Agroforestry and Forestry in Sulawesi series: Gender, livelihoods and land in South and Southeast Sulawesi

As part of an assessment of community livelihood systems of the Agroforestry and Forestry in
Sulawesi (AgFor) project, gender is an important factor to capture the different livelihood options of
the community, and their strategies to improve those options, in relation to environmental
management. The underlying premise is that women and men have different strategies in managing
natural resources that lead to different problems, and also different types of solutions. This study
focused on gender issues, community livelihood options and the land management. The methods of
gathering primary data were structural group discussions and household interviews covering two
districts in South Sulawesi, and two districts in South Sulawesi. Gender gaps were determined at
district and provincial levels using the Gender Development Index, Human Development Index and
Gender Empowerment Index. Within these indexes, female participation in decision making was
indicated as very low while their contribution to community income was also much lower than men.
However, in reality, at the community level, it was seen that women’s participation in decision
making was potentially high in conducive situations in respecting their rights to the land, supporting
their contribution to market, as well as acknowledging their contribution to household and community
income.