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• The absence of a specific quota in the Sub-decree on Community Forest Management 2003 mandating women’s participation in
the CFMC is hindering women’s meaningful participation in CFMC meetings. •
Women are under-represented in decision-making at national and subnational forestry institutions. For example, only 12 percent of FA staff is female, of which less than 1 percent occupies management positions.
• Limited financial and human resources in the FA have become a constraint not only for the gender working group to function
effectively, but also to implement gender plans and to conduct research and monitoring and evaluation activities.
4.2 Fiji
Fiji comprises more than 332 islands and is home to 88,000 inhabitants, of which 50.9 percent are male and 49.1 percent are female.
4
The population engaged in agriculture, forestry and fishery constitutes 38.4 percent. Of the total land area, 50 percent is covered by native
forests or 1,017,400 ha, while pine and hardwood plantations account for another 5 to 6 percent MoFF 2013. The Department of Forests is the oversight agency with respect to the implementation of all forest-related policies.
Although Fiji is making progress in keeping its commitments towards promoting gender equality by being a signatory to human rights conventions like CEDAW and BDPA and through its Strategic Development Plan 2007-2011, more efforts are needed to address the
following key challenges to mainstream gender in forestry:
• Gender rights and responsibilities, including tree and land tenures and women’s concerns are not mentioned in the National Forest
Policy Statement 2007. •
The Department of Forestry needs additional technical expertise and adequate financial resources to effectively undertake gender mainstreaming activities.
• The absence of a gender working group and lack of women’s leadership positions in policy-making bodies for promoting gender
mainstreaming.
4.3 Indonesia
Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world with a population of 249,865,631. Fifty percent is male and 49.7 percent is female.
5
Thirty-five percent of the population is engaged in agriculture, forestry and fisheries. Forests cover approximately 60 percent of Indonesia, but increasing deforestation remains a pressing concern MoF 2009. The forestry sector falls under the jurisdiction of the MoF.
The government has undertaken initiatives at policy and institutional levels to promote gender equality across all sectors, including forestry. For instance, the National Medium-Term Development Plan 2010-2014 envisions that using gender mainstreaming as a development
strategy would make policies and programmes more effective towards achieving equality and inclusiveness Kusumanto 2013.
Similarly, Presidential Instruction No. 9 2000 mandates gender mainstreaming in planning, implementation and monitoring of development policies and programmes of all government agencies. Despite all these positive efforts and progress, the following key challenges remain:
• Inadequate understanding and lack of clarity on the concepts of gender and gender mainstreaming have generated confusion among
MoF officials. •
Members of the gender working group lack adequate capacities to fulfill their assigned duties and responsibilities as they have limited skills and expertise for mainstreaming gender.
• The absence of gender-disaggregated data and gender-sensitive monitoring and evaluation systems in forestry inhibits better
understanding of women’s contribution to sustainable forest management.
4.4 Nepal
Nepal is home to 27,797,457 inhabitants, of which 48.4 percent is male and 51.6 percent is female.
6
About 1.45 million households, or 35 percent of Nepal’s population, are involved in community forestry programmes; there are now more than 18,000 CFUGs Chapagain
2013. The MoFSC is the line ministry which governs the forestry sector and is responsible for developing sectoral plans and policies. Nepal’s evolving community forestry laid the groundwork that facilitated integration of gender-inclusive strategies and policies. Despite
the progress on promoting gender equality in forest policies through the GESI strategy and the GPSE monitoring framework, a few key challenges remain:
• Opportunities offered by gender-responsive policies, strategies and frameworks are not being utilized effectively. For example, the
percentage of female members in the executive committees of CFUGs has gradually increased to 31 percent, but has not reached the government’s set target of 50 percent as stated in the GESI strategy and policy.
• With women representing only 3 percent of positions, the composition of staff within the ministry is remarkably lower than the quota
of at least 33 percent advocated for by the government, showcasing acute gender imbalance. •
Absence of a dedicated annual budget within the MoFSC, for example less than 1 percent of the MoFSC’s budget was allocated in 2010 to mainstream the GESI into planning, training, monitoring and evaluation.
4
Population data retrieved on June 25, 2014 from http:data.worldbank.orgcountryfiji
5
Population data retrieved on June 25, 2014 from http:data.worldbank.orgcountryindonesia
6
Population data retrieved on June 25, 2014 from http:data.worldbank.orgcountrynepal
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The population of the Philippine archipelago is 98,393,574, of which 50.1 percent is male and 49.9 percent is female.
7
Thirty-two percent of the population is engaged in agriculture, forestry and fisheries. The Philippines is quickly losing its forest cover. Currently the total forest
area is approximately 7,719,800 ha and the deforestation rate is 0.73 percent per year.
8
The DENR is the primary government agency responsible for conservation, management and protection of the country’s environment and natural resources, with the FMB taking the lead in forest management.
The government’s commitments towards promoting gender equality through institutional and legal frameworks such as the MCW, Women in Development and Nation-building Act 1992 and the Philippine National Plan for Gender-Responsive Development 1995-2025 have
laid the groundwork for gender-inclusive forest policies and strategies.
All government agencies in the Philippines have adopted GAD principles to promote gender equality in government structures, systems and policies. Moreover, the PCW uses the GADFS as a model to influence government agencies, including the DENR in setting up
mechanisms for gender mainstreaming. Despite achieving such progress, the Philippines’ efforts to mainstream gender further in forest policies and practices are still confronted by the following key challenges:
• Despite good common understanding and knowledge of the value of integrating gender perspectives in forest policies and strategies,
effective implementation at subnational and local levels is lacking. •
Although 5 percent of each government agencies’ budget is allocated to GAD activities, the budget is often considered inadequate to mainstream gender fully in forestry plans and programmes.
• Limited gender-disaggregated statistics and the lack of a gender-sensitive monitoring and reporting system in subnational and local
forestry institutions and programmes.
4.6 Sri Lanka
