Gendered Values, Roles, and Challenges for Sustainable Provision of Forest-Based Ecosystem Services in Nepal

Abstract

Significance StatementWomen empowerment and participation in forest management are essential to sustain critical natural benefits or ecosystem services (ES) that forests provide. In mountainous landscapes in Nepal, women are the core users or dependents of key forest-based ES such as food, fodder, and fuel to support their families’ wellbeing. With the country’s Community Forestry program, they gained capacities to participate and eventually become the stewards of sustainable management of these ES. However, several social-ecological challenges such as deforestation, illegal felling, and climate change threaten both the supply of forest-based ES and women’s capacities for sustainable management. These results highlight the need to strengthen support for women in forest management to enable them to adapt better to the impacts of these challenges.