ERIP 5 - Task 1

Accelerating Gender Equality and Social Inclusion in Ecosystem Restoration

Task 1: Why Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Matter for Restoration

Start

Why Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Matter for Restoration

Ecosystem restoration efforts must reflect the diversity of the people who depend on and care for nature. Yet many groups remain underserved and underrepresented in decision-making processes, despite their essential contributions to land stewardship, food systems, and biodiversity conservation. This can lead to policies, management decisions, and other restoration processes being designed without their crucial knowledge, needs, and priorities taken into account - potentially causing harm or leading to unsustainable outcomes. Why it matters for different social groups:

Youth

Women

IPLC's

Persons with disabilities

Complexity: Why One-Size Doesn’t Fit All

Up next

References

Complexity: Why One-Size Doesn’t Fit All

People’s identities — including gender, Indigeneity, disability status, caste, and other social characteristics — often overlap in ways that create deeper exclusion. When these overlapping identities shape how individuals experience barriers to participation and benefits, it’s called intersectionality.

Using an intersectional lens helps restoration projects understand power relations and avoid one-size-fits-all solutions — and instead deliver approaches that are tailored, inclusive, and more effective for everyone.

Understanding Intersectionality in Restoration Contexts

Case Study: Nepal's Watershed Restoration

Up next

References

By applying an intersectional lens, we can better understand the interconnected nature of social categorizations and how they shape experiences of power and oppression, which in turn can impact restoration experiences and outcomes.This means:

• Conducting an intersectional analysis during project planning to identify how different factors, such as gender, age, disability, ethnicity, and class, can create overlapping systems of discrimination and privilege.

• Disaggregating data collection and monitoring by multiple social dimensions.

• Designing targeted approaches for groups facing multiple forms of discrimination.

Why it matters

Case Study: Nepal's Watershed Restoration

In Nepal’s Gandaki River Basin, a watershed restoration project initially focused on broadly targeting women. However, project teams soon discovered that Dalit (lowest caste) women faced unique and compounding barriers compared to women from higher castes. By shifting to an intersectional approach — one that addressed both gender and caste discrimination — the project significantly improved its outcomes:

• 43% higher participation rates
• More equitable benefit distribution

Close this task and proceed on your journey

Task complete

References

Youth: Represent a significant part of rural populations and future stewards, yet youth unemployment is nearly three times higher than adult rates globally.iv

Why it matters

Indigenous Peoples and local communities:

• Indigenous Peoples and local communities manage or have customary rights to at least 22% of the land surface—areas that include some of the most ecologically intact and biodiverse regions on the planet. However, only a portion of these lands are legally recognized, limiting communities’ ability to fully exercise their rights and protect ecosystems from external pressures.ii

• Earn on average 18.5% less than non-Indigenous populations.iv

Why it matters

Resurrección, B.P. et al. (2019). "In the Shadows of the Himalayan Mountains: Persistent Gender and Social Exclusion in Development." In The Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment, 491-516. Available here.

iFAO (2023). The Status of Women in Agrifood Systems. Available here.iiRights and Resources Initiative (2020). Estimated area of land and territories of Indigenous Peoples, local communities and Afro-descendants where their rights are not recognized. Available here. iiiUnited Nations (2024). Disability and Development Report. Available here. ivILO (2019). Implementing the ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention No. 169: Towards an inclusive, sustainable and just future. Available here.

Section overview

Start

Why GESI matters for restoration

Complexity: Why One-Size Doesn’t Fit All

Case Study: Nepal's Watershed Restoration

Women:

• Make up 43% of the global agricultural workforce — yet they own less than 15% of land worldwide.i

• Earn 18.4% less than men in agricultural wage employment.iv

• Experience a 24% productivity gap on farms of equal size and have significantly less access to inputs such as irrigation, livestock, fertilizer, and training.iv

• In over 40% of countries, men are twice as likely as women to have secure land ownership rights.iv

Why it matters

Note: In this learning journey, gender is understood as a spectrum and not limited to a binary definition. We aim to reflect this understanding throughout.

Persons with disabilities:

• Make up approximately 16% of the global population—1.3 billion people—with higher prevalence in rural areas where restoration often takes place.

• According to the UN Flagship Report on Disability and Development 2024, they are disproportionately affected by environmental degradation yet frequently excluded from restoration planning and benefits.iii

• Are 50% less likely to be employed than those without disabilities.iv

Why it matters

Djoudi, H. et al. (2016). Beyond dichotomies: Gender and intersecting inequalities in climate change studies. Ambio, 45(3), 248-262. Available here.

The term intersectionality refers to the fact that people experience overlapping forms of discrimination or disadvantage based on their multiple social identities. In restoration contexts, these intersecting factors determine who participates, who benefits, who decides, and whose knowledge is valued.Gender analysis is a critical entry point to conduct an intersectional analysis and better understand systemic barriers faced by specific groups and ways to address them to ensure more effective restoration initiatives. For instance, Indigenous women may face distinct constraints compared to non-Indigenous women, while older adults with disabilities may encounter very different obstacles than other members of the community.

Section overview

Start

Why GESI matters for restoration

Complexity: Why One-Size Doesn’t Fit All

Case Study: Nepal's Watershed Restoration

Section overview

Start

Why GESI matters for restoration

Complexity: Why One-Size Doesn’t Fit All

Case Study: Nepal's Watershed Restoration