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Gender Integration and Gender Responsive Research at CIFOR

Highlighting contributions of the DfID supported Knowledge for Forestry Program, produced by CIFOR as part of the CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry

By CIFOR

February 28^th, 2018

1. INTRODUCTION

The forestry sector has much to contribute towards combating gender inequalities and enhancing the full enjoyment of human rights by women and girls. By aligning CIFOR’s research with the global framework on sustainable development, CIFOR is positioning itself to contribute the knowledge and evidence needed to advance a global vision rather than to just strive for results in a piecemeal and isolated manner.

CIFOR’s research and activities are guided by a normative commitment to substantive gender equality, which combines formal gender equality with equality of outcome. We recognize that women’s rights and gender equality are not only a means to achieving other outcomes, but are integral and legitimate goals in and of themselves. We are concerned with how gender intersects with other factors of social differentiation (including generational dimensions) to position individuals within their societies and shape their opportunities, constraints and capabilities.

Gender equality and social inclusion are interwoven into each of the main areas of CIFOR’s research and engagement activities. We continue to focus on how gender equality and social inclusion affect or are affected by drivers of change in tree-based and forested landscape. Women’s access to resources and opportunities; their voice and influence in decision-making processes at various levels; and gender equitable distribution of paid and unpaid work have been central to our endeavors.

Our research and engagement strategies aim to support local women’s and men’s abilities so they can exercise their agency to redress gender inequalities. We do this by engaging with a wide range of actors, across scales and sectors, to facilitate an enabling environment for women’s rights and gender equality.

With support from the UK aid’s Knowledge for Forestry (Knowfor) program, we have been furthering gender integration and gender-responsive research at CIFOR in two ways:

by deepening conceptual and methodological capabilities to undertake more nuanced and relevant gender analyses
by synthesizing and disseminating current gender research, distilling lessons and disseminating them to a carefully targeted group of policy actors at national, regional and global policy levels.

We trust that the following summary and compilation of our knowledge products and engagement activities will highlight our key achievements, thanks to the support of the Knowfor program.

Robert Nasi

Director General

Center for International Forestry Research

2. DEEPENING CONCEPTUAL AND METHODOLOGICAL CAPABILITIES

2a. Contributing to the global framework on sustainable development

With Knowfor’s support, CIFOR’s researchers have contributed to gaining globally applicable knowledge and providing suggested solutions to gender imbalances that are found intertwined with forests, climate change and rural livelihoods. Here are some of their achievements.

Gender Integration and Gender Responsive Research at CIFOR

CIFOR Scientist and Gender Coordinator, Bimbika Sijapati Basnett, gave a presentation on how CIFOR’s gender research is aligning with and contributing to the global framework on sustainable development during the Swedish Royal Visit to CIFOR’s campus in Indonesia.

Furthermore, CIFOR’s researchers have contributed to global publications on sustainable development, such as through the:

UN Environment’s Global Gender and Environment Outlook (2016) (Chapter 1: The Gender–Environment Nexus)
Roots for the Future: the Landscape and Way Forward on Gender and Climate Change (IUCN and GGCA 2015)

CIFOR´s researchers also contributed to the Global Sustainable Development Report (2016 edition)

2b. Embracing an intersectional approach to gender analyses

Current gender analysis concepts and frameworks call attention to heterogeneity among men and women, for example, ethnicity, wealth status, caste, age, etc. However, current practice does not fully exploit the opportunity to understand how gender intersects with these multiple attributes to influence outcomes. CIFOR has focused on developing the capacity to employ high-level intersectional analyses in order to undertake more nuanced gender research and to increase the prospects of contributing to better targeted policy and practice options for advancing gender equality. What follows provides some highlights of our work.

CIFOR researchers employed an intersectional lens to conduct a systematic review of research papers on climate change adaptation papers and to examine how gender is framed in them.

CIFOR researchers partner with prominent gender scholars in US and European Universities to reflect on the growing divide between gender theory and practice in environmental policy, and the measures needed to bridge the gap.

