A&S Individual Research Proposal

Name: Kate Sjovold

Project Title: Gender and Deforestation in East Africa

Part 1: Aims
The objective of this project is to analyze how deforestation and its effects uniquely and

disproportionately impact women. I am focusing this discussion on the region of East Africa,

mainly due to the high rate of forest loss and the unique flora and fauna of East African forests.

The focus on women in East Africa arises from the fact that women constitute the majority of the

region’s poor, have limited financial independence, make up the vast majority of agricultural

workers in the region, and are expected to secure food, water, and fuel for their families. While

the negative environmental and social impacts of deforestation affect the entire community,

women are in a uniquely vulnerable position because of their circumstances, roles, and jobs in

society. This project will examine legislation and programs addressing deforestation on the

international scale, specifically the United Nations Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and

Forest Degradation Program, and various programs being carried out on regional and local

scales. I will examine the extent to which women are helped and/or hindered by the program’s

enactment and how legislation could be altered to better include women and advance their needs

while effectively reducing deforestation. I will formulate recommendations for policy changes

for the agencies, organizations, and governmental bodies involved in addressing deforestation in

this region.

Part 2: Background and Significance

Deforestation has vast implications for the environment and human society in general.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, it is projected that 80% of deforestation will occur in 11

regions around the globe, East Africa being one of the 11 major “deforestation fronts” identified.
East Africa is home to various different forest types, from mountain forests, to mangroves, to

savanna woodlands. The coast of East Africa is especially rich in biodiversity and 15% of its

wildlife population is found exclusively in East Africa, meaning protection of these forests is

essential. Unfortunately, East African forests are greatly affected by deforestation, with

approximately 6 million hectares lost between 2000 and 2012 and a projected 12 million more

hectares will be lost by 2030, assuming the current rate of deforestation continues (“Africa

Deforestation” 2018). Some of the major drivers of deforestation in East Africa include

conversion of forested land to agricultural land, overharvesting for timber and fuelwood,

resource extraction, and infrastructure expansion (“Africa Deforestation” 2018). The major

environmental implications of deforestation include soil erosion, flooding, increased incidence of

drought, decreased agricultural productivity, decreased water quality, overbank flooding,

increased siltation, saltwater intrusion, major contributions towards increasing greenhouse gas

emissions, and climate change (Alam, Bhatia, and Mawby 2015, 23). Further, deforestation is

responsible for roughly 17% of annual anthropogenic, or human-caused, greenhouse gas

emissions globally. Trees sequester carbon dioxide and provide oxygen. When forests are

destroyed, this stored carbon is released into the atmosphere in massive quantities and the ability

to continue sequestering carbon and releasing oxygen is lost, contributing to global warming and

climate change (Gorte and Sheikh 2010, 1). Social implications of these environmental impacts

include decreased crop yields leading to food insecurity, polluted water supplies leading to water

insecurity, increased exposure to dangerous storm surges, and increased time, money, and energy

expended to acquire sufficient food, water, and fuel for survival (Alam, Bhatia, and Mawby

2015, 23).
 Women in Africa are “profoundly affected by seasonal changes” and rural African

women are especially impacted by deforestation and climate change as they are the “main

custodians of environmental conservation and sustainability” (Steady 2014, 312). The gendered

division of labor in Africa, especially in rural areas, means that women are responsible for the

vast majority of agricultural production and water and fuel procurement. Women’s roles in

agriculture and farming tend to be longer term as they are focused on planting and harvesting

rather than clearing land, which is done by men. Women in Africa also face gender-based

discrimination, often preventing them from environmental education, training, policy

discussions, policy implementations, and benefits. Because of their long term involvement with

the land and their exclusion from participating in the development, training, and implementation

processes of agricultural programs, women are exceptionally vulnerable to the effects of

deforestation, climate change, the accompanying environmental degradations (Steady 2014, 312-

315).

