Africa-Press – Eritrea. COUNTRY’s women are yet to benefit fully from resources available in natural forests compared to men, according to a new study by the Gender Studies Centre of the Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA).
Such resources in forests include timber, charcoal and other resources.
The Head of the Centre, Prof John Jeckoniah,stated this on Thursday in Morogoro when he presented the results of his recent study.
The research focused on looking at gender issues and special groups in the use, access and benefits of natural forest resources in the country.
ProfJeckoniahsaid the research also studied what strategies were being deployed by various development partners including the Tanzania Forest Conservation Network (TFCG) in developing various strategies to increase economic participation of special groups especially women.
“In our study we found that there are several issues of gender inequality in groups involved in the use of natural forest resources. Women do not benefit from such resources like men,”said ProfJeckoniah.
The university don said the study revealed that great work has been done by non-governmental organizations in building capacity and improving the livelihoods and communities at various areas reached by TFCG projects and the Tanzania Forest Management Network.
On his part, manager for project of Conserving Forests through Sustainable Forest Based Enterprise Support in Tanzania (CoForEST), Mr Charles Leonard, named the districts where the study was conducted as Kilosa, Morogoro District Council and Mvomero in Morogoro region, Liwale, Ruangwa and Nachingwea in Lindi region as well as in Kilolo district in Iringa region.
Mr Leonard said the objective of the study was, among others, to come up with strategies for engaging stakeholders and communities in best practices of forest conservation and sustainably benefit from the resources.
He said the project is implemented by the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group (TFCG) and the Tanzania Community Forest Conservation Network.
He elaborated that the project also looks at how the Government and stakeholders work together in the forestry sector and look at how well the forests are managed.
CoFOREST Project Manager further explained that the three-year project started in December 2019 and is expected to end in November this year (2022).
Funded by the Swiss Government through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the project is implemented in seven districts in three regions.
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