A study presented this week at the community rights conference in Lombok” Indonesia” suggests that granting greater control to local forest communities has been a key element in the turn-around accomplished by China” South Korea” Vietnam and India” which in the last 20 years have had significant success in re-gaining vast areas of forest.

Yet participants at the conference learned that there is one story that is not being told—that of the women of indigenous and forest communities” who continue to lag far behind in securing tenure rights.

“China made a huge success in forest land reform”” said Li Ping” a researcher with Landesa. “Land is allocated to individual households” and the rights are legally defined as property rights…But Chinese women tend to move to their husband’s village on marriage” and when they divorce” they tend to move back to their home village” but land cannot be moved.”

Ibu Avi Mahaningtyas of Kemitraan” an NGO that works for governance reform” noted that the REDD+ program in Indonesia has few indigenous women participants. “If you are a mother” you are number two; you are not the head of the family”” said Ibu Avi. “So even if policies are affirmative” how to implement them is a challenge…And when education level is low” it is likely that women will not be reached by government programs or forest-based development.”

To address these challenges” said Ibu Avi” it’s important to find new ways to draw out the women who are most affected by the tenure crisis” as they are often reluctant to speak out in the crowded setting of a consultation meeting.

In his opening talk at the conference” Rights and Resources Coordinator Andy White said women in the forest communities of the developing world have “weaker land rights and civil rights and are particularly vulnerable to all types of abuse.

“This is a horrible scar on the forest sector” a blot on the historical record” and one we must deal with if we are to say with a straight face that we have improved forest management.”