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Equity for Women and Marginalized Groups in Patriarchal Societies during Forest Landscape Restoration: The Controlling Influence of Tradition and Culture

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 June 2019

Jack Baynes*
Affiliation:
University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland 4556, Australia
John Herbohn
Affiliation:
University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland 4556, Australia
Nestor Gregorio
Affiliation:
University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland 4556, Australia
William Unsworth
Affiliation:
University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland 4556, Australia New Britain Palm Oil Ltd, Ramu, Papua New Guinea
Émilie Houde Tremblay
Affiliation:
Université Laval, Quebec, Canada
*
Author for correspondence: Jack Baynes, Email: [email protected]

Summary

We explore the difficulty of achieving equity for women in two forest and livelihood restoration (FLR) pilot projects, one each in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and the Philippines. We use institutional bricolage as a framework to explain the context and background of stakeholders’ decision-making and the consequent impact on equity and benefit distribution. In the Philippines, material and institutional support was initially successful in assisting participants to establish small-scale tree plantations. A structured approach to institutional development has successfully evolved to meet the needs of women, even though corruption has re-emerged as a destabilizing influence. In PNG, despite success in establishing trees and crops, the participation of women was subjugated to traditional customs and norms that precluded them from engaging in land management decisions. The capacity-building and gender-equity principles of FLR consequently became compromised. We conclude that in some patriarchal societies achieving equity for women will be difficult and progress will be contingent on a detailed understanding of the effects of traditional customs and norms on participation and decision-making.

Type
Research Paper
Copyright
© Foundation for Environmental Conservation 2019 

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