IGNARM

Network on indigenous peoples, gender
and natural resource management

Guidelines for Practitioners

Integrating Indigenous and Gender Aspects in Natural Resource Management

PART 1
I. Introduction
►Aim and purpose of guidelines
►How to use the guidelines
►Sources leading to the recommendations
►Hopes for the impact of the guidelines
►Acknowledgements

II. Case Stories
►Examples of the consequences of including or excluding gender and indigenous concerns in natural resource management activities

III. Gender Aspects in Indigenous Peoples’ Natural Resource Management
►Arguments for excluding gender
►Reasons for including gender and indigenous concerns
►Gender and natural resource management
►Culture and natural resource management
►Natural resource management and institutional issues

PART 2
IV. Key Issues and Questions within the Project Cycle
1. Project identification
2. Project preparation
►Macro level context analysis
►Micro level context analysis
►Partner consultations and assessment
3. Project design
►Composition of the design team
►Type of project
►Defining objectives
►Project activities
►Defining indicators for monitoring and evaluation
►Project budget
4. Project implementation
►Establishing project management systems
►Securing a gender approach
5. Project monitoring and evaluation

ANNEXES
I. Short description of the IGNARM network
II. Types of natural resource management interventions
III. Literature references and Glossary
IV. References to international agreements regarding gender, indigenous peoples and natural resource management

IV. Key Issues and Questions within the Project Cycle

2. PROJECT PREPARATION

The objective of the project preparation is to develop a complete project document by identifying and making available more in depth context information and analysis. Furthermore, during a series of workshops with different – both local and external – stakeholders of the potential project, you discuss the initial project profile and solicit views in order to enable the project design. To ensure the inclusion of multiple perspectives, it is important that all information is disaggregated with respect to gender, ethnicity and age among other factors. The result from the project preparation phase should be a differentiated presentation of the challenges and opportunities related to sustainable natural resource management in the potential project area. This will form the basis for the multi-stakeholder negotiation, which will take place during the next phase of the project cycle in order to design the project.

It is recommended that the project preparation evolves around the following steps:

1. A macro level context analysis

2. A micro level context analysis

3. Consultations with and assessment of partner organizations

A context analysis involves the gathering and analysis of information – at macro as well as at micro level – about the socio-economic, political, environmental and cultural context in which the project’s target groups live. This context information and analysis will vary from one country/region to another.

The partner consultations should explore knowledge, views and capacities of local NGOs and indigenous peoples’ organisations, identified as potential partners for the project. Depending on the type and size of the natural resource management project envisaged, one or several local NGOs and indigenous organisations may be involved. The indigenous organisations may represent an indigenous movement, an ethnic group or a community.

A) The Macro Level Context Analysis

Indigenous men and women as well as the natural resources that surround them are influenced by the national policies, legislations and practices in general and by aspects that are more specifically related to indigenous population groups, to gender relations and to natural resources, for instance the non-recognition of collective land rights, conservationist policies, patriarchal attitudes, etc.

A macro level context analysis should gather gender-disaggregated information on the following aspects:

• Legislation regarding land rights, land ownership, civil rights, relevant regulations and policies regarding natural resources (conservation, protection, community based natural resource management, etc.)

• Legal pluralism and mechanisms to deal with conflict of legal systems. The status and representation of women at decision - making levels.

• Legislation and other regulations that especially affect indigenous men and women e.g. patriarchal laws and family codes, legislation regarding citizenship, inheritance, etc.


(In certain countries (as in Thailand) many indigenous women are barred from getting an identity card, which gives access to government services on the grounds that they do not speak the national language, Thai. It also limits their mobility, their access to training etc. In certain central African countries, Pygmies are not considered as citizens of the country.)

• Dominant cultural practices and norms that affect indigenous peoples and cultures
  (Many indigenous communities are increasingly under strong influence from the dominant religions such as Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, which may accept or promote gender discrimination)

The objectives of these consultations are to:

1. Expose strength, potentials and weaknesses within the perception and attitudes of these stakeholders with regard to:

   1. Inter-cultural relations - discrimination/marginalisation or respect and recognition

   2. Professional relations - “modern” natural resource management practices versus traditional natural resource management

   3. Legislation towards indigenous peoples and indigenous women – discrimination against women within legislation or promotion of equity and equal opportunities

2. Assess the possibilities of relevant alliances that can be made to improve the outcomes and impact of the specific natural resource management project

3. Identify and assess what constraints will be met when dealing with government staff, local authorities, other individuals/organisations, from legislation and other entrenched practices as well as what can be done to overcome them – such as for instance:

   1. Ensure an increased knowledge of international conventions that may or may not yet have been signed by the government

   2. Provide human rights training and/or gender training

   3. Conduct participatory studies on indigenous natural resource management practices.

However, these consultations should not be undertaken without having decided on an entry strategy for approaching these stakeholders in order to avoid resistance towards and disapproval of indigenous and gender concerns and thus creating conflicts instead of alliances.

