Ghana Environmental Management Project (GEMP)

How to Mainstream

Gender Equality in

Conservation ProjectsConservation ProjectsWildlife and BiodiversityWildlife and Biodiversity

MODULE 2

ContentsIntroduction to the Module

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Gender, Wildlife and Biodiversity Conservation

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1.

Problem

Identification

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4

Gender Issues

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4

2.

Project Design

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5

Project Logic Model: Gender, Wildlife and Biodiversity Conservation

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6

3.

Project Implementation

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Case Study 1: Zaazi on the hunt

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Case Study 2: Nakong Beekeeping Subproject

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4.

Project Monitoring

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Indicators

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5.

Project Evaluation

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Monitoring and Evaluation Tools

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Introduction to the Module

These modules are for government staff of the ministries and departments related to Environmental Protection, Environment, Science and Technology, Food and Agriculture, Gender, Children and Social Protection; District staff, planners and Gender Desk Officers; NGOs, CBOs, women's groups and community leaders.

The modules cover each of the six themes of the Ghana Environmental Management Project: Module 1: Land use and soil managementModule 2: Wildlife and biodiversity conservationModule 3: Energy resource managementModule 4: Water resource managementModule 5: Management of vegetative coverModule 6: Alternative and sustainable livelihoods.

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Despite many agencies' commitment to gender equality, gender mainstreaming in project cycle management has been limited. Some pay attention to gender during Problem Identification, and at certain points of the Design and Monitoring phases. To truly mainstream gender in sustainable land management projects, each phase of the project cycle needs to be linked with appropriate gender analysis tools and key gender questions. Each module contains advice on how to mainstream gender through the project cycle: 1. Problem Identification2. Project Design3. Project Implementation4. Project Monitoring 5. Project Evaluation

You can use these materials to assist you to go through the planning cycle with staff, district stakeholders and communities to ensure that the gender issues of inequity are really being addressed by interventions for gender and sustainable land management. Each section contains key questions and examples to assist you to design, implement and monitor gender-sensitive projects with stakeholders and communities.

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Gender, Wildlife and Biodiversity Conservation

Problem identification involves understanding the problems, needs and opportunities related to gender and sustainable land management. It should take into consideration environmental policy, current technologies, ways of working with communities, and considerations for transforming existing gender relations of power and control.

When you are identifying a problem related to gender and sustainable land management, answer the following questions to ensure that gender equality is mainstreamed.

1. Has relevant gender information, especially socio‐economic information, been identified and collected so that it can be included in discussions about project design?

2. Is background data disaggregated by sex? (In many cases, disaggregation by other social identities such as age and ethnic origin is also required, given that communities are rarely homogeneous units.)

3. Have gender specialists (in the CBO or NGO, for example) and representatives of women's organizations within the community been consulted?

4. Have both men and women been involved in problem identification (even if the ultimate problem recognized affects one sex more than the other)?

Here is a list of some of the issues of gender inequity (gender issues) related to wildlife and biodiversity conservation.

1. Lack of ownership rights to land by women as a result of biodiversity depletion2. Lack of access and control of fertile lands by women due to pressure on limited fertile

land by men as a result of land degradation3. Longer hours used by women and children in search of portable water due to pollution of

water bodies thus affecting education of children, especially the girl child4. Longer hours used by both women and men in search of fuel wood, herbal plants and

fishing grounds, thus affecting economic activities and livelihood5. Lack of recognition of women in decision making with regard to conserving wildlife and

biodiversity6. Lack of involvement of women in capacity building in wildlife and biodiversity

conservation leads to the marginalization of women on conservation efforts

The following is a short description of the major gender issues of inequity related to wildlife and biodiversity conservation:

The natural vegetation of the three northern regions is gradually been destroyed by land clearing for agriculture and other economic activities. The growing human population in the regions has placed greater demand on the limited natural resources, which makes other species more vulnerable to lose their natural habitats and biological diversity.The loss of forestland has reduced the level of biodiversity, the problems can also be found in water resources because of the use of toxic chemicals by several illegal mining companies.

