Inclusive Governance

The equal participation of women in decision-making bodies, processes, and civil society leadership is vital for both community and environmental well-being—and for long-term peace. Due to gendered roles in many fragile and conflict-affected settings, women’s knowledge and experiences of natural resource management constitute a particular entry point to include them more meaningfully in political and decision-making processes at all levels.

Decisions impacting the management of natural resources can take place at the sub-national, national, and regional levels, and across a number of institutions, such as national ministries and regional representation bodies, land commissions, water resource boards, or forestry committees. At the local level in particular, the engagement of women in the governance of natural resources has been shown to yield positive outcomes for community livelihoods and conflict prevention.

However, ensuring women’s engagement in decision-making processes often requires confronting deeply embedded socio-cultural barriers. Significant negative cultural beliefs and practices entrenched in society can create resistance, especially where the allocation of economically valuable natural resources is concerned. Furthermore, low literacy rates, particularly in rural women, can constitute an obstacle to participation and prevent awareness of the potential impacts specific decisions can have on their lives.

In order to address these challenges, it is vital that more attention be paid to reducing the gendered barriers to participation, in particular where these intersect with other factors of marginalization. This includes training and capacity building to increase women’s effective participation in natural resource governance processes; providing gender expertise to teams developing policies and other governance tools around natural resource management in peacebuilding contexts, including in supply chain certification mechanisms, benefit-sharing schemes, and transparency initiatives; and empowering diverse civil society organizations and women’s networks.

Key Resources

Gender and Post-Conflict Governance: Understanding the Challenges

Resources

Global: OSCE Tackles Gender and Climate Change Nexus

International
A major OSCE conference in Vienna brought together experts to examine the gendered dimensions of climate change and associated security risks across the organization's 57…

Emphasize Gender Equality in Water Management Elsewhere

Blog
Only three per cent of the world’s water is freshwater. However, 2.5 per cent of all the world’s water is locked in glaciers, ice-capped polar…

Canada: PBI-Canada Notes Concerns about Risk of Violence to Indigenous Land Defenders, Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA People near Major Projects

International
Peace Brigades International-Canada expresses concern that proposed major extractive projects brings an increased risk of violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people in communities…

Los cuidadores de pacientes con leishmaniasis visceral (kala-azar), en Kenia, resisten la lucha contra una enfermedad mortal que no distingue entre tribus ni niños

Spotlight
Marzo de 2026, Pokot Occidental: Durante tres días, la lluvia ha caído sin cesar. El camino que lleva al Hospital del Subcondado de Sigor, normalmente…

Uganda: Alupo Launches African Pastoralist Women Network to Boost Land Rights

International
Vice President Jessica Alupo has officially launched the African Pastoralist Women Network (ARPWN) and a Learning Centre aimed at advancing gender justice, climate resilience, and…

Brazil: Landless Women Mobilize for Agrarian Reform and Against Violence by Brazil

International
This year’s National Day of Landless Women’s Struggles began on March 8 and runs until next Thursday, the 12th, with mobilizations in all regions of…

Liberia: Women’s Land Rights Are Not Favors, They Are Rights as NAWoLaR Officially Launched in Monrovia

International
MONROVIA –The National Alliance for Women’s Land Rights (NAWoLaR) has been officially launched, signaling a unified national front to dismantle discriminatory practices that have long…

Central African Republic: How Land Empowers Refugee Women and Builds Resilient Livelihoods in the Central African Republic

International
At dawn, the communal field slowly comes to life in the Korsi neighbourhood of Birao in Vakaga, Central African Republic. Women arrive in small groups,…

Integrated Assessment of Climate-Related Security Risks for Peace and Security in Blue Nile, Sudan, and Their Gender Dimensions

Library
The Blue Nile State in Sudan is grappling with a severe and escalating crisis, marked by an intensifying conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF)…

Conflicts and Trends to Watch in 2026

Report
Entering 2026, the global security landscape is defined by record-high levels of armed conflict, democratic backsliding, geopolitical fragmentation, and an accelerating climate crisis—dynamics unfolding alongside…

Realizing Gender Responsive Human Rights Through Governance Feminism

Library
Human rights guarantees in Indonesia are still far from the expected commitments in the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration, ratified by ASEAN countries on November 19,…

