Social and Gender Equity Issues in Forestry and REDD+ in Myanmar

RECOFTC and partners recently conducted a national-level expert panel discussion in Myanmar on gender mainstreaming in national forestry and REDD+ initiatives. The expert panel included representatives of the Myanmar Forest Department, Gender Develoment Initiative, Promotion of Indigenous and Nature Together, Gender Group Myanmar and RECOFTC.This discussion paper captures the panel’s reflections on Myanmar’s current state of gender considerations and the policy environment in the forestry sector and, based on lessons learned, offers recommendations to improve mainstreaming gender strategies in REDD+ planning and implementation in the country.

The paper explores gender issues in Myanmar, for example, a 30-year-old Kachin woman from Myitkyina Township, Myanmar stated,  “If I get divorced, legal rights to our land will be my husband's as the head of household on our land ownership certificate.However, I contributed a lot to this land. Without the right to property and an income, how can I raise our kids? We Kachin women must have our names on land certificates. Something has to be done to secure our rights.”  

RECOFTC‘s Social Inclusion and Gender Equity (SIGE) program works to ensure that gender-responsive and rights-based approaches are streamlined across all of the organization’s work. RECOFTC believes that men and women have important concerns, needs, opportunities and aspirations, and aims to reflect this in its programs.