It is recommended to focus the consultation and analysis on the following issues:

• Attitudes among government staff and others directly involved stakeholders regarding indigenous peoples in general, their culture, their natural resource management practices:

  • Do the Government officials and others recognize indigenous peoples and do they take them into consideration when planning natural resource management measures?

  • How are indigenous communities and their cultures perceived?

  • Does racial/cultural discrimination seem to be part of the problem?

  • Are the stakeholders aware of international conventions and standards regarding human rights and indigenous peoples’ rights and are they willing to comply with them?
     

• Attitudes among government staff and other directly involved stakeholders regarding gender issues:

  • How many women are involved in decision-making bodies at the different government and organisational levels?

  • How is women’s leadership viewed in general and in the context of indigenous peoples?

  • Do governmental and organisational programmes include gender analysis, policies, training and budgeting?

  • Are the stakeholders aware of international conventions on gender issues and do they respect them?
     

• Attitudes among stakeholders dealing with natural resource management
   
  • How do they perceive the issue of natural resource management – conservation, protection, indigenous community participation, relation between development and natural resource management?
  • Do they recognize indigenous male and female knowledge and include it in policies/strategies/practices?
  • Are they aware of international conventions regarding indigenous peoples’ rights and human/gender rights in relation to natural resource management?

• Attitudes among other civil society stakeholders
   
  • What kind of relationship do they have with indigenous peoples (work, exchange services, conflictive, cooperative, etc.)?
  • How do they perceive indigenous peoples – as enemies, as neighbours/ co-citizens, as a resource?
  • Do they recognize indigenous men’s and women’s skills and knowledge in relation to natural resource management?
  • Are they willing to respects and collaborate with both indigenous women and men?

B) The Micro Level Context Analysis

A micro level context analysis should focus on social, economic, organisational and cultural development issues as well as environmental and natural resource management information. It consists of a three steps process:

• An assessment and analysis of development issues

• An assessment and analysis of natural resource management issues

• Consultations with and assessment of partner organisations

It should be carefully assessed whether indigenous “insiders” or non-indigenous / indigenous “outsiders” should carry out the micro level context analysis. In some cases it may be more useful for “outsiders” to function as process facilitators to the community, and let the community do its own context analysis; in other cases a mix of “insiders” and “outsiders” may be the best option. In any case, “insiders” and “outsiders” should be both women and men.

 1) Assessment and analysis of development issues

It would be relevant to include gender, age and ethnic differentiated information on the target group(s) with regard to:

a. Demographic and Social Data such as:

• village or community locations

• general geographic characteristics

• a brief history of the indigenous and non-indigenous target communities in the area

• community population (number of men, women; age and ethnic composition)

• main types of household structures

• local indigenous and non-indigenous organisations and community groups

• social stratification (local power structures) 

b. Economic data such as:

• economic activities

• income generation, employment, e.g. the women should be asked to identify their daily tasks as well as those of the men – and the men should be asked to identify their daily tasks and those of the women. The result of these gender-disaggregated consultations should be presented and discussed in a meeting where both sexes are present. This will in many cases result in both parties reviewing some of their pre-conceived ideas and shed light on the different perceptions that men and women have of their reality

• supplementary incomes

• access to credits

• access to marketsland tenure (ownership), e.g. land tenure systems: who owns the land (collectively or privately owned), who figures on title deeds, who inherits land or in the case of collectively owned land, what use and other rights are inherited by sons, daughters, widow

• alternative income opportunities

c. Living Conditions of households and communities such as:

• housing, patterns of occupancy (persons per house, room etc.)

• access to potable water and water resources

• main health problems for men, women, children

• existing sanitation habits, possibilities and facilities

• arrangements for solid waste disposal

• vector control programmes

• conditions of roads and drainage

 d. Community Facilities such as:

• availability of public basic social infrastructure for the population

• types and adequacy of public education and indigenous education

• enrolment level (boys and girls), number of pupils per class/per teacher etc.

• availability of public health care

• kind of health services offered  and their degree of adequacy (number of nurses/doctors with regard to population, affordable medicine etc)

• types and adequacy of indigenous health traditions and practices

e. Local Organisations and Community Groups such as:

• types of social formal /informal organisations in the community, e.g. both men and women should be asked in separate groups about the leadership system within the community. Who participates in the decision-making processes (meetings, discussions, votes, etc.)? Who is excluded and why?

