Participatory Management Process in Natural Resource Management (NRM) by Women Groups

Abstract

Conserving the natural resources results in improved agricultural productivity which is a key  driver for poverty reduction in rural areas. To empower the women and to enhance their socio-economic  status for better livelihoods, Self-Help Groups (SHG) were formed by both the Government Organizations  (GO) and Non-Government Organizations (NGO). They facilitated the participation of women through  various means in Natural Resource Management (NRM) activities. To find out the distribution of the  women groups in different stages of NRM activities and to analyze the influence of profile, supportive,  structural and functional characteristics on participatory management in NRM activities, an ex-post  facto study was conducted in Telangana, Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions among 240 SHGs.  The study revealed that majority of the women respondents had medium level of ‘total participatory  management’ followed by high level and low level.