The COBAM project has made a point of ensuring its research in the Congo Basin about climate change and forests is gender-responsive. This presentation outlines the approaches used in the COBAM project to ensure that gender is taken into account, and presents some preliminary results from the study. This presentation was given during CIFOR’s Annual Meeting 2012, which was held on 1–5 October at the headquarters in Bogor, Indonesia.

1. Gender approaches in the COBAM project
Annual Meeting 2012
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2. Overview
 COBAM: Objectives and
components
 Gender theories
 Main Research questions
 Approaches and methods
 Gender analysis
 Lessons
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3. COBAM
COBAM Objective
Provide policymakers, practitioners and
local communities with the information,
analysis and tools needed for
designing and implementing policies
and projects for adaptation and
REDD+ in the Congo Basin
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4. Gender theories
What is known…
Three-quarters of the food-crop
farmers in Central Africa are women
Molua (2010).
Women = main managers of non-
timber forest products, but are often
denied the right of planting trees
(Brown and Lapuyade, 2001).
When doing the same activities
(farming, foraging) the scale of
those activities differ (Tiani et al. 2005)
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5. Main Gender Research questions
 To what extent does climate change
exacerbate or reduce existing
gender inequalities?
 What is the role of forests in
reducing vulnerability of men,
women and the disadvantaged
groups in the Congo Basin?
 What is the correlation between the
forest status and the adaptive
capacity of men and women?
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6. Approaches
 Participatory approaches:
 Focus group discussions (levels;
social groups; men and women).
 Pebble games (scoring) and
matrices (Colfer et al. 2000).
 Interview of key informants
Gender sensitive variables:
Natural resources; activities; sources
of income, perception of
vulnerability and responses, social
capital and collective action, tenure
and access rights.
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7. Gender analysis (in blue)
Current state: Country and Observed trends in Vulnerability to climate- Adaptive capacity
project site the project site related disturbances in analysis
the project site
Description of current land use Description of change Analysis of differentiated Analysis of current
and socio-economic patterns at the vulnerability to climate- adaptive capacity based
conditions in the country national level related disturbances in on observed trends,
(literature review and grey the project site current conditions and
literature) in the project site (perception analysis). coping strategies
(mapping, FGA).
Analysis of the main activities Analysis of past Impacts of climate-related Exploration of future
and livelihoods in the project disturbances in the disturbances (perception vulnerabilities to possible
site project site (multi- analysis changes in future climate
stress analysis). and other stresses.
Analysis of the institutional Analysis of climate-
relationships based on the related disturbances
socio-institutional network in the project site
mapping
Assessing governance, social
capital and collective action
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8. Other considerations
 Gender considerations when selecting local
partners managing pilot projects. As result,
two of the five pilot projects are carried by
NGOs led by women
 This is an opportunity to study how effective
NGOs led by women are compared those led
by men and draw lessons as for the
distribution of adaptation and development
funds.
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9. Advantages
 Specific knowledge and priorities of men
and women for forest and forest goods
and services captured
 Differential access rights, capabilities and
vulnerability to climate changes sorted
out
 Needs and priorities of men, women and
other disadvantaged social groups
expressed
 Separate concerns of women and men
discussed, then shared with each other
 Common agreements are easier to be
reached…
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10. Lessons
 Our first results show that vulnerability to multi-stressors
including climate change and responses are gender
sensitive, but whether men or women are the most
vulnerable depend on various factors including
income strategies (diversified vs. focus), type of forest,
sensitivity of main activities to climate hazards or marge
of maneuver of each group.
 Women proved to be more organized at the local level and
men to be more present at the decision making sphere and
more connected to outside, but the way women could take
advantage of their social capital and hability for collective
actions to strenghten their position when designing adaptation
and development strategies is yet to be thought.
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11. Thanks for listening!
 www.cifor.cgiar.org/COBAM
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