Situated in North West of Iran, Lake Urmia and its satellite wetlands are part of a unique biodiversity ecosystem that are essential to the life of more than 5 million people living in the basin. Due to several factors including persistent drought, intense dam construction, and the diversion of water for agriculture, the lake started to fade away. Biodiversity in the satellite wetlands has been affected less severely. Yet, local people's livelihoods in more than 3150 villages are at stake.
The Conservation of Iranian Wetlands Project (CIWP), launched in 2005, sought to address the root causes of the damage by applying Ecosystem Approach at local, basin and national levels. At local level, the project attempted to engage communities in the management of wetlands. In the past years, CIWP has promoted sustainable agriculture and effective reduction of water consumption in numerous villages. Besides, it initiated alternative livelihood projects. Rural women welcomed such projects more enthusiastically, as the intended financial support was less than men’s expectations. Consequently, CIWP developed micro-fund for women in several villages, hoping that they would contribute to family income. Hence, rural households would get more and different livelihoods options beyond agriculture. These rural communities are varied regarding gender status beliefs, socioeconomic condition and ethnicity. Besides, wetlands benefits are distributed unevenly among members of each community.
This paper will describe how those women’s groups were formed, what their motivations have been, if their familial relations were supportive or unhelpful (and why), what factors have encouraged them taking risks, and which socioeconomic aspects systematically inhibit their efforts. Using IUCN gender analysis framework (Aguilar) in some selected CIWP sites, the paper will picture interrelations within these communities and conclude how gender relations affect activities required to improve environmental conditions. It will also do a comparative analysis between women-only and household approaches to conservation of water resources.
References:
Aguilar, Lorena. Framework for Conducting Gender Responsive Analysis. IUCN Global Gender Office. 2013.
Kabeer, Naila. Women’s Economic Empowerment and Inclusive Growth: Labor Markets and Enterprise Development. International Development Research Center (IDRC). May 2012.
Meier zu Selhausen, Felix. "What Determines Women's Participation in Collective Action? Evidence from a Western Ugandan Coffee Cooperative." Feminist Economics 2016: 130-157.
Resurreccion, Bernadette P. and Rebecca Elmhirst. Gender and Natural Resource Management: Livelihoods, Mobility and Interventions. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2009.
Solutions: Ecological restoration , Ecosystem: Agricultural , Resources: Water , Big Issues: Gender issues , Solutions: Empowerment
