The Relationship between Forest Cover and Gendered Dimensions of Inequality at a fine Spatial Scale

Presenter's Name(s)

Ethan ShafronFollow

Conference Year

January 2019

Abstract

The United Nations recognizes empowering women as a key component of achieving numerous development-related goals. With regard to the UN’s environmental objectives as outlined in Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (a UN program generally referred to as REDD+) and the sustainable development goals (SDGs), however, the connection between gender and the environment remains relatively unexplored on a global scale. Qualitative and locally-constrained studies suggest that communities where women have more agency over resource allocation and land tenure sometimes experience decreases in forest degradation and deforestation, all else being equal. However, these patterns are spatially heterogeneous, as are patterns of gender inequality as defined in the methods section of this paper. In this study, I aim to analyze the spatial relationships between gender inequality and land cover using fine-grain sub-national measures that other studies have not.

Primary Faculty Mentor Name

Brendan Fisher

Status

Undergraduate

Student College

College of Arts and Sciences

Program/Major

Environmental Studies

Primary Research Category

Food & Environment Studies

Secondary Research Category

Social Sciences

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The Relationship between Forest Cover and Gendered Dimensions of Inequality at a fine Spatial Scale

The United Nations recognizes empowering women as a key component of achieving numerous development-related goals. With regard to the UN’s environmental objectives as outlined in Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (a UN program generally referred to as REDD+) and the sustainable development goals (SDGs), however, the connection between gender and the environment remains relatively unexplored on a global scale. Qualitative and locally-constrained studies suggest that communities where women have more agency over resource allocation and land tenure sometimes experience decreases in forest degradation and deforestation, all else being equal. However, these patterns are spatially heterogeneous, as are patterns of gender inequality as defined in the methods section of this paper. In this study, I aim to analyze the spatial relationships between gender inequality and land cover using fine-grain sub-national measures that other studies have not.