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5
Each year, considerable funds are allocated to research relating to environmental
issues. The Research Council of Norway plays a role in the management of much
of these funds, while the Directorate for Nature Management and the Ministry of
the Environment have a major say in the criteria and allocations of the funds. Over
several years, we applied for funding of research on questions of gender equality.
Sometimes we experienced our application being put aside without a proper referee
process or consideration, because research on gender equality was not considered
to be a relevant topic to deal with for the environmental authorities.
At last, we managed to obtain a small grant from the Ministry of Local
Government and Regional Development. This gave us the opportunity to further
investigate the gendered participation in establishment of new protected areas. We
examined the gendered representation in all reference groups set up in connection
with the National Park Plan. The implementation of this plan took place from
1992 until 2010 (. Photo 5.1).
Forty new and 14 extended protected areas resulted from the comprehensive
process, and this constituted major events in Norwegian conservation. We identified 54 comparable reference groups, to which 440 local participants had been
appointed. Of these, less than 11% (48 of the 440) were women. In 24 of the 54
groups, there was only one woman, and in 22 groups, there were no women at all.
. Photo 5.1 The National Park plan in the 1990s and 2000s consisted of processes to extend the
total area of protected areas in Norway, including the extension of Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National
Park. This photo is taken at the opening ceremony of the park. From the left: Mayor Erland Løkken,
King Harald, and Minister of the Environment Børge Brende. (Photo: Hanne Svarstad)
Chapter 5 · Gender and Power: Feminist Political Ecologies
5
Each year, considerable funds are allocated to research relating to environmental
issues. The Research Council of Norway plays a role in the management of much
of these funds, while the Directorate for Nature Management and the Ministry of
the Environment have a major say in the criteria and allocations of the funds. Over
several years, we applied for funding of research on questions of gender equality.
Sometimes we experienced our application being put aside without a proper referee
process or consideration, because research on gender equality was not considered
to be a relevant topic to deal with for the environmental authorities.
At last, we managed to obtain a small grant from the Ministry of Local
Government and Regional Development. This gave us the opportunity to further
investigate the gendered participation in establishment of new protected areas. We
examined the gendered representation in all reference groups set up in connection
with the National Park Plan. The implementation of this plan took place from
1992 until 2010 (. Photo 5.1).
Forty new and 14 extended protected areas resulted from the comprehensive
process, and this constituted major events in Norwegian conservation. We identified 54 comparable reference groups, to which 440 local participants had been
appointed. Of these, less than 11% (48 of the 440) were women. In 24 of the 54
groups, there was only one woman, and in 22 groups, there were no women at all.
. Photo 5.1 The National Park plan in the 1990s and 2000s consisted of processes to extend the
total area of protected areas in Norway, including the extension of Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National
Park. This photo is taken at the opening ceremony of the park. From the left: Mayor Erland Løkken,
King Harald, and Minister of the Environment Børge Brende. (Photo: Hanne Svarstad)
Chapter 5 · Gender and Power: Feminist Political Ecologies