Persistence of women’s exclusion in Nepal’s community forestry practice

Women’s knowledge, roles, and responsibilities are increasingly recognised in natural resource management (NRM). A raft of affirmative action policies in the forestry sector has amplified the importance of women in the conservation, management, and use of natural resources. Yet, women are often excluded in NRM decision-making practices. This paper investigates the persistence of the exclusion of women in Nepal’s community forestry practices. We focus on the forces of exclusion of women in community forestry decision-making in the context of changes in politics, institutional hierarchies, markets, and knowledge domains. We draw on an innovative research method − Planning Studio, bringing together key ideas from critical action research from seven case study sites, five years of participant observation, 40 Key Informant Interviews (KII), 10 Focus Group Discussions (FDG) and six research workshops. Findings demonstrate that several forces of exclusion shape and sustain the persistence of women’s exclusion in Nepal’s community forestry practice. These forces include a) CFUG institutions in the new political landscape of Nepal, b) the emergent market for forest products and services, c) technical knowledge hegemony in policy, and d) cultural hegemony in which CFUG decisions are made. Women’s exclusion increases in the institutional hierarchy, from the CFUG decision-making to the state’s policymaking and adopting technocratic rules in forest management and market access. The pre-existing patriarchy shapes and excludes the aspiration of women’s agency in active engagement in community forestry. The exclusion continues and worsens if these forces are not recognised and addressed at various levels of decision-making.