Abstract

PIP: This article discusses USAID's lessons learned about integrating gender into natural resource management (NRM) projects in Peru, the Philippines, and Kenya. In Peru, USAID integrated women into a solid waste management project by lending money to invest in trash collection supplies. The loans allowed women to collect household waste, transfer it to a landfill, and provide additional sanitary disposal. The women were paid through direct fees from households and through service contracts with municipalities. In Mindanao, the Philippines, women were taught about the health impact of clean water and how to monitor water quality, including the monitoring of E. coli bacteria. Both men and women were taught soil conservation techniques for reducing the amount of silt running into the lake, which interferes with the generation of electricity and affects the health of everyone. The education helped women realize the importance of reducing silt and capitalized on their interest in protecting the health of their families. The women were thus willing to monitor the lake's water quality to determine if the conservation efforts were effective. In Kenya, USAID evaluated its Ecology, Community Organization, and Gender project in the Rift Valley, which helped resettle a landless community and helped with sustainable NRM. The evaluation revealed that women's relative bargaining power was less than men's. Organized capacity building that strengthened women's networks and improved their capacity to push issues onto the community agenda assured women a voice in setting the local NRM agenda.