• the objectives and work of each social organisation

• their membership (men, women, youth, children, ethnic group)

• experience with external agents (projects)

• budget handling experience and technical skills availability

2) Assessment and analysis of natural resource management issues

It would be relevant to include gender, age and ethnic differentiated information and analysis with regard to:

• Important ecological factors

• Main threats to the natural resources

• Local resource management traditions, practices and values, e.g. both men and women should be asked in separate groups about their natural resource management practices, access, control and use of the natural resources and the sharing of benefits drawn from these resources; Cultural practices in relation to traditional natural resource management: if possible what is the rationale behind these practices? What is the impact on women and men (for instance gender taboos in relation to forests, animals, plants)?

• Policies, laws and institutions that impact both local resource use patterns and management options. User rights to natural resources: there may be gender differences – either traditional or because of modern developments (deforestation, cash crop plantations) – that are detrimental to women

• Stakeholders in relation to the use and management of the natural resources - their strength, weaknesses, visions, relationship to each other, and ability to participate

• Local economic markets and major economic activities in the area, which affect the natural resources

• Incentives and disincentives to maintain behaviours that promote sustainable resource use and to change those behaviours that degrade or deplete resources

• Feasibility analysis of specific proposed interventions

3) Consultations with and assessment of partner organisations

The potential project implementation partners are likely to be either NGOs or indigenous organisations. It is important to consult their views, knowledge and capacities as potential project partners as well as to assess to what degree the NGOs and their staffs are prepared to work with indigenous men and women in a natural resource management context, and to do it from a gender perspective. In the case of indigenous organisations, it is important to assess whether their members are prepared to work with both men and women from a gender perspective.

a. Focus on consultations and assessment of NGOs

Field and management staffs may have difficulties in accepting indigenous knowledge, respecting traditional leadership, acknowledging traditional natural resource management practices as well as accepting knowledge and leadership from women, even on women/gender issues.

NGOs may have difficulties in finding professionally qualified indigenous and non-indigenous female staff as project fieldworkers. One may have to redefine the professional requirements, the job descriptions and working conditions in order to obtain gender equity and equality.

The consultations and the assessment should expose strengths and weaknesses of the NGO(s) when it comes to attitudes towards indigenous communities, to implementing a gender approach and to the need for training or other capacity building and thus, find answers to the following general questions in the perspective of a future inter-cultural relationship:

• Are staff members equipped to deal with indigenous communities on an equal, respectful and appreciative footing? If not, what is needed to improve the situation?

• Do the staff members have the capacity to establish a trustful working relationship with women and men at the same time and avoid that one party feels threatened or that one party is excluded? If not, what is needed to improve the situation?

• Within the implementation of a gender perspective are staff members equipped to overcome possible cultural constraints when dealing with the issue of gender? If not, what is needed to improve the situation?

It is recommended to focus the partner consultations and assessment on the following issues:

• The ethnic composition of the NGO(s)

  • If dominated by members of the ethnic dominant group, this may be a challenge for both the staff and the targeted indigenous community.
     

• The prevailing attitude towards indigenous peoples of the institution as a whole and in particular the staff’s attitude towards the indigenous culture and traditional practices:

  • Are there knowledge, respect, acceptance, recognition of indigenous cultures, their importance, the indigenous knowledge and natural resource management systems among the staff?
     

• The male/female composition of the NGO(s) and the specific position of male and female employees:

  • Are there any women employed in the NGO, at what level, in which position in general and within the implementation team?
     

• The experience of the NGO(s) and the staffs with working from a gender perspective:

  • What experiences has the NGO from working with women as well as with men and women?

  • Is there an institutional understanding of the gender concept? Is there a formulated strategy regarding women/gender?

  • Has anyone among the staff had any gender training?

  • How familiar is the field staff with gender specific tools and are they being used in the work?

  • Is there a specific person responsible for gender issues within the NGO? If yes, is this person a man or a woman and does the person have authority, status, capacity and possibilities for influencing the work towards gender equality and equity?

b. Focus on consultations with and assessment of indigenous organisations

Indigenous women are generally poorly represented in indigenous organisations, especially at the leadership level.

The concept of “gender” is often viewed as synonymous of “feminism” and regarded as an alien concept that will destroy the traditional indigenous culture. It may therefore be useful to use more neutral terms that refer to the need for improving intra-familiar relations, strengthening the economy at the household and community level through greater women participation, etc.

In collaboration with the organisation it is useful to:

• Assess whether the organisation has a Women’s Secretariat, and if yes - what kind of human and financial resources this secretariat has, what role it plays, what kind of influence it has at leadership level and whether it needs to be strengthened

• Assess whether the organisation has female members/representatives, and if yes – what are their positions, status and activities within the organisation, and if no – what are the reasons for this situation?

• Assess the knowledge that male and female staff members/representatives have of women’s rights, of women’s specific knowledge and role with respect to natural resources/natural resource management practices.

• Assess the needs and interests for raising gender awareness within the organisational structures for both men and women.