The initial purpose of this assessment was to identify good practices, lessons learned and key entry points for increasing women‘s participation in and benefit from REDD+ activities, as well as opportunities to advance gender equality through this sector. This study aimed to provide recommendations on how future REDD+ initiatives in Asia, including USAID/RDMA‘s (Regional Development Mission for Asia) new Sustainable Landscapes program, can successfully integrate gender into REDD+ projects to ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of USAID‘s REDD+ work and that USAID assistance makes the optimal contribution to gender equality. This assessment was conducted prior to the award of the USAID/RDMA‘s Sustainable Landscapes project with the goal of informing its design. The findings of the assessment are being integrated into RDMA‘s Lowering Emissions from Asia‘s Forests (LEAF) project, launched in early 2011.
This assessment finds that women have not been systematically identified as stakeholders in REDD+ initiatives and, consequently, have not been involved in related discussions and activities. Additionally, gender issues have not been specifically identified by key actors as having any relevance to the sector. Therefore the focus of this assessment shifted to identifying the constraints to and opportunities for women‘s participation in REDD+ initiatives, particularly as country REDD+ readiness plans are being developed, as well as revealing the potential impacts of gender relations on REDD+ initiatives and vice versa.
Authored by: Dr. Jeannette Gurung, (team lead), Dr. Kalpana Giri and Abidah Billah Setyowati, of Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management (WOCAN), and Dr. Elizabeth Lebow of the United States Forest Service
