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“Somos pocas, pero buenas”: A case study of women’s participation within community forestry in the Maya Biosphere Reserve, Guatemala

Baumanns, Elena Anne LU (2015) MIDM19 20151
LUMID International Master programme in applied International Development and Management
Abstract
Community forestry has been promoted as a participatory approach for conservation and sustainable development. Yet, community forestry was found to exclude women in different contexts around the globe. Utilizing a Feminist Political Ecology perspective the purpose of this study was to explore women’s participation within community forestry in Petén, Guatemala in order to contribute to the understanding of women in community forestry. Through a case study approach I analyzed how women participate in two different community forest enterprises and what factors have shaped women’s participation. I found that women participate in different spaces and levels of participation, but are barely involved in decision making. Women’s limited... (More)
Community forestry has been promoted as a participatory approach for conservation and sustainable development. Yet, community forestry was found to exclude women in different contexts around the globe. Utilizing a Feminist Political Ecology perspective the purpose of this study was to explore women’s participation within community forestry in Petén, Guatemala in order to contribute to the understanding of women in community forestry. Through a case study approach I analyzed how women participate in two different community forest enterprises and what factors have shaped women’s participation. I found that women participate in different spaces and levels of participation, but are barely involved in decision making. Women’s limited participation in community forestry was found to be rooted in how gender is constructed, existing social norms and perceptions of gender roles, entrenched claims of men holding power as well as personal and household endowments and attributes which create barriers for women to participate. However, gendered power relations seem to be changing on a national, local and intra-household setting. External actors have been shaping women’s participation and pushing the inclusion of women. Although some women have become more actively involved, women are far from having the opportunity to equally engage in decision making in this case of community forestry. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Baumanns, Elena Anne LU
supervisor
organization
course
MIDM19 20151
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
community forestry, women’s participation, feminist political ecology, power relations, gendered rights and responsibilities, Guatemala
language
English
id
5422533
date added to LUP
2015-06-29 15:19:32
date last changed
2015-06-29 15:19:32
@misc{5422533,
  abstract     = {{Community forestry has been promoted as a participatory approach for conservation and sustainable development. Yet, community forestry was found to exclude women in different contexts around the globe. Utilizing a Feminist Political Ecology perspective the purpose of this study was to explore women’s participation within community forestry in Petén, Guatemala in order to contribute to the understanding of women in community forestry. Through a case study approach I analyzed how women participate in two different community forest enterprises and what factors have shaped women’s participation. I found that women participate in different spaces and levels of participation, but are barely involved in decision making. Women’s limited participation in community forestry was found to be rooted in how gender is constructed, existing social norms and perceptions of gender roles, entrenched claims of men holding power as well as personal and household endowments and attributes which create barriers for women to participate. However, gendered power relations seem to be changing on a national, local and intra-household setting. External actors have been shaping women’s participation and pushing the inclusion of women. Although some women have become more actively involved, women are far from having the opportunity to equally engage in decision making in this case of community forestry.}},
  author       = {{Baumanns, Elena Anne}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{“Somos pocas, pero buenas”: A case study of women’s participation within community forestry in the Maya Biosphere Reserve, Guatemala}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}