The Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University
MA in Sustainable International Development Program
HS224f – Gender and the Environment
Fall 2014 Module I: Wednesday 9:00 a.m. – 11:50 a.m.
Prof. Cristina Espinosa
Office: Heller 159 - Office hours: upon request
Description
This module introduces students to the field of gender and the environment, examining the relevance of gender for environmental conservation and for sustainable resources management, which require social sustainability. This module will explore the different ways gender has been conceptualized and integrated within environmental conservation and within sustainable development interventions, and the limits of different approaches. This module will heavily rely on students’ participation. Students are expected to come prepared to class, having read the assigned readings and identified key ideas, facts and concepts and being ready to present them and discuss in class.
Learning objectives:
By the end of this module, students will be able to:
· Understand the importance of gender in environmental conservation and sustainable development
· Discuss the meanings of development, sustainable development and nature conservation and how they relate to gender issues and vice versa
· Be able to identify specific approaches such as eco-feminism, feminist political ecology and WED, their theoretical and methodological assumptions, limits, potentials and implications in terms of policy, program and projects
· Have a broader view of how different dimensions of gender and the natural environment interact in different geographies and cultures around the world, understanding the challenges associated with mainstreaming gender within sustainable development and conservation interventions
· Become familiar with different tools used to integrate gender within conservation.
· Be able to express their own ideas orally and in written and use facts, concepts and theories to debate important issues related to gender and the environment.
· Have experience organizing group presentations, leading group discussion and preparing group reports on the practical aspects of gender & conservation
Measurable Learning Outcomes:
· Understand the socio-economic contexts for conservation and sustainable development and key concepts to address gender within environmental conservation
· Contrast different approaches like WID/GAD as applied to environmental issues
· Become familiar with some of the tools available to integrate gender into environmental issues
· Be aware of the complexities and challenges to integrate gender equity within development and identify key issues to be addressed
Course Requirements
Full and timely attendance is required for students enrolled in this class. Prior to each session, students are expected to have read assigned readings and to come to class prepared for discussion. In addition to read, students must identify key concepts and be ready to present and discuss them in class.
Students are required to timely submit their weekly assignments as stated in this syllabus for at least three sessions (a print-out copy delivered at the beginning of the class). Final assignments will include group presentations and group papers. The final grade will be calculated as follows: weekly assignments 25% class participation in discussion: 10%; group presentations: 30%; final paper: 35%. Students are expected to maintain cordial and collegial interactions in class. Originality, seriousness, tolerance and honesty are expected during class discussion and when preparing assignments. While the course invites students to think critically and “digest” concepts and theory, students need to demonstrate they have a good understanding of the concepts and approaches presented in the readings.
Academic honesty
Students are expected to be honest in all their academic work. The university policy on academic honesty is distributed annually as section 5 of the Rights and Responsibilities handbook. Instances of alleged dishonesty are subject to possible judicial action. Potential actions include failure of the course and suspension from the University. Academic integrity is central to the mission of educational excellence at Brandeis University. Each student is expected to turn in work completed independently, except when assignments specifically authorize collaborative effort. It is not acceptable to use the words or ideas of another person –be it a world-class philosopher or your roommate –without proper acknowledge; you must use footnotes and quotations marks to indicate the source of phrases, sentences, paragraphs or ideas found in published volumes, internet or expressed by another student. Consult the instructor if you need clarification on this topic.
Required Readings will be available at LATTE and MyHeller as pdf. Files
This class will meet on September 3, 10, 17, 24, October 1, 10 and 15
Sessions, topics, required readings & assignments
For the final presentations and assignments, students will choose one thematic field from the following:
· Gender & Forestry/Agro-forestry
· Gender & Water Management (Wetlands, Watersheds, Water Use/Distribution)
· Gender & Climate Change
· Gender & Biodiversity (wildlife/agro-biodiversity)
Session #1
An introduction to gender and the social dimensions of conservation and sustainable development. This session will use a group exercise to brainstorm about the different dimensions of the interactions between people and the natural environment and how they change for specific contexts and for specific social groups. Discussion will rely on the student’s reading of the required text, which has been drafted for non-social scientists working in conservation and natural resource management. We will also discuss the status of gender mainstreaming within the major environmental conventions like the one on Biodiversity, Climate Change and Desertification. This session will provide students with an overview of the links between gender and the environment.
