Ignoring the obvious : women's roles in environmental management in Papua New Guinea
Date
1994
Authors
Nelson, Gayle Lee
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Abstract
This thesis examines relationships within and between women's issues and environmental management issues in Papua New Guinea. These relationships are social, environmental and economic in nature and are impacted by the dynamics of the development process.
The analysis used in the research is based on Gender and Development theory and sets out to examine women's access to, and control of, resources in relation to men. In order to effectively gather this information and uncover the reasons for existing relationships, and for divisions of resources and power, the research had a number of components. These included work with women at a national and provincial level, work with environmental organizations and, most importantly, in-depth work with women in the village of Pepaur.
The work with local women involved awareness raising workshops, field trips, interviews and observation, and many informal information sessions with village women. These research activities created a forum where women could direct the priorities of the research and use my presence and skills to meet some of their needs about environmental management issues. At the same time their openness and questioning allowed me the opportunity to collect information on women's knowledge of environmental management, women's traditional ecological knowledge, and women's roles in decision making about environmental changes that have happened as a result of the development process.
The findings of this research indicate that women and men experience different levels of access to resources and particularly different levels of control of resources. As well women seem to have a higher level of knowledge of traditional uses of plants and more knowledge of plant names. This knowledge is rapidly eroding with the process of development demonstrated by the differences in knowledge between older and younger generations of w omen.
Women's organizations at the national and provincial level attempt to provide outreach services to rural women to allow them to develop leadership skills and become more aware of what development is. However, these organizations are plagued by the same differential access to and control of resources as village women experience in their relationships. Within national environmental organizations, there is some focus on 'women and environment' issues, but male-female dynamics have also negatively impacted the ability of women extension workers to do outreach.
There are pan-cultural environmental management issues that women in Papua New Guinea are working to cope with. The approaches that they have developed are similar to those reported in literature on other developing countries. These approaches focus on working at all levels to clarify strategies to meet identified needs for raised awareness, solidarity and organizing skills. Papua New Guinean women's efforts to meet these needs will result in increased opportunities to participate more directly and effectively in the development of their country.