1. Problem Identification

Gender Issues

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Insufficient action to guard against deforestation, land degradation, and the release of toxic materials into water bodies and the environment from mining activities and some fishermen are leading to the extinction of some species of plants and animals. Plant life is being destroyed, and streams are increasingly becoming polluted with hazardous chemicals.

The destruction of natural resources including the sacred groves, herbaria, national parks and sanctuaries through land clearing and bushfires were found to be on the ascendancy; engendering food security, health and tourism. The indiscriminate bush burning and poaching adversely impactwild life and biodiverse resources. Traditionally, women are not allowed into the sacred groves; the destruction was caused mainly by men who encroached the land for farming and, or building. The lack of knowledge on how the ecosystem works better because of their inherent diversity and their benefits to soceity has been identified as a challenge.

An excerpt from: Gender Equality Strategy and Action Plan to Combat Drought and Desertification in the three Northern Regions of Ghana (GESAP), developed in 2011 by the Environmental Protection Agency, in conjunction with the Ghana Environmental Management Project.

Within the framework given by your agency or organization, or sometimes by your funder's request, you will need to identify objectives and the activities that will enable you to achieve expected results. The Project Design stage is the most important when it comes to integrating the gender dimension into the project. You can apply all the information obtained from your gender analysis in order to plan based on real information concerning the lives of the male and female beneficiaries.

When you are choosing expected results and activities for your project, answer the following questions to ensure that gender equality is mainstreamed.

1. What is the current situation of men and women in the area of your planned intervention?2. Will the proposed project contribute to existing inequalities among men and women?3. Does the proposed project break down or challenge existing inequalities among men and

women?4. Will the proposed project change the perceptions or stereotypes about men and women

and their roles in any way?5. What options should be considered to strengthen a gender perspective?6. Will the proposed project contribute to women's empowerment? If not, is there place for

an allied intervention that will contribute to empowerment, so as not to reinforce the disparity between men and women?

2. Project Design

Once you have decided on all the expected results and activities for your project, you can summarize them in a Logic Model:

· The Ultimate Outcome is the overall goal of the project, which contributes to national-level aims and policies.

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· The Intermediate Outcomes are the expected results related to changes in your organization or group, and its systems or processes.

· The Immediate Outcomes are the expected results related to changes in individuals, their knowledge and awareness, skills or abilities, or access.

· Outputs (or completed activities) lead to outcomes.

Therefore it is important that you implement your activities as planned, based on gender analysis. If you do, you will certainly achieve your expected results.

The expected results and activities listed in the logic model below are examples for you. Depending on the funds you have, you may want to implement only a few of the activities represented in this Logic Model.

Project Logic Model: Gender, Wildlife and Biodiversity Conservation

Theme

WILDLIFE AND BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION

Ultimate Outcome

Strengthened mainstreaming of gender considerations in issues relating to community-based activities necessary for the reduction and reversing of land degradation and

desertification. Gender Equality Strategy and Action Plan

↑

↑

↑

↑

Intermediate

Outcomes

Improved conservation practices that take into account women’s knowledge and practice

Increased influence of visible voices of women in decision-making for gender-sensitive policies on wildlife and biodiversity conservation

↑

↑

↑

Immediate Outcomes

Increased livelihood alternatives for women to address issues of wildlife and biodiversity conservation

Increased capacity of communities to implement wildlife and biodiversity initiatives for women

Improved policies for the involvement and protection of women’s roles in wildlife and biodiversity conservation

↑

↑

↑

↑

↑

↑

↑

Type of

Activities to be implemented

in order to achieve results

·

Establish wood lots

for women

·

Support women’s

group to acquire

donkeys and carts to

cart fuel wood to

ease the burden on

women and girls ·

Assist women to

establish herbal

gardens

· Establish seeds sources and

·

Form and encourage the coalition of women’s groups to advocate against the conversion of forest land into plantations, bush burning and other issues affecting gender and biodiversity

