116
5
5.3 A Study in India and Nepal
Bina Agarwal (2001) conducted a comprehensive study of the participation of
women in the governance of community forests in five states of India and two districts of Nepal. Commons, such as community forests, are essential for millions of
poor people, not least, women who own scarcely any private land. Domestic animals can be grazed and firewood can be gathered in the commons. Over the previous decade, the poor had benefited less from the commons as a result of
environmental degradation, state expropriation and privatization. On the other
hand, there had been rapid growth in the establishment of local forest groups that
govern new commons alone or jointly with the state. However, Agarwal (2001)
found that women to a great degree were excluded from participation and influence
in these groups. Many of the groups held open meetings in the communities once
or twice a year to discuss governance, while boards made decisions between meetings. In the various local forest groups that Agarwal investigated, she found that
the average percentage of women members ranged from zero to 10%.
One of the reasons for the low representation of women in several states in
India, was found to be that each household could have only one member in the
local forest group, and it was expected that the man took this position. There were
few women on the boards, and Agarwal found that they often were passive. They
were seldom elected to represent other women, and few were aware that they were
actually board members.
So, Agarwal’s findings of the low representation of women in these cases in
India and Nepal are also in line with the findings from the Norwegian and
Senegalese cases.
Feminist Political Ecologies
Feminism is a term used in different ways. A central objective is to combat oppression and injustice associated with gender. In 7 Chap. 1, we presented political
ecology as an approach where normative dimensions are explicit. In feminist political ecologies, the normative element implies that studies are intended to contribute
knowledge in order to identify and remove gendered oppression and injustice associated with environmental governance.
Dianne Rocheleau is one of the main contributors to feminist political ecology.
She has shown how landscapes and ways of living tend to be characterized by
various kinds of gendered division of labour and different fields of control over
resources by men and women. In 1996, Rocheleau, Thomas-Slayter and Wangari
published an edited volume on feminist political ecology (Rocheleau et al. 1996).
Its starting point is the focus of political ecology on the decision-making process
and the social, political and economic contexts that, in concrete cases, shape environmental policy and practice. The editors contend that political ecology highlights inequitable access to and control of natural resources on the basis of factors
such as class, ethnicity, caste, race, age and nationality. Feminist political ecology
entails the consideration of gender as an essential factor, together with the aforeChapter 5 · Gender and Power: Feminist Political Ecologies
5
5.3 A Study in India and Nepal
Bina Agarwal (2001) conducted a comprehensive study of the participation of
women in the governance of community forests in five states of India and two districts of Nepal. Commons, such as community forests, are essential for millions of
poor people, not least, women who own scarcely any private land. Domestic animals can be grazed and firewood can be gathered in the commons. Over the previous decade, the poor had benefited less from the commons as a result of
environmental degradation, state expropriation and privatization. On the other
hand, there had been rapid growth in the establishment of local forest groups that
govern new commons alone or jointly with the state. However, Agarwal (2001)
found that women to a great degree were excluded from participation and influence
in these groups. Many of the groups held open meetings in the communities once
or twice a year to discuss governance, while boards made decisions between meetings. In the various local forest groups that Agarwal investigated, she found that
the average percentage of women members ranged from zero to 10%.
One of the reasons for the low representation of women in several states in
India, was found to be that each household could have only one member in the
local forest group, and it was expected that the man took this position. There were
few women on the boards, and Agarwal found that they often were passive. They
were seldom elected to represent other women, and few were aware that they were
actually board members.
So, Agarwal’s findings of the low representation of women in these cases in
India and Nepal are also in line with the findings from the Norwegian and
Senegalese cases.
Feminist Political Ecologies
Feminism is a term used in different ways. A central objective is to combat oppression and injustice associated with gender. In 7 Chap. 1, we presented political
ecology as an approach where normative dimensions are explicit. In feminist political ecologies, the normative element implies that studies are intended to contribute
knowledge in order to identify and remove gendered oppression and injustice associated with environmental governance.
Dianne Rocheleau is one of the main contributors to feminist political ecology.
She has shown how landscapes and ways of living tend to be characterized by
various kinds of gendered division of labour and different fields of control over
resources by men and women. In 1996, Rocheleau, Thomas-Slayter and Wangari
published an edited volume on feminist political ecology (Rocheleau et al. 1996).
Its starting point is the focus of political ecology on the decision-making process
and the social, political and economic contexts that, in concrete cases, shape environmental policy and practice. The editors contend that political ecology highlights inequitable access to and control of natural resources on the basis of factors
such as class, ethnicity, caste, race, age and nationality. Feminist political ecology
entails the consideration of gender as an essential factor, together with the aforeChapter 5 · Gender and Power: Feminist Political Ecologies