Global: Indigenous Women and the Path to a Just Energy Transition: Voices from the Land

International
Key Ideas: 

The implementation of the energy transition is unfolding at the expense of biodiversity and communities — particularly Indigenous women, says Galina Angarova and Daniela…

Kenya: Turkana’s Trailblazers: The Women Redefining Leadership on Oil-Rich Land

International
What you need to know:  Two Turkana women, Veronica Natesiro and Jane Atabo, are breaking barriers by leading their community’s land governance in Lokichar.Through the Community…

Gender, Conflict & Peacebuilding

Event
This course will delve into the intersectional relationship between gender, conflict, security, and peacebuilding, catering to policymakers, peacebuilding practitioners, and international development professionals. Participants will…

Integrating Gender Perspectives into Environmental Sustainability: Ecological Security and Post-Conflict Impacts in the Middle East

Library
Understanding the pressing need to incorporate gender views into environmental sustainability initiatives in Middle Eastern conflict-affected areas with a special focus on Iraq, Syria, and…

Climate, Peace and Security in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo

Library
Local communities in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) face the combined challenge of climate change and violent conflict, which exacerbates vulnerabilities, poverty, displacement…

Eighth Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction

Event
The Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction is the main global forum to assess and discuss progress on the implementation of the Sendai Framework for…

"Global Environmental Challenges" in Feminist Foreign Policy Analysis

Library
Any discussion of ‘gender perspectives on X’ or ‘feminist approaches to Y’ must acknowledge and respond to the extreme precarity of the historical moment in…

Building Resilience through Climate Action: Gender, Peace, and Security in Sri Lanka

Briefs & Development
Sri Lanka is at a crossroads. The impacts of climate change are becoming increasingly visible, with erratic rainfall, prolonged droughts, and rising sea levels disrupting…

Powering Women Entrepreneurs in Eswatini

Library
The Powering Gender Equality Project is a transformative initiative designed to address gender disparities in the energy sector by empowering women and promoting gender equality…

6th Arab Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction

Event
The Arab Regional Platform is a vital disaster risk reduction coordination mechanism, providing a platform for all DRR stakeholders to take stock of progress and agree on…

Populism, Post-truth Politics and Disaster Risk: Challenges for Governance and Marginalised Communities

Report
This policy brief explores the intersection of populism, post-truth politics, and disaster risk governance, with a focus on their impacts on marginalised groups. Populism, characterised…

Mapping the Patriarchy in Conservation

Library
It is essential to ensure the effectiveness of current conservation efforts to meet the interconnected crises of biodiversity loss, habitat degradation, and climate change. In…

The Geopolitics of Green Colonialism: Eco-Feminist Perspectives from Africa

Library
This chapter unpacks the African debates on eco-feminism and looks at its contemporary concepts and practices which are rooted in the African context. It explores the ways…

Women Building Peace

Library
This volume looks back at a wealth of women’s peacebuilding practice documented by Accord since 1998. Case studies from Cambodia, Sierra Leone, northern Uganda, Papua…

Liberia: Women Push for Greater Land Rights

International
Women from across Liberia are pushing for more rights in acquiring ownership of land as compared to their male counterparts.In observance of rural women land…

Women's Access and Control over Woodland and Water Resources in Rural Zimbabwe

Briefs & Development
The management of woodland and water resources in rural Zimbabwe is currently facing enormous challenges related to unequal access and control for women. Woodland and…

Ensuring African Women’s Access to Justice: Engendering Rights for Poverty Reduction in Sub-Saharan Africa

Library
About half of the people of Sub-Saharan Africa live below the poverty line, and 80 per cent of them are women. Their access to justice…

Uganda/DRC: War Crimes | Uganda Pays $65 Million to DRC for Reparations [Video]

International
Uganda has made a partial payment of $65 million US Dollars to the DRC government as reparations for war crimes committed by its troops in…

Female Leadership in Environmental Peacebuilding: Ievgeniia Kopytsia Speaks at British Academy Summer Showcase

International
On Thursday, July 11, 2024, the British Academy hosted its annual Summer Showcase Private View, offering an exclusive preview of their free festival of ideas. Among…