·

Sensitize community

elders on the need to

involve women in

wildlife and

biodiversity

·

Formulation and

enforcement of

community rules

and regulations ·

Involve more women in the Taungya system to help rejuvenate depleted forests

·

Advocate to District Assemblies and TAs to put into place and enforce rules

against bush

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habitation for

existing and new

species of plants

and animals

Establishment of

bee farms for men

coping and adaptation mechanisms during crises

and women to serve

as alternative

livelihood options to

hunting and

charcoal production

nurseries for women

to access indigenous

plants, herbs and

vegetables

· Acquire and supply

micro-livestock and

breeding animals to

women’s groups · Facilitate linkages

between women’s

groups with

affordable

veterinary services

· Establish women’s

conservation

·

Sensitize men,

especially young men,

on the value of wildlife

conservation · Organize sensitization

for chiefs to release marginal land for women’s groups to establish woodlots

· Empower and grant full and active participation of women and women’s group in forest resource

burning

·

Incorporate women’s indigenous knowledge as custodians of the land into local conservation policy

· Enforce rules against the cutting or destruction of economic trees (fruits, nuts) which are used by women for their livelihoods

· Protect woodlots with leases so that

ecotourism-related

activities to

encourage

protection of

wildlife and

biodiversity

· Protect head waters

with enrichment

planting to make

local streams safe

and available for

women and children

·

Enrichment planting

around sacred

groves by men and

women to provide

and expand

management

· Sensitize men on the

negative effects of

group hunting

· Strengthen community resource management area to have equal representation of men and women

·

Carry out anti-bush fire campaign in communities to emphasis the harm to women’s livelihoods and biodiversity

·

Educate and build the capacity of women in mountain areas to manage biodiversity resources and identify

women continue to benefit from them

· Develop and enforce hunting rules

·

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3. Project Implementation

Case Study 1: Zaazi on the hunt

Implementation is the major phase in the project cycle, when plans are transformed into reality. Implementation involves using your resources to implement activities in order toachieve the expected results.

When you are implementing the activities for your project, answer the following questions to ensure that gender equality is mainstreamed. 1. Are women and men benefiting from the project? In the same way or different ways? 2. Are some women or men negatively impacted by the project?3. Have gender relations (power and control) of women and men changed as a result of the

project? Have gender gaps been reduced?4. Are new gender issues of inequity emerging within the project?5. Are there new external factors affecting gender relations besides the project? Are they

positive or negative?6. Are women and men both supportive of the project, or do they wish to change it? Who?

Why? How?

What follows are some case studies about project activities. Ideally, it would be great if your staff and stakeholders, including community members, could visit the communities described in the stories. However, these case studies are the next best thing to visiting. Each case study shows how women and men are:

· participating in the project· sharing project resources· sharing project benefits· changing their lives together· experiencing empowerment.

After each story, there are a number of questions to answer. Read (or translate) the story to your staff, stakeholders or community members. Lead the discussion based on the questions listed after the story. This will assist your staff and stakeholders to visualize the types of changes that they should expect, and allow them to discuss the implications for their own work and lives. They may want to implement a similar project. Similarly, their discussion of the story may inspire them with new ideas for their own projects.

Your staff and stakeholders should understand that exciting things related to gender and sustainable land management are happening in northern Ghana. They too can be part of it;they can transform gender relations through sustainable land management projects!

The community of Zaazi in Northern Region decided to stop bush burning and as such they noticed that some things started to change. There are many negative impacts of bush burning.

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Particularly in Zaazi, bush burning destroys most of the women's crops, such as tree crops like shea and dawa dawa. Secondly, burning limits opportunities for honey harvesting in the wild. Thirdly, burning wipes out all the ground cover, including precious herbs used by both women and men for medicinal purposes and food. On the other hand, burning the ground exposes small and large game, making it easier for men to hunt.However, the benefits of stopping bush burning, particularly for the men, were not as easy to see.

When bush burning stopped in Zaazi, women discovered that their tree crops, herbs and plants were more plentiful. The men were also pleased to see that they have more birds and small animals to hunt, such as rabbits,mice,partridges and squirrels.At the same time, they noticed that larger animalswere more difficult to find.

