Does Gender Sensitive Joint Forest Management Programme Increase Women’s Contribution on Household’s Income? Evidence from West Bengal in Indian context

Abstract

This study tries to examine as to whether gender sensitive planning under participatory forest management programme increases women’s contribution on household’s income by augmenting women’s physical involvement in forest works based on an empirical study in such an Indian state-West Bengal- which acts as key-precursor of the implementation of participatory forest management programme in general and gender sensitive participatory forest management programme in particular. Most important finding of this study is that under female-organised forest management unit (called female FPC) women are the major contributors to their family income, which they only receive from forest source, after JFM programme. However more worrying is that despite women’s major share of households income from female FPC villages in particular, male control over household’s income implying that this might undermine women’s empowerment and equity principle of people’s centered forest management programme.