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.

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 are responsible for sequestering carbon dioxide and providing 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 towards 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.” 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). 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 are effective in combating deforestation while empowering women, such

as the Green Belt Movement in Kenya and WECAN, there may be valuable insights into how

these programs can be implemented in other communities and on a larger scale (Alam, Bhatia,

and Mawby 2015, 24). The point of this project is to contribute towards 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. 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.

Bibliography

“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 .”

Publication. 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.