Authors Needed:

The Editorial Team of the Gender, Society & Development series is planning a
book on 'gender/women and sustainable resources management' to be published
in 2002. The book will be the 6th in the series produced by KIT (Royal
Tropical Institute) and co-distributed by Oxfam GB. (For information on the
previous books:
http://www.kit.nl/information_services/html/gender_society_development…).

The Team is looking for authors, especially from the South, with practical
experience in the field of integrating and mainstreaming gender/women'
issues into the management and use of natural resources for sustainable
development. We would like to invite these persons to write a paper on
their experience, in particular the approaches used to integrate/mainstream
women, to institutionalize a gender approach or community-based approach,
the
effects on women and men, constraints, lessons learned, etc. The book will
include 4-5 papers, complemented by an annoted bibliography (150-200
references plus abstracts) and key internet resources. Persons who are
interested in contributing a paper should note that the paper would be
required by the end of April 2002. More information on the proposed book
can be found in the attached file 'Proposal and background'. We would also
appreciate suggestions of possible authors as well as for improving the
proposal.

Sarah Cummings, Henk van Dam & Minke Valk
Editorial Team, Gender, Society & Development
KIT Information Services
KIT (Royal Tropical Institute)
P.O. Box 95001
1090 HA Amsterdam
The Netherlands
[email protected]
http://www.kit.nl

Message sent by:

Minke Valk
KIT Information Services
Information Specialist

****
Proposal and background for the 6th book in the Gender, Society &
Development series

This short text is meant as a background document for a forthcoming
publication in the Gender, Society & Development series produced by
Information Services, Royal Tropical Institute (KIT). It will be the 6th
book in the series, to be published in 2002, and distributed by KIT Press
and
Oxfam GB. Information about these books can be found at:
http://www.kit.nl/information_services/html/gender_society_development…

**Proposal for the 6th book in the series
Provisional title: Natural resources management: what has gender got to do
with it? A global source book

**Introduction:

A wise use of resources is the key to sustainable development, poor rural
people, women and men, are a key link to that use.

Women as well as men in the rural areas of developing countries depend on
natural resources such as water, soil, plants, and animals to secure their
livelihood. They are engaged in productive activities including farming,
animal husbandry and fisheries to provide food and an income to support
their families. Most of the people living in the rural areas are poor, and
often
are forced to overuse the resources available to them, thereby contributing
to
resources degradation. On the other hand, they have developed diverse
knowledge, perceptions, skills and practices that are valuable for the
management of natural resources for food security and sustainable
development.

Women in general are more at a disadvantage than men due to their lower
social and economic status and lack of decision-making power. They have
limited
access to land, credit, capital, technology, lack of education, training
and information, and an unfavourable legal and policy environment. This
hampers their ability to use and manage resources they need to make a living
for
themselves and their families.

Since the early 1980s considerable attention has been paid to the
relationship between women and the environment & natural resources. In 1991
the
Women's Action Agenda 21 was formulated and elaborated in the run-up of the
1992
UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). A major review and
revision of the Women's Action Agenda 21 is envisaged in the lead-up to
Earth
Summit 2002.

Increasing recognition of the interaction between poverty, and resources
and environmental degradation has led to the development of interventions
that
put more and more emphasis on working with local communities to improve the
management of natural resources. Participatory and community-based
approaches to natural resource management and sustainable development are
being
applied.

Participatory resource management projects that include women as well as
men are considered to hold the greatest promise for achieving sustainable
resource management and development, and social equity.

Understanding the environmental roles and responsibilities of women and
men in developing economies is critical to sustainable resource management
practices.

Identifying and overcoming the barriers to women's and men's full
participation in the management of resources is a necessary first step
towards the ultimate goals of poverty alleviation and sustainable
development.

**The book
The book aims to cover experiences with involving rural women and men in
sustainable resources management. It is meant for practitioners,
intermediaries and professionals working in the field of women/gender and
resources management. The focus is on interventions that aim to
incorporate women and gender dimensions, including participatory and
community-based interventions. The impact of interventions on women and men
and
the gender
relations, and on women's and men's ability to use and manage natural
resources in a sustainable way should be highlighted. Analysis should show
factors of success, constraints and lessons learned.

The book will include 4-5 papers written by authors preferably from the
South, complemented with an annotated bibliography of relevant literature
and a
section on key electronic resources. The papers should comprise 8-10 pages
including references, and editing will be done by the Editorial Team.
The book is published by KIT Publishers and Oxfam GB.

**Content of the papers
Questions that may be considered in writing:
= An introduction on how women and men are related to the natural
resources, i.e. what resources do they use, for what purpose, are there
availability problems, what are women's and men's priorities, do women and
men experience the same constraints; women's status vis a vis men's;

= What kind/type of intervention/development work has been
undertaken (community-based; project, programme; was it part of a larger
activity); have there been any benefits; if so have women and men benefited
equally;

= what type of organization has implemented the intervention (NGO,
government organization, etc.)

= how have the interventions been introduced and implemented; was
there a specific approach/method; has there been a gender analysis prior to
design and implementation; have the targeted women and men participated in
planning, implementation and decision-making; if so, have women and men
enjoyed
equal opportunities for participation;

= has the intervention affected the population's resource use,
management; has it affected the gender relations; have there been any
changes in women's and men's ability to gain access to, control over natural
resources

= were there any successes, constraints and lessons learned; has it
contributed to a more sustainable development; to empowerment of women,
and men

= What could be the way forward

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