Those animals had gone to hide in inaccessible brush and forest areas and were therefore much harder to hunt. Despite the hunting challenges, the increases in brush and forest areas would make it safer f for animals and therefore prevent extinction because they are protected in a natural way- this too would be beneficial for the community in the long run. Now, the young men who do most of the hunting are not happy that they can no longer find larger game to hunt. Small animals are not such a challenge for them but they wonder if, from now on, their society's long tradition of hunting will only be a distant memory. Questions for Discussion:1. What are women's and men's traditional roles related to wildlife? Do women have

particular roles, such as indigenous knowledge or special skills?2. What are the gender issues in this story? How are men affected? How are women

affected? 3. How does the story show that gender roles have changed, particularly with regard to the

environment? 4. In what possible way could the availability of smaller animals be of benefit to women and

girls? 5. What do you think that the young men will do, now that they cannot hunt larger game?

Will it make a big difference to their lives, to their idea of being a man in society?

Nakong community is located along the Navrongo – Tumu trunk road in the Kassena-Nankana West District of the Upper East Region of Ghana. For so many reasons, the Upper East Region experiences perennial bushfire; Nakong Community is no exception.

In 2006, the community – both women and men – admitted that perennial bushfire was a problem and subsequently took a unanimous decision to fight it. They set up a committee made up of both men and women and came out with various regulations and implemented them with the support of the Chief. Nakong is one of the nine Western Wildlife Corridor Communities and also one of the Community Resource Management Area (CREMA) communities of the proposed CREMA Site One.

In 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), under the Ghana Environmental Management Project (GEMP), with the assistance of CIDA, adopted and revamped the committee into a Community Environmental Management Committee (CEMC). The community, with support from GEMP, is currently into beekeeping. There are 75 beneficiaries,

Case Study 2: Nakong Beekeeping Subproject

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both men and women, who have been supported with 75 beehives, 15 honey extractors and protective clothing. The community has demarcated a protected area of approximately 40 hectares, where the beehives have been mounted.

Beneficiaries have also received training in the management of the beehives. Each beneficiary household is responsible for monitoring and maintaining its beehives. Honeycomb harvesting began in March 2013. Extraction will be done using the extractors provided, instead of with unprotected fire which was the method used in the wild before the introduction of the beehives.

Establishing beehives has proven beneficial in terms of reducing bush burning and bush fires. For example, Nakong, for the past two years, has not experienced bushfire particularly in the areas where the beehives have been mounted.

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Questions for Discussion:1. What are women's and men's traditional roles related to beekeeping? Do women have

particular roles, such as indigenous knowledge or special skills?2. The project introduced hives, special clothing and equipment, and extractors. The story

says that both women and men took responsibility for operating and maintaining the beekeeping equipment. Do you think that responsibilities and tasks were shared equally? If so, why? If not, why not?

3. Think of Nakong before the beekeeping project. How did women and men run their lives? Now think of those 75 beneficiary households. How have their lives changed? What do men do during the day? What do women do? Who has access to the hives? Who controls the hives? How are decisions made? Do you think that the roles and responsibilities of boys and girls in the beneficiary households have changed since Mother and Father are busy with the hives? If yes, how?

The progress of a project has to be monitored to ensure that the expected results are happening. Think about some of the changes you read about in the case studies and in your own projects.Many of the changes are related to the environment and, at the same time, related to gender.

An important way of monitoring whether a project has mainstreamed gender and transformed gender relations is to use gender-sensitive indicators. Gender-sensitive indicators will let you know whether there are changes in gender relations – women's and men's dynamics of power and control. Here are some features of gender relations that should change after implementing a project on gender and sustainable land use:

· participation in projects and committees· awareness, knowledge, skills · decision-making powers · roles and responsibilities in the household, community and leadership· how roles, tasks, resources are valued· access to and control of project resources and benefits· access to and control of household and community resources and benefits.

All this information should be sex-disaggregated, so that differences between men and women can be highlighted and inequities addressed. Sex-disaggregated data presents information separately for women and men, and as required, boys and girls.

When you are monitoring a project, answer the following questions to ensure that gender equality is mainstreamed.

1. Does the monitoring plan invite input and feedback from women and men?2. Are generated data, analysis and reports sex-disaggregated?