Required Reading:
· Espinosa, M.C. 2004. Unveiling Differences, Finding a Balance. Social Gender Analysis for Designing Projects on Community-Based Management of Natural Resources. Quito-Gland: IUCN Publications. Section1 (pages 1-29)
· Lambrou Yianna. 2005. Gender Perspectives on the Conventions: Biodiversity, Climate Change and Desertification.” Gender and Development Service, FAO Gender and Population Division. Rome.
Case Study: Gender and Conflicting Stakeholders for water use in Colombia
Videos:
· Introducing Women Earth Alliance (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX3fM4IveGY&NR=1
· Women Want a Nurtured Environment http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-hZG7pdJdQ
· Women Feed the World. On food production, poverty land tenure issues. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIdhkyvnkKg&feature=related
Guiding Questions:
1. According to Espinosa, 2004, how does socio-economic differentiation affect the participation of local populations and the effectiveness of conservation interventions? What is the concept of equitable sharing of costs and benefits presented in this context?
2. What is the notion of livelihoods presented in Espinosa, 2004 why is that individual access to and use of natural resources is always socially defined? What is the importance of the division of labor by age and gender and how this affects livelihoods and use of natural resources?
3. What is the importance of culture and ethnicity in regard to access, use and control of natural resources? How culture and ethnicity intersect with gender? What is the role of age and seniority in regard to natural resources management? How they intersect with gender?
4. What are the five dimensions of gender affecting natural resource management as presented in Section 1? Please summarize each one of them. What the seven main contributions of Gender Social Analysis for conservation interventions are as presented in Section 1 of Espinosa, 2004?
5. What are the common gender issues in rural livelihoods presented by Lambrau, 2005, and what important gender issues she presents in relations to biodiversity, climate change and desertification?
6. What major differences in the way gender mainstreaming has been advanced in the different global conventions addressing biodiversity, climate change and desertification are presented by Lambrau 2005, and what major common challenges?
Assignment: Please bring printed to class clear and succinct responses to three of the six questions presented above for the required reading (no more than 2 pages max).
Session #2: Gender & Forestry: Why Gender Matters?
Required Readings
· Agarwal, Bina. 2000. Conceptualizing Environmental Collective Action: Why Gender Matters. Cambridge Journal of Economics 24 (3): 283-310
· Fact Sheet: IUCN 2005. Reforestation, Aforestation, Deforestation, Climate Change and Gender.
· Fact Sheet: IUCN 2005. Forestry. Gender makes a Difference
· Case Study for class discussion: Isla, Ana. 2001. Women and Sustainable Development in the Costa Rican Rainforest: Questioning the Politics of Corporate Environmentalism.” Women and Environment Fall 2001 Page 30-31
Video:
Who makes the change? On agroforestry in the Brazilian Amazon: Gender livelihoods tenure issues http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZeSL-a6e0w
Guiding Questions for Required Readings
1. According to Agarwal (2000), why is it important to understand the differences between formal and informal participation and organization when it comes to gender and natural resource management?
2. According to Agarwal (2000) why is that women’s social support networks are different from men, more important for women and more permeable across class /social lines and more distant from local power nexuses and what implications this have for natural resources management?
3. How do the different entitlements women have in regard to natural resources affected the role of women informal organizations in protecting the forests, as presented by Agarwal (2000)?
4. What are the links between gender, forest conservation and climate chnge, as presented in the 2005 IUCN Fact Sheets?
Weekly Assignment:
Please submit your written response to two of the guiding questions for the readings instead. Please read one of the case studies/fact sheets and the short case study before class.
Session #3
Gender & Water Management: the implications of privatization of water
This session will highlight the gender dimension associated with contemporary global challenges to development, such as privatization of natural resources as elements that prevent the achievement of sustainable livelihoods and fair access to resources.
Required Readings:
· Cleaver, Francis. 1998. Choice, Complexity, and Change: Gendered Livelihoods and the
Management of Water. Agricultural and Human Values 15: 293-299
· Khosla, Prabha and Rebecca Pearl. 2003. Untapped Connections: Gender, Water and Poverty: Key Issues, Government Commitments and Actions for Sustainable Development. WEDO.
