Generally, there has been little recognition of women’s knowledge and roles in environmental management, and under-representation at the government level. Despite international acknowledgment of the need to involve both women and men in environmental management, women remain largely absent at all levels of policy formulation and decision-making in natural resource and environmental management, conservation and rehabilitation programmes. Women are rarely trained as professional natural resource managers. However, there has been a rapid increase in the number and visibility of women’s NGOs working on these issues, and women have often taken a lead in promoting sound environmental practices
Today in India women are playing pivotal role in conservation of natural resources and environment. More than 70% of the Indian population is rural based. Biomass plays a crucial role in meeting daily survival needs of the vast majority of the rural households. Water is essential for survival and its availability is related to biomass. The biomass-based subsistence economy is mostly non-monetized. Production and processing of biomass agriculture, forestry, minor forest produce and village crafts based on biomass as raw materials, are also the biggest sources of employment. Development imperatives have inevitably led to some destruction of the biomass through deforestation and environmental degradation.
Traditionally, women have been responsible for subsistence and survival for water, food, fuel, fodder and habitat, though they rarely get the credit for nurturing these life support systems. Added to these environmental destruction, exacerbates women’s problems in a way very difficult from that of men. The challenge is to re-establish the symbiosis between communities, women and natural resources and reverse the trend of the negative impact of existing developmental paradigms.
Women have always been the principal conservers of bio-diversity. Even today they perform duties such as seed selection, multiplication and conservation. The on-farm conservation traditions of rural and tribal women, with reference to agro-biodiversity are well known. Unfortunately, current food security systems depend on too few crops. It is important to expand the basis of food security by including large numbers of spices and varieties of food plants still maintained by tribal and rural families. For this purpose, women can be trained in the revitalization of the on-farm conservation traditions of the older generation through bio-technological process. The training should also include equipping them for compiling bio-diversity inventories and for taking decision on issues like giving consent to using their genetic material by breeding companies / institutions.
Women are traditionally, by division of work responsibilities, responsible for resource mobilization and management in the following Manner: Fuel, fodder and water collections are the accepted responsibilities of women. As the environment degrades, these basic necessities become difficult to collect. The time a woman spends on gathering fuel, fodder and water, as well as attending to household work, agricultural work and animal care, reduces her efficiency and inputs.
It is common knowledge throughout the world that the growth of technology and the processes of commercialization, industrialization and globalization affect men and women differently. The world realizes, clearly today that real development cannot take roots if it by-passes women, who not only represent half of the humanity, but represent the very kernel around which social change takes shape. Therefore, as India embarks on bold and sweeping economic reforms, concern for women and efforts to mainstream them occupy the centre stage. India has been a relentless champion of the cause of women at all international and national forums.
Though the Government of India is working towards an environmentally sound and sustainable quality of life, the problems, challenges and issues are multi-faceted. However, women in India are playing a crucial role in protection and conservation of environment. Women in our country have brought a different perspective to the environment debate, because of their different experience base. Poor women’s lives are not compartmentalized and they see the issues in a broad and holistic perspective. They understand clearly that economics and environment are compatible. Their experience reveals to them that soil, water and vegetation, necessary for their day-to-day living, requires, care and good management. Environmental degradation is related not only to the biosphere alone, but to the social sphere as well.