4. Project Monitoring

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3. Are gender indicators effectively used and assessed?4. Does monitoring consider both women's and men's roles (even if those roles are

different)?5. Is progress toward objectives and expected results related to men or women on track?6. Have any gender issues of inequity arisen that were not identified at the project design

stage? If so, how can they be addressed?

Here are some examples of gender-sensitive indicators for gender, wildlife and biodiversity conservation. You can use these, and others that you develop to assess whether your project is on track to changing gender relations, roles, responsibilities and how they are valued.

Indicators

Gender-sensitive indicators for Gender, Wildlife and Biodiversity Conservation

1. # communities effectively implementing gender-sensitive wildlife and biodiversity initiatives

2.

# women

and men

practicing improved wildlife and conservation practices

3.

# acres of woodlots established and being used by women

4. # women effectively advocating for the implementation of policies on wildlife and

biodiversity conservation 5. # improved policies for the involvement of women’s roles in wildlife in biodiversity

conservation

6. # District Assemblies and Traditional Authorities committed to gender-sensitive policies

7. # District Assemblies implementing improved policies for the involvement and protection of women’s role in wildlife and biodiversity conservation

8. # alternative livelihoods options being implemented in the communities by women

9. # women engaged in new alternative livelihood options

10. Level of productivity of hatcheries run by women

11. # of women involved in enrichment planting

12. Acreage of land under enrichment planting by women

13. Gallons of honey produced by women

14.

# of small ruminants and guinea fowls reared by men and women

15.

%

of women involve in decision making in related to wildlife and bio-diversity conservation.

16.

Number of community members (women and men) sanctioned for breaking community rules and regulations

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1. Project Evaluation

Monitoring and Evaluation Tools

At the end of your project, you will want to evaluate whether it has been successful – in achieving its goals for sustainable land use, and toward gender equality. Evaluation should be as systematic and objective as possible. Therefore, tools are developed to collect gender-sensitive and sex-disaggregated data. These tools can be used at the end of the project, but also at the beginning (baseline) and mid-point to assess progress over time.

Here are some examples of gender-sensitive tools for gender, wildlife and biodiversity conservation. If you use these tools at the beginning, middle and end of your project, you will see changes in how men and women have access to and control over resources; and in their roles and responsibilities. You may also discover some changes in gender relations that you did not expect! You should determine whether these are positive and progressive changes, or negative and counter-productive. When it comes time to designing a new phase of your project or even a brand new project, take these lessons into account to ensure that your project will implement all activities necessary to promote gender equality.

A. Household Survey Questions

B. Focus group interview questions with women involved in the project

1. Do you think that the hatcheries (or other activity) have benefitted the women in the community?

2. Do you think that women's participation in decision making about activities near the sacred grove addressed all your issues and concerns?

3. How has the small ruminant, guinea fowlrearing (or other activity) benefited you and your family?

C. Focus group interview questions with men involved in the project1. What are the benefits being derived from the grass cutter farm (or other new activity)?2. How has rearing small ruminants changed your attitude towards wildlife?3. How do you feel about not doing your regular group hunting?

1. What is the main source of income for family members

Income Source Men Women Hunting Bee farms Shea butter processing

farming Other(s)

2. How many small ruminants do men and women own

Animal Men Women Sheep Goats Grass Cutter Domestic fowl Guinea Fowl

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D. Group interview with CEMC Executive

1. How many women are in the CEMC executive? 2. How has the involvement of women in decision making affected the activities of the

CEMC?3. What types of major decisions have been made by the CEMC and what has been the

involvement of women in them? 4. How has women's involvement in efforts to stop bush burning influenced the

community's actions? 5. Have you had any difficulties enforcing the community rules and regulations for

biodiversity and wildlife conservation? How many men and women have been sanctioned or awarded in the past 6 months?

E. Observation guide at project site (list of what to look for)

1. Observe general health of guinea fowl, small ruminants, grass cutters2. Observe growth around the sacred groves3. Observe hives and population, health of hives4. Observe grazing land for small ruminants5. Observe vegetative and tree cover in the community

This is the end of this module. Best wishes as you mainstream gender, empowering women and men in sustainable land management projects.

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