Integrate social and gender-focused activities within the context of overall ENRM interventions. The interim evaluation findings suggest that within the case study grantees, the inclusion of targeted social and gender-related activities, such as supporting village savings & loan groups, and leadership trainings for women, helped to augment the results of broader outcomes relating to adoption and support for improved land management techniques, at both the household and community levels. In addition, the interim evaluation underscores changes in perception of gender roles at the household and community level in the targeted areas. According to findings from the case studies, participants perceived that the SGEF interventions generated greater joint household decision-making regarding household finances, more egalitarian division of labor, more leadership opportunities for women, and greater participation in community decision-making by female heads of households. While a longer-term transition to sustainable land management practices will be assessed in a future analysis, the experience of several grants demonstrates the benefits of incorporating social and gender-related dynamics within communities and households in any efforts to improve natural resource management, since both women and men are involved in using, caring for, and benefiting from natural resources. Such activities have also been shown to improve gender equality in the communities involved, including increased women’s participation in intra-household decisions about resource allocation, and greater opportunities to take on leadership roles in their communities.
Lesson Learned