[...]... diversity of efforts to integrate social and gender analysis into natural resource management research They point to the importance of ‘local’ history and context, and to the increasingly interlocking ‘local’ and ‘supra-local’ forces In addition, the six cases allow a comparative analysis and the discovery of a number of commonalities 12 Social and Gender Analysis in Natural Resource Management The cases... focus on social and gender insights The chapter compares the main underlying forces or factors that shape particular management practices and some of the emerging issues in terms of equity and environmental sustainability It reflects on the similarities and Integrating Social and Gender Analysis 35 differences in how social and gender relations inform natural resource management practices in the study... societies in Asia and the problems of natural resource management are considerable Notions of gender (the socially constructed roles and characteristics assigned to men and women in a specific culture), class, caste, ethnicity and age are integral to understanding the social relations and decision-making processes concerning access to, and use and management of natural resources A sound understanding of... improve our understanding of these key social and political processes informed by gender and other variables However, the practical and context-specific implementation of more socially sensitive research and development interventions in relation to biodiversity and natural resource management remains a very difficult process for many Most of the social and gender analysis in natural resource management is... learning programmes that focus on systematic capacity building for gender and social analysis in applied research in this field There are even fewer initiatives that systematically document and analyse this kind of capacity-building process The challenge of integrating SAGA into natural resources and biodiversity research are, therefore, many (Vernooy and Fajber 2004: 210): Integrating Social and Gender. .. order to understand how gender and other inequalities are created and reproduced through their separate and combined interactions (Kabeer 1997: 280–81) A last reason for integrating SAGA into research is to create space for social actors (women and men) to manoeuvre and to enhance the bargaining and negotiating power of marginalized and discriminated groups, leading to empowerment and transformation... all the local women’s groups and representatives of the local governments in Lun, Khotont and Deluin sums for their cooperation during the study This page intentionally left blank Integrating Social and Gender Analysis 17 1 Integrating Social and Gender Analysis into Natural Resource Management Research Action research for the conservation and use of agrobiodiversity in Barba District, Nepal Photo... within institutions to mainstream gender in project activities and within the institutions themselves; and 5 to document best practices and progress made by researchers toward integrating SAGA into natural resource management research in Asia (process and outputs of objectives 1 to 4) One of the activities implemented as part of the programme is called the ‘Learning Studies’ project Initiated in 2002,... management questions, including biodiversity conservation, crop and livestock improvement, and sustainable grassland development: 1 Sikkim/West Bengal, India: The Eastern Himalayan Network (EHN) The EHN team includes Chanda Gurung, a gender and natural resource management specialist, and Nawraj Gurung, an extensionist by training, currently focusing on agricultural and horticultural issues 2 Nagaland,... planning KEY COMMON ISSUES In reviewing individual case studies and synthesizing the most striking things and the missing or underemphasized elements, nine common issues emerged with respect to integrating SAGA into natural resource management These elements, which together are providing partial answers to the six guiding questions, are: stakeholder analysis; gender roles: description and explanation; multi-stakeholder . and Gender Analysis in Natural Resource Management This page intentionally left blank Social and Gender Analysis in Natural Resource Management Learning. are already taking in implementing social and gender analysis research, including questions of class, caste and ethnicity in natural resource management.