· Fact Sheet: Gender Water Alliance. 2003. Gender Water and the Environment (4 pages)
Case Studies:
· Kenya. Gender Differences in Community Water Management. Machakos
· Indonesia: the Impact of Women’s Participation in the Aqua-Danone Advocacy Programme – A Case Study in Klaten District, Central Java
Recommended Readings:
· Carney Judith. 1993. “Converting the Wetlands, Engendering the Environment: The Intersection of Gender with Agrarian Change in the Gambia” Economic Geography, Vol. 69, No. 4, Environment and Development, Part 2 (Oct., 1993), pp. 329-348
o How does the commoditization of agriculture led to changes in the gender division of labor and gendered conflicts over land rights (conversion of kamanjanyo to maruo) which has also changed gendered responsibilities, as presented by Carnie (1993) for Gambia?
o What are the connection between irrigation introduced for diversifying exports and increase food production, intensification of agriculture in the wetlands, gender conflicts in regard to common property rights and labor duties, as presented by Carnie (1993) for Gambia?
Slide show: IDRC- On Water http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-93803-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html
Guiding Questions for Required Readings:
1. What important shifts in global governance occurred in the 1990s in regard to water management and what is its rational according to Cleaver (1998), for instance the commoditization of water?
2. What is the problem with the approach focused on “women involvement” in water management that does not recognize the cost of women involvement? What else is missing in this approach?
3. What are the connections between gender, poverty and water management, as presented by Khosla and Pearl, 2003?
4. What gender differences in the use and management of water are presented by Khosla and Pearl, 2003?
5. According to Khosla and Pearl, 2003 and to the Gender and Water Alliance, 2003, how has privatization of water use affected poor families and women in particular? What is the agenda they propose to overcome this problem?
Weekly Assignment: Please submit your written response to two of the guiding questions for the readings instead and read one of the case studies and the fact sheet before class
Session #4
Gender, Biodiversity and Climate Change. The gender implications of privatization of genetic resources and climate change. This session will review gender roles as they relate to conservation of biodiversity and explore the gender dimensions associated with contemporary global challenges to development, such as privatization of natural resources and climate change as elements that prevent the achievement of sustainable livelihoods and fair access to resources.
Required readings:
· Sahai, Suman. 2004. TRIPS and Biodiversity: A Gender Perspective. Gender and Development Vol. 12 No. 2
· Nelson, Valerie et. al. 2002. Uncertain Predictions, Invisible Impacts, and the Need to
Mainstream Gender in Climate Change Adaptations Gender and Development Vol. 10 No. 2.
FAO Issue Brief. People-Centered Climate Change Adaptation. Integrating Gender Issues. ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/a1395e/a1395e00.pdf
Case Studies for class discussion:
· Rivero, R. Rosa. 2002. Gendering Responses to El Niño in Rural Peru. Gender and Development Vol. 10 (2): 60-69
· Gender, human security and climate change in Senegal. WEDO
Video: Oxfam’s Sisters on the Planet http://www.oxfamamerica.org/campaigns/climate-change/sisters-on-the-planet
Guiding Questions for the Required Readings:
1. What is the main contradiction between the CBD and TRIPS in regard to property rights on biodiversity and why this matters from a gender perspective, according to Sahai (2004)?
2. What are the stipulations of clause 27.3(b) of WTO agreements, why is it contested as a threat to biodiversity, sustainable livelihoods and fair access to resources/fair sharing of costs and benefits of biodiversity use? What are the alternatives presented by Sahai (2004)?
3. Why privatization of water and genetic resources is in contradiction with the role of governments to secure access to water (quantitiy/quality) for all its citizens and what instruments are using global financial institutions to push developing countries states to implement it? How this fit into the goal of sustainable development, the Milenium Development Goals and the Anti-Poverty initiatives funded by developed countries?
4. According to Nelson et al (2002) what is climate change and its impact on ecosystems, plants, animals and people? How is climate change affecting men and women differently and how gender differences relate to CC aid/relief interventions?