Promoting a gender approach in the conservation of Rwanda’s protected areas

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Women and bamboo propagation in the Volcanoes National Park zone in Rwanda - Copyright Association Rwandaise des Ecologistes(ARECO-RWANDA NZIZA)

To ensure the participation of women in conservation, a gender-based approach is being utilised in Rwanda. The Rwandan government has started to mainstream gender in protected area management and natural resource use. ARECO is a member of IUCN and supports community-based initiatives which focus on women’s participation in conservation, and lobbies for integrating specific participation of women in national policies

Last update: 05 Oct 2020
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Context
Challenges addressed
Poor governance and participation
Unemployment / poverty
Scale of implementation
National
Ecosystems
Temperate deciduous forest
Theme
Gender mainstreaming
Protected and conserved areas governance
Sustainable livelihoods
Protected and conserved areas management planning
Culture
Location
Volcanoes National Park, Musanze, Northern Province, Rwanda
East and South Africa
Impacts

• Originally a pilot scheme, this initiative has been extended to cover a wider area and includes activities like campaigns to encourage women to participate with PAs conservation and training for women in natural resource management • In Rwanda, despite 70% of women in the country being involved with agriculture and other areas related to natural resource management, major inequalities are evident when considering women’s benefits from natural resources. However, since the full implementation of this scheme, there has been a 65% increase in the amount of women involved with these projects. • An example of the success of the project can be observed in Volcanoes National Park, where ARECO currently facilitates 12 women-based cooperatives, and the legal status of registered cooperatives enables members the right to access funding, as well as benefit from other revenues such as tourism and conservation activities

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