:07:37Z 2017-10-10T13:07:37Z Poster https://hdl.handle.net/10568/88231 en Open Access application/pdf Bioversity International Elias, M.; Grosse, A. (2017) Unpacking 'gender' in India's Joint Forest Management Program: lessons from two Indian states. Bioversity International 1 p.
spellingShingle gender
forests
social participation
Elias, Marlène
Grosse, A.
Unpacking 'gender' in India's Joint Forest Management Program: lessons from two Indian states
title Unpacking 'gender' in India's Joint Forest Management Program: lessons from two Indian states
title_full Unpacking 'gender' in India's Joint Forest Management Program: lessons from two Indian states
title_fullStr Unpacking 'gender' in India's Joint Forest Management Program: lessons from two Indian states
title_full_unstemmed Unpacking 'gender' in India's Joint Forest Management Program: lessons from two Indian states
title_short Unpacking 'gender' in India's Joint Forest Management Program: lessons from two Indian states
title_sort unpacking gender in india s joint forest management program lessons from two indian states
topic gender
forests
social participation
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/88231
work_keys_str_mv AT eliasmarlene unpackinggenderinindiasjointforestmanagementprogramlessonsfromtwoindianstates
AT grossea unpackinggenderinindiasjointforestmanagementprogramlessonsfromtwoindianstates