Women’s leadership in community-led forest governance in India

Kachhap, A.; Ravani, K.; Rana, M.; Misra, D.; Madappa, P.; Morgan, M.; Elias, M. (2025) Women’s leadership in community-led forest governance in India. [News item] In: Rogelja, T. and Kroese, L. (Eds.). 2025 Women as stewards of forests. Tropical Forest Issues 63. Ede (Netherlands): Tropenbos Internationals. p. 117-123. ISSN: 2958-4426

Forests are critical to sustaining the lives and environments of rural communities in India, home to the largest forest-dependent population in the world. Rural women tend to be particularly reliant on forests for fuelwood, food, fodder, medicine and more. For this reason, women are often the primary stewards of these common resources, relying on gender-specific knowledge of harvesting, processing, use and management. Yet women continue to face gender-based discrimination and marginalization in forest governance, and are less likely than men to take on meaningful leadership roles. This article explores how some women have managed to overcome these barriers to play active roles in forest governance and management, and what the outcomes of their leadership have been.