Rural women are active agents of conservation and restoration, as their caregiving responsibilities and livelihood activities depend almost entirely on natural resources. Forest governance, in particular, often improves when women join local management groups. Because reliance on forest products is gendered — women generally collect firewood, fodder and food, while men tend to harvest timber and hunt — including women into forest decision-making helps communities optimize forest use for a wider range of tasks.

Gender, forest and land experts shared global, regional and national perspectives on forest governances and draw on lessons from new research in Liberia. Together, they  discussed implications of these findings at the policy, regulatory and project levels.