CIFOR will soon publish a manual synthesizing the growing body of theoretical literature on intersectionality, offering a framework for better integrating ‘intersectionality’ into CIFOR’s ongoing research, and providing tips for employing an ‘intersectional lens’ in carrying out fieldwork and strategically supporting marginalized individuals and communities.

To enhance the dissemination and uptake of our work on intersectionality, as well as to solicit feedback from CGIAR peers and colleagues, we also developed a presentation outlining the main tenets of CIFOR’s approach to intersectionality. The presentation was well received at the CGIAR Scientific Conference on Gender Research (Amsterdam, December 2017) and the CIFOR Annual Meeting (Bogor, October 2017). The manual, presentations and feedback and inputs received so far will be further distilled into a succinct CIFOR infobrief in early 2018.

2c. Learning from the 30 years of research on gender and environment

CIFOR has released an Earthscan Reader on Gender and Forests to bring together an accessible collection of theory, analysis, methodology, case studies and more on gender and forestry in the last thirty years and laying out ongoing debates in the field. The book was launched on the sidelines of the 125th anniversary congress of the International Union of Forestry Research Organizations (IUFRO). 500 copies of the book were donated to libraries, academics and researchers in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Asia. CIFOR also hosted an event to introduce the book and discuss the relevance of its findings to the next generation of gender and forestry scholars, policy makers, civil society organizations and other stakeholders in Indonesia. The book has been widely acclaimed by students, researchers and practitioners alike. The whole book will be available by open access through CIFOR’s website in June 2018.

3. SYNTHESIS AND DISSEMINATION OF GENDER RESEARCH IN COLLABORATION WITH BOUNDARY AND RESEARCH PARTNERS

3a. Migration and gender landscapes: Adding a gender dimension to CIFOR’s research on mobility

CIFOR has woven a strong gender perspective into its ongoing work on mobility and forests, to ultimately inform policies and practices that are cognizant of the changing context of rural livelihoods, that serve to capitalize on the flow of financial and social remittances to rural areas, and that strategically empower women and girls in the process. The research was situated in Nepal, Burkina Faso and Ethiopia to compare, contrast and draw policy lessons from countries with diverging migration trajectories, gender dynamics and histories of forest use and governance. This research has brought greater attention to migration and land use change in these countries and helped develop the momentum needed for increased coordination and collaboration among a wide range of organizations working on migration and rural development in these countries.

Featuring research and engagement activities in Nepal

3b. Forest landscape restoration (FLR)

While Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) is by no means a new idea, it has received unprecedented global attention in recent years through the Bonn Challenge, the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative, amongst others. CIFOR researchers are partnering with national and local partners in Uganda, other CGIAR research programs and centers, GIZ, the World Bank’s PROFOR and IUCN Global Gender Office to highlight the key considerations for gender-responsive FLR, and good practices for elevating women through lessons from ongoing and active research in Uganda.

Regional and global events in collaboration with Knowfor partners (PROFOR and IUCN) and knowledge products

3c. Corporate commitments to sustainability

Major international companies that buy, trade in or produce agricultural commodities in developing countries that own forests of global significance have made a joint commitment to stop clearing natural forests, and to include smallholders and poor communities in their supply chains. But gender and social justice issues are still on the sidelines of current discussions on corporate commitments. CIFOR researchers have been documenting the gender dimensions of agricultural value chains and engaging with a variety of actors – from smallholders and workers to the private sector, national governmental and nongovernmental agencies – during the process of research and dissemination. This body of work has been informing gender issues in key policy processes such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO), Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT), the Rights and Resources Initiative’s advocacy for gender justice in the context of large-scale land acquisition, and Oxfam’s Gender Transformative and Responsible Agribusiness Investments in South East Asia (GRAISEA).

