Forestry Policy and Institutions Working Paper 18 Gender Mainstreaming in Forestry in Africa Mali Burkina Faso Ghana Ethiopia Cameroon Kenya D.R. Congo Tanzania Zambia Madagascar Forestry Policy and Institutions Working Paper 18 Gender Mainstreaming in Forestry in Africa REGIONAL REPORT Report of a project carried out under the FAO Netherlands Partnership Programme FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS ROME, 2007 The Forestry Policy and Institutions Working Papers report on issues in the work programme of FAO. These working papers do not reflect any official position of FAO. Please refer to the FAO Web site (www.fao.org/forestry) for official information. The purpose of these papers is to provide early information on ongoing activities and programmes, to facilitate dialogue and to stimulate discussion. The Forest Policy Service works in the broad areas of strengthening national institutional capacities, including research, education and extension; forest policies and governance; support to national forest programmes; forests, poverty alleviation and food security; participatory forestry and sustainable livelihoods. For further information, please contact: Simmone Rose Forestry Officer (Impact Assessment) Forest Products and Industries Division Forestry Department, FAO Viale delle Terme di Caracalla 00153 Rome, Italy E-mail : [email protected] Web site: www.fao.org/forestry Comments and feedback are welcome. For quotation: FAO. 2007. Gender Mainstreaming in Forestry in Africa. Forest Policy Working Paper No. 18. Rome. 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Applications for such permission should be addressed to the Chief, Publishing Management Service, Information Division, FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy or by e-mail to [email protected] © FAO 2007 Acknowledgements This important work on “Gender Mainstreaming in Forestry in Africa” was commissioned in January 2007 and was undertaken by a team of local experts from ten African countries in west, east central and southern Africa. The team, with expertise in gender and development, has been drawn from multidisciplinary fields including forestry, social science and natural resources among others. The project was funded under the FAO Netherlands Partnership Programme. Simmone Rose coordinated the project at FAO and the regional report was prepared by Danielle Lema Ngono and Elizabeth Ardayfio-Schandorf. The support from the FAO representations in each of the countries involved in this study; Vice Chancellor, Professor Clifford Nii Boi Tagoe, University of Ghana and Dr Carol Colfer, Center for International Forest Research (CIFOR) is acknowledged. FAO values the tremendous support accorded to the experts in the various countries in the collection of data by forestry and forestry-related ministries, institutions, women’s ministries, research, teaching and extension institutions, as well as individuals who personally collected data and contributed in diverse ways at the national level to make this work a success. This study is just the beginning. It is hoped that it will be widely disseminated, and that African governments will adopt the national reports for implementation as the first step in promoting enhanced gender balance in the forestry sector in Africa. ii Table of Contents Acknowledgements...........................................................................................................................i Introduction ....................................................................................................................................1 Legislation and Institutional Framework for Gender Mainstreaming in Forestry ....................5 Introduction.....................................................................................................................................5 Institutional Mechanism for Gender Mainstreaming ...................................................................6 Forestry Policies and Legislation.....................................................................................................9 Gender Policies and Legislation....................................................................................................11 Forest Policies and Institutions Facilitating Gender Mainstreaming .........................................13 The Evolving Gender Situation in Forestry Organizations in Africa ........................................16 Introduction...................................................................................................................................16 Gender and Employment Trends in the Forest Sector................................................................18 The Current Status of Gender and Employment.........................................................................22 Constraints and Gaps ....................................................................................................................24 Gender Structures in Households and Local Forestry Initiatives..............................................27 Introduction...................................................................................................................................27 Gender Structures and Responsibilities in Households/Communities ......................................27 Local Forestry Initiatives ...............................................................................................................30 Regional Women in Forestry Networks in Africa.......................................................................33 Introduction...................................................................................................................................33 Current Status of Women in Forestry Networks.........................................................................33 Potential for Networking...............................................................................................................34 Conclusions and Recommendations ...........................................................................................37 Key Conclusions ............................................................................................................................37 The Regional Perspective...............................................................................................................38 Recommendations.........................................................................................................................41 The Regional Perspective...............................................................................................................42 References ......................................................................................................................................45 ANNEX – Gender and Forestry Resource Persons in Selected Countries in Africa ..................46 iii List of Tables Table 1: Number of women in the political sphere (2003-2006)................................................19 Table 2: Professional employees of the Federal Natural Resource Bureau, Addis Ababa..........19 Table 3: Employees of the Forestry Commission by gender, Ghana ..........................................21 Table 4: Women’s employment structure in Madagascar...........................................................23 Table 5: Main causes of inequality in forestry at the community level in Kenya.......................29 List of Figures Figure 1 Professional employees at FNRB....................................................................................20 Figure 2 Forestry Commission employees ...................................................................................21 iv Introduction This study on Gender Mainstreaming in Forestry in Africa is long overdue. The emergence of this work has been influenced by the successful outcome of a study on gender and forestry, undertaken by a Team of Specialists from Europe and America, under the auspices of the joint FAO/ECE/ILO Committee. The gender and forestry workshop, organized by the International Union of Forest Research Organizations, held at Umëa, Sweden, in June 2006, underscored the urgent need to bridge the knowledge gap concerning the status of women in forestry in Africa. The timely intervention of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) made this possible through its response to the requests of the Centre for International Forest Research, the International Union of Research Organizations and the University of Ghana, which forged a partnership in the initiation, implementation and execution of the study. The concept of gender is one that is either not well understood or misunderstood in many institutions and societies in Africa. This is