Men and Women as Conservation Partners in Conflict Settings
Publisher: Routledge
Author(s): Brittany Ajroud, Kame Westerman, and Janet Edmond
Date: 2015
Topics: Gender, Renewable Resources
Countries: Liberia, Timor-Leste
From the forests of Central and Western Africa to the river systems of the Amazon Basin, many of the world’s most critical ecosystems are located in fragile and conflict-affected settings. It is in these places, where natural resources intersect with violence, instability, and community unrest, that conservationists take on the added challenge of minimizing conflict’s impacts on biodiversity and human well-being. And while conservation interventions are often affected by, and sometimes contribute to, conflict they can also facilitate peacebuilding by addressing issues of inequality related to resource access, participation in decision-making, and benefit-sharing. Given that men and women use natural resources in different ways and are impacted by conflict and insecurity in different ways, any peacebuilding process that integrates natural resource management should be based on a clear understanding of the gender-differentiated needs, preferences, and roles within a community.