3d. REDD+ and climate change research at CIFOR

CIFOR has drawn on its ongoing research on REDD+, climate change adaptation and mitigation to equip a wide range of actors, including those involved in policy processes, with the necessary skills and knowledge to advance gender equality and women’s well-being through climate change action. CIFOR has capitalized on both its position as a knowledge hub on REDD+ as well as its partnership with IUCN and PROFOR through the Knowfor program to facilitate dialogue and collaborations among a wide range of organizations working to safeguard women’s rights and advance gender equality in the context of changing climate.

Knowledge products

In a soon to be published paper in a leading academic journal, CIFOR’s REDD+ researchers have traced the effects of REDD+ on gender equality at 16 REDD+ sites across Africa, Latin America and Asia. This large-scale research project finds that women’s subjective well-being has declined at REDD+ project sites, and attribute such a finding to gender being treated as an after-thought and inadequately mainstreamed throughout the REDD+ design and implementation process. The findings of the research were presented during the FLARE annual meeting in 2017, and to a Bangladeshi delegation from the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Environment and Forest during a UNDP- and CIFOR-hosted knowledge-sharing event on gender and climate finance. CIFOR has also drawn on feminist and development literature to suggest several important lessons and considerations for building equitable and approaches to REDD+.

Responding to a formal request from the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection in Indonesia, CIFOR researchers have provided, through peer-reviewed publication, recommendations for integrating gender in REDD+ monitoring and evaluation indicators in Indonesia.

In response to a request from the Board of Green Climate Change Fund to review and assist in updating the Green Climate Fund’s Gender Policy and Action Plan, CIFOR researchers, through peer-reviewed publication, draw lessons from CIFOR’s research on gender and climate change to offer recommendations for the GCF.

Engagement

CIFOR Scientist, Thuy Thu Pham, presented CIFOR’s research on gender and climate change during the joint FIP-FCPF Knowledge day, which brought together 150 participants from over 40 countries in Luang Prabang, Lao PDRF on 28 September 2017 in conjunction with FIP and FCPF. Dr. Pham’s presentation showcased her analysis that gender mainstreaming in forestry policies requires us to move beyond just having policies in place. Political will is also needed to develop the capacity of all actors involved in forest governance.

A short CIFOR documentary on Gender equity in the Vietnam forestry sector was was first broadcasted on Vietnam’s National Television on 5 November 2017 and rebroadcasted six additional times between November 2017 and January 2018.

CIFOR collaborated with the following organizations and put together a set of briefs on gender and climate change ahead of the COP22 in Paris: IUCN, UN Women and UNDP-UNEP Poverty Environment Initiative, Care International, Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO), Bioversity International, CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).

CIFOR has organized a wide range of knowledge-sharing events on gender and climate change alongside Knowfor partners and others during COP21, GLF Paris, COP22, GLF Marrakech, COP23 and GLF Bonn.

3e. Small and medium-size enterprises and informal sectors

Indonesian furniture accounts for almost 2% of the global wood furniture trade, which is valued at more than USD 0.98 billion (2012). In Central Java’s Jepara District, the center of teak-based Indonesian furniture, annual furniture exports are valued at USD 110 million (2012). In 2011, CIFOR carried out an action research on the role and position of women workers in teak value chains. It pointed to significant gender-based discrimination in pay. Gender asymmetries in control over resources, decision-making, product development and bargaining were also found. Knowfor funds have been used to make this brief video on female woodworkers which will be widely disseminated to ensure gender issues are prioritized in efforts to enhance and upgrade furniture value chains in Indonesia.

In Zambia, charcoal accounts for 70% of the country’s total energy requirements. Recent increases in urban demand, coupled with rural poverty, have also contributed to a rapid expansion in charcoal-related employment, with approximately 500,000 people currently employed across the value chains. Between 2016 and 2017, CIFOR carried out additional analyses of women’s participation across the value chain which found that women’s role has increased substantially in an otherwise traditionally male-dominated value chain. Women are now found more ubiquitously in trading, retailing and production. However, women who produce charcoal often participate on unequal terms and are subjected to considerable social stigmatization. Some of our findings were featured in the Zambian Daily Mail. Knowfor funds were also used to produce the following video , which directs attention to charcoal-producing women.

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