Environmental Wealth and Gender Justice: From paradox to potential

After an extended worldwide debate, a consensus has emerged that communities can be the best protectors of the natural wealth and biodiversity of forests. Yet in South Asia, where community groups for forest management have mushroomed, we find a paradox: women face worsening shortages of the forest products on which they depend for daily needs. Ostensibly set up on principles of democracy and inclusiveness, community forestry groups often exclude significant sections of the local population