Joint forest management in India: implications and opportunities for women’s participation in community resource management

In recent years, state decentralization of control over community resource management has been increasing on a global scale. This process is largely intended to compensate for bureaucratic inefficiencies through the involvement of local users in state conservation efforts. Since India established its National Forest Policy of 1988, such a shift has occurred in natural resource management from the national to the local level. During the 1990’s this process of decentralization was accelerated under India’s Joint Forest Management (JFM) Policy. This paper examines the implications of JFM in involving local stakeholders with forest management practices, and specifically, women’s role within JFM and the degree of their participation within village forest institutions. Women are the primary collectors of forest products in rural India, and it is recognized that as a forest-dependent group, they ought to be involved in decision-making within these institutions for the sustainability of village livelihoods and conservation efforts. The success of JFM programs in this regard requires that a greater role for women be established through a gender policy within JFM. Both within and outside of state policy, measures to enhance women’s participation must take into account social relations and structures that perpetuate women’s exclusion, and identify ways through which these structures can be transformed. Ultimately, promoting women’s empowerment and livelihood rights and opportunities are essential preconditions to their effective participation.