Community forest monitoring and the social reproduction of inequalities in Ghana
This paper explores the intersectionality of actors engaged in community forest monitoring and its implications for gender roles and the reproduction of inequality in forest-fringe communities of Ghana. Data was collected through focus group discussions and interviews with community forest monitors and stakeholders across eight forest districts. The study found out that community forest monitoring (CFM) introduces new forms of agency in the study localities, stirring gender norms, practices and exclusion among the village actors. By constructing CFM as physically demanding and confrontational activity and women as tacit and nurturing, men wrestle control over monitoring roles, confining women to clerical and household duties. However, in reality, CFM roles require tactfulness and are by no means strenuous as women's daily farming roles in the study localities. Similarly, migrant farmers are excluded from CFM by natives with allegation that the former are involved in illegal farming in protected forests. Meanwhile, native farmers are equal culprits. In the process, a new class of vulnerable actors are formed, with migrant women appearing to be the most exposed. The findings suggest that CSOs need to pay more attention to how they constitute community forest monitoring groups, especially with regards to the local political dynamics and intersectionality among village actors, in order to achieve equitable inclusion. Keywords: Community forestry; Feminist Political Ecology; Gender; Ghana; Intersectionality ID: 3475479
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| Format: | Article biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
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FAO ;
2022
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| Online Access: | https://openknowledge.fao.org/handle/20.500.14283/CC1391EN http://www.fao.org/3/cc1391en/cc1391en.pdf |
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