Communication Network in Forest Management: Privileging Men's Voices over Women's Knowledge

Gender-based segregation of work results in women 's greater interaction with natural resources. Over the generations, women have been primarily responsible for providing food, fuel, fodder, and income from the local resource base. Consequently, in many rural societies, women have accumulated considerable knowledge about various products derived from the forests and their proper management. Despite the role traditionally played by women in natural resource management and the resultant knowledge they possess, modern systems of management marginalize them to a great extent. This article examines how change in the management system privileges one set of knowledge and voices (that of men) over those of others (that of women). In a study of the management offorest resource in Madhya Pradesh, India, it is found that a shift from an informal to a formal management system alters the voices that count while formulating natural resource management strategies. An analysis of the communication network in the formal management system substantiates this finding. For women, a shift in management system has not only led to marginalization, loss of status and power, but more importantly, in a loss of voice.