One widely adopted program to address deforestation and climate change on an

international level is the UN REDD+ program, which is a market-based incentives program that

aims to mitigate climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by providing monetary

compensation to developing countries that reduce their emissions through curtailing

deforestation and land use change (“What is REDD+?” 2018). As compelling at the UN REDD+

program sounds, the system may actually exacerbate existing gender inequalities and

compensation may not actually be benefiting the right people (Alam, Bhatia, and Mawby 2015,

24). Additionally, the program has been criticized for failing to address the power structures that

block women from participating and benefiting from REDD+ policies (Khadka et al. 2014, 1).
 Looking towards programs that may be more effective in combating deforestation while

empowering women, such as the Green Belt Movement (GBM) in Kenya and the Women’s

Earth and Climate Action Network International (WECAN), we may be able to glean valuable

insights into how these programs can be implemented in other communities and on a larger scale

(Alam, Bhatia, and Mawby 2015, 24). GBM focuses on environmental conservation through

empowering women and communities in Kenya to carry out conservation projects. GBM was

created in response to environmental degradation and food and water insecurity concerns from

Kenyan women. To address these concerns, GBM “uses a watershed-based approach” and

promotes reforestation and tree planting efforts as a means of restoring watersheds to a healthy

conditions with the goal of creating stable, healthy communities. A key component of GBM’s

success is their Community Empowerment and Education program which “promotes and

enhances gender relations and involves women in the decision-making processes,” emphasizing

how the empowerment of women is essential to finding sustainable solutions to deforestation and

climate change (“Who We Are” 2018). On a larger scale, WECAN is “a climate justice-based

initiative established to unite women worldwide as powerful stakeholders in sustainability

solutions, policy advocacy, and worldwide movement building for social and ecological justice”

(“About WECAN International 2018). WECAN works to address various environmental issues

and is very involved in international organizing efforts, but maintains a focus on empowering

women and communities on a smaller scale as well. Both organizations take a multi-pronged

approach to deforestation and climate change mitigation through education and training

programs, women’s empowerment, policy advocacy, and inclusive creation and implementation

of community-oriented environmental policies. Ultimately, the point of this project is to

contribute a greater understanding of how deforestation impacts women in East Africa

specifically and to formulate suggestions of how best to improve deforestation programs and

policies that are sensitive to the gendered dimensions of deforestation and its effects.

Part 3: Plan for Research

I plan to collect, compile, and analyze pertinent literature about the policies, programs,

and situations relevant to deforestation in East Africa and its impact on women. I will read the

literature critically to gain further insights into the problems of deforestation in the region and

their gendered dimensions. I plan to compare the UN REDD+ program and alternative programs

such as GBM and WECAN to gain a better understanding of their differences in efficacy,

inclusivity, and ability to address underlying power imbalances that are at the crux of

environmental degradation and deforestation in East Africa. Within this critical analysis of the

literature, I will discern possible ways to adjust current policies and practices to create programs

that are more effective and inclusive. My method of analysis will be the application of the

critical lens of gender. My anticipated results will be creative in nature as I plan to devise

program recommendations through a careful analysis of current practices. These program

recommendations can be dispersed to various non-profit organizations and government bodies

working on programming related to deforestation and climate change mitigation in the East

African region.
 Bibliography

“About WECAN International.” 2018. Women's Earth and Climate Action Network

International. Accessed April 25. http://wecaninternational.org/about.

“Africa Deforestation.” 2018. WWF. World Wildlife Fund. Accessed March 6.

http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/deforestation/deforestation_fronts/deforestation_in

_the_congo_basin/.

Alam, Mayesha, Rukmani Bhatia, and Briana Mawby. 2015. “Women and Climate Change:

Impact and Agency in Human Rights, Security, and Economic Development .” Rep.

Women and Climate Change: Impact and Agency in Human Rights, Security, and

Economic Development . Georgetown Institute of Women, Peace, and Security.

Gorte, Robert W., and Pervaze A. Sheikh. 2010. “Deforestation and Climate Change.” Rep.

Deforestation and Climate Change. Congressional Research Service.

Khadka, Manohara, Seema Karki, Bhaskar S. Karky, Rajan Kotru, and Kumar Bahadur Darjee.

2014. “Gender Equality Challenges to the REDD Initiative in Nepal.” Mountain

Research and Development 34 (3). doi:10.1659/mrd-journal-d-13-00081.1.

Steady, Filomina Chioma. 2014. “Women, Climate Change and Liberation in Africa.” Race,

Gender, and Class 21 (1-2): 1–4.

“What Is REDD+?” 2018. The REDD Desk. Accessed March 6. https://theredddesk.org/what-

redd.

“Who We Are.” 2018. The Green Belt Movement. The Green Belt Movement. Accessed April

25. http://www.greenbeltmovement.org/who-we-are.