Research suggests that, within households, gender relations influence the distribution of income in general, and forest income in particular.

1. THINKING beyond the canopy
Gendered differentiation in the use of
forest resources: Results from PEN
Victoria Reyes-Garcia, Ronnie Babigumira, Gerald Shively & Terry Sunderland
UEA, 13th June 2011

2. THINKING beyond the canopy
Research suggests that, within households,
gender relations influence the distribution of
income in general, and forest income in
particular. It is commonly assumed that
• Men extract forest products for sale and
women for household consumption.
• But women rely more than men on forest
products for income generation.
We use the PEN global data set to assess
within household gendered differences :
 in the consumption and sale of forest
products, and
 in the reliance of processed and
unprocessed forest products.
Gender and forest income

3. THINKING beyond the canopy
Methods
 We highlighted the two key variables used in the gender
analysis.
1. Outcome variables
 For both Unprocessed and Processed forest products, (i)
Wife and adult female members, (ii) Husband and adult male
members, (iii) Both, (iv) Children
2. Product characteristics
 food, fuel, medicines/resins/dyes, structural/fibre, fodder,
manure/fertilizer, mineral/metals, others.
 Dominant (largest share of income) product class for each
household which we use to control for product
characteristics
 Global analysis: regional understanding

4. THINKING beyond the canopy
Data: who does what?

5. THINKING beyond the canopy
Data: types of products

6. THINKING beyond the canopy
Men, women, and children participate in the
collection and processing of forest products,
but activities are gender specialized.
 The share value of forest products
collected by men surpasses the share
value of forest products collected by
women.
Share value of forest
products by age-sex groups
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Women Both Men Children
Processed
Unprocessed

7. THINKING beyond the canopy
 Women specialize in the collection and
processing of forest products for
subsistence, whereas men specialize on
forest products for sale.
Share value of subsistence vs
cash forest products
Unprocessed Processed
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Women Men
0
10
20
30
40
50
Women Men
Cash
Subsistence

8. THINKING beyond the canopy
Regional patterns: Latin America
In the Latin American sites, where forest income and forest dependence
are higher, the share value of processed and unprocessed forest products
collected by men surpasses the share value of forest products collected by
women.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Women Both Men Children
Subsistence
Cash
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Women Both Men Children
Unprocessed Processed

9. THINKING beyond the canopy
Regional patterns: Asia
In the Asian sites, the pattern is more complex. Overall men the share value
of forest products collected by men is larger, but differences are smaller than
in LA. Women have higher shares in subsistence.
Unprocessed Processed
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Women Both Men Children
Subsistence
Cash
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Women Both Men Children

10. THINKING beyond the canopy
Regional patterns: Africa
In the African sites, the share value of unprocessed products collected by
women is larger than the share value collected by men. But men have a
larger share on processed forest products.
Unprocessed Processed
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Women Both Men Children
Subsistence
Cash
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Women Both Men Children

11. THINKING beyond the canopy
Multivariate analysis
Unprocessed Processed
Women hh head 0.211*** 0.325***
Age -0.001* 0.001*
Education -0.001 -0.003
Good roof -0.023* 0.057
# kids 0.003 -0.006
Total income -0.000 -0.000*
Agricultural land -0.001*** 0.001
Participation on forest management -0.009 -0.045
Unprocess for construction -0.086*** -0.527***
Unprocess for fuel 0.194*** -0.117
Distance to road 0.001 0.003
Distance to forest -0.000 0.000
Income inequality 0.451 0.817
Female wage -0.003 0.000

12. THINKING beyond the canopy
Key findings
• Female headed households rely more on income from NTFPs
and are probably more vulnerable to shocks
• Strong gender differentiation: product characteristics are
important
• Men contribute significantly to household income through NTFP
collection and sale: “they are doing their bit”
• Initial assumptions related to gender and NTFPs confirmed

13. THINKING beyond the canopy
Possible future research
 Understand outflows: How do men and women use income
from NTFP sale?
 Regional differentiation: need to explore reasons
 Capturing the “hidden economy”: would more formal
regulations/institutional arrangements ensure greater equity?
 Understanding linkages between NTFPs and food security,
especially in the face of climate change

14. THINKING beyond the canopy
Policy Implications
 Within household distribution of
income from forest products
presents regional variations, so
there is no good “one size fit all”
policy regarding gender and
forest income.
 Understanding gender-based
forest income distribution might
help design policies and
development interventions that
provide women with more
equitable access to income
 However, most donors recognise
importance of gender-oriented
research yet successful
integration remains elusive

15. THINKING beyond the canopy
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