By Marlène Elias, Gender Specialist, Conservation and Management of Forest Genetic Resources, Bioversity International, and Gender Coordinator of the CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA)

In 2017, we will build on progress made in Phase I to strengthen capacities for gender analysis, equip scientists and partners with the latest thinking on gender in Natural Resource Management (NRM), and integrate gender dimensions in monitoring and evaluation frameworks.

A Fellowship Program is meant to develop capacities and support comparative research on gender and tree-seed systems.

Through a strong emphasis on knowledge sharing and communications, scientists will develop knowledge hubs around gender, forestry and NRM, e.g. through an online learning module for researchers, policy-makers and practitioners, which is meant to promote uptake of research findings.

Through action research, using innovative methodologies, FTA researchers will improve awareness of gender issues and the capacities to address them. This will contribute to more gender equity and social inclusion in joint forest management and to the wider participation of women in decision making and control over resources in households and in the community.

The gender cross-cutting theme will focus on four main areas to achieve a deeper integration of gender dimensions across the research portfolio and increase the quantity and quality of gender strategic research:

• Capacity building of scientists and partners in intersectionality, gender transformative approaches and engagement of youth in livelihoods and resource management.
• Tailored support to research teams to identify and address gender dimensions, particularly looking at tree-seed systems, land and forest restoration, land-use change at the landscape level, climate change, and forest commodity value chains.
• Monitoring and evaluation of
• gender integration in research and action across flagship portfolios, and
• contribution of strategic gender research to outcomes on equity and inclusion.
• Knowledge sharing, including synthesis of findings and lessons across the above specified themes, strengthening our communications, and building and nurturing partnerships to inform FTA research and increase its uptake and use.

In Flagship 1 on tree genetic resources, we focus on comparative research on gender and tree-seed systems within the context of a Fellowship Program. This will enhance scientists’ capacities to conduct gender-responsive research and produce empirically informed recommendations for policy makers and practitioners regarding gender responsive tree-seed delivery systems.

In Flagship 2 on livelihoods, bilaterally funded work on gender, migration and multi-local livelihoods will document the impact of gender differences in patterns of migration and mobility on women’s influence in forest governance in six countries.

It will identify which types of policies, institutional arrangements and interventions foster enabling environments for women and men to benefit from migration and multi-local livelihoods in forested landscapes.

In Flagship 3 on value chains, research and practice on the gender dimensions of timber and charcoal value chains in Africa will support the development of institutional arrangements and mechanisms for a sustainable and inclusive supply of timber.

A study across the whole of FTA on the gendered dimensions and inclusiveness of agribusiness expansion in Tanzania aims at developing business models that are more inclusive, economically viable and environmentally sustainable.

In Flagship 4 on landscapes, studies and guidelines on intersecting sources of marginalization in joint forest management will help women, young people and ethnically marginalized groups to participate in decision-making. Synthesis work will also be conducted around gender roles and norms in agroforestry practices.

In Flagship 5 on climate change, research is planned on the gender dimensions of options for climate change adaptation at the farm level in Latin America. This will help us to better assess how national adaptation policies and practices deal with gender issues and the social inclusion of groups that tend to be marginalized.