Lessons Learned (Asia-Pacific): Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment in REDD+

Summary

The UN-REDD Programme is committed to integrating gender equality principles through its national support activities. The Programme recognizes that deforestation and forest degradation have strong socio-political dimension, also structured by gender. While women and men have unique but different knowledge, roles and contribution in forestry, they also have differential access and influence to institutions, and gain differential benefits to resources. It would be difficult for countries to make REDD+ efficient, effective and sustainable without addressing gender issues.

In Asia-Pacific, efforts have begun at the regional level to identify clear strategies to support REDD+ countries in mainstreaming gender and promoting women’s empowerment. The UN-REDD Programme Regional Team works closely with regional champions in this area such as Lowering Emissions in Asia’s Forests (LEAF) and Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture & NRM (WOCAN) to make the business case that without engagement of both men and women in REDD+ consultations, decision-making, and benefit sharing, REDD+ would not be successful.