A critical analysis of the interrelation between indigenous livelihoods and sustainable forest management - integrating gender aspects

The indigenous people living in the forest area do access, use and manage forest resources. Their efforts to manage these resources have not yet been sufficiently recognised by the conservation projects working in the area (Nguiffo 2001, Ndameu 2001). To what degree is forest use and management gendered? The main objective of this research is to examine the implications of genderdiverse forest practices for Sustainable Forest Management. This research explores indigenous men and women in the use, control and management of forest resources in a context in which people’s livelihoods are highly dependent on a multiplicity of forest uses, forest products and access to the forest. The steps necessary to achieve the research objective involve identifying: - the roles and responsibilities of indigenous men and women within the management of forest resources; - the specific forest resources that are the areas of expertise of men and women; - the negative/positive impacts of the specific use of forest resources for conservation and sustainable forest management; - the implications of these impacts on men and women in the community; - the ways in which forest resources are linked to specific indigenous myths, traditions and cosmo visions; - the ways in which the cultural norms and traditions help or impede the sustainable use and management of the natural resources. These findings will be interpreted according to the theories and concepts chosen for this research in order to reveal the implications of these findings for Sustainable Forest Management and Conservation.