Discussion forums

 World Farmers’ Orgnaisation (WFO); International Union of Forestry Research Organizations (IUFRO); Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR); Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN);

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Drawing from the experiences of farmers, practitioners and researchers   this discussion forum will  explore the conditions under which gendered knowledge can influence the formulation and implementation of gender equitable policies, programs and projects, especially in the context of climate change. It asks the following questions:

A) What are the different ways that researchers have approached the generation of gender-relevant knowledge and attempted to make that available to practitioners?

B) How have farmers, implementing agencies and practitioners contributed to the generation of gender-relevant knowledge and made use of such knowledge to advance gender equity in agriculture and natural resource management  at different scales such as local, sub-national and national levels?

The panelists explore constraints from the researcher, farmer, policy makers and NGO practitioner perspectives and offer lessons on tools and approaches to more effectively link and embed research and local knowledge with policy and practice across landscapes that comprise different resource systems (such as crop fields, pastures, forests, fisheries) and whish are critical to the lives and livelihoods of women, men and and small-holders more broadly. Overall, the forum hopes to generate lessons on how landscape-level problems and opportunities can be jointly defined and prioritized, activities jointly implemented, and knowledge jointly produced and harnessed in order to advance gender equity in access, use, management and benefits of resources across the landscape. The role of global processes such as the UNFCCC and the SDGs in advancing gender equity at national, sub-national and community levels will also be explored.

The format of the session will be oral presentations followed by three breakout groups, group presentations to plenary and a concluding discussion.

Key questions the panel will address:

1. How have researchers, tried to make gender-relevant research findings available to policy makers and practitioners across different resource sectors and scales (e.g. to address gender equity in climate change)? What works, what doesn’t? Why?
2. How have policy makers and practitioners applied findings from gender research? What works, what doesn’t? Why?
3. How have farmers and farmer groups interacted with researchers and/or policy makers to generate knowledge and/or shape policies. Have there been any efforts to coordinate across sectors, for example including forestry, agriculture, water, agroforestry, livestock etc.? What works, what doesn’t? Why?
4. What can be done to improve the likelihood that gender-responsive research findings will be taken up by policy makers and practitioners in order to advance gender equity? What should researchers do? What should policy makers and practitioners do? What can they do jointly? How?
5. How can global processes such as the UNFCCC and/or SDGs be designed to advance gender equity?

Background reading:

1. Virtue and vulnerability: Discourses on women, gender and climate change
2. Does gender make a difference in dealing with climate shifts?
3. Why don’t women participate in forest governance and what difference will their participation make?

Contact: Ms. Esther Mwangi, e.mwangi@cgiar.org

Keynote Speaker

• Seema Arora-Jonsson

  Coordinator, IUFRO Working Group on Gender and Forestry; Associate professor, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Speakers

• Sue Carlson

  Women's Committee, World Farmers Organization

• Nathalie Eddy

  Coordinator, Global Gender and Climate Alliance

• Belynda Petrie

  CEO, OneWorld Sustainable Investments

Moderator

• Antonia Andugar

  Senior Policy Adviser, Copa-Cogeca, European farmers and European agri-cooperatives

• Esther Mwangi

  Senior scientist, the Forests and Governance Program, Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)

Rapporteur

• Bimbika Basnett

  Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in the Governance Team at CIFOR

• Tiffanie Stephani

  German Farmers Association