| Abstract: | This article discusses the case of timber production in the Solomon Islands and links between environmental protection and gender. Many environmental projects are undertaken without regard for gender roles and relations. The Solomon Western Islands Fair Trade (SWIFT) initiative included women in only a peripheral way. This article justifies the involvement of women in environmental projects and then evaluates the operations of SWIFT. A role for women in local environmental projects should be recognized because of women's roles, knowledge, and interests. Use of natural resources is gender-based. In the Solomon Islands, women are identified as having the greater interest in the long-term sustainability of the environment and greater reliance on natural resources to fulfill their roles, but forestry is men's work. The price of tropical woods has tempted Micronesian governments to exploit forests to enhance their foreign exchange earnings. Environmental degradation from logging is particularly severe in the Solomon Islands. The population fulfills many basic needs from forests. Forests can provide cash earnings. The author conducted an evaluation of effectiveness of SWIFT in 1996. The SWIFT project allows rural people to earn cash from sustainable timber extraction without signing with logging companies. Women are affected by SWIFT due to their husbands' appropriation of their earnings, their peripheral role, and lack of representation in senior positions and use of women's forestry expertise. The article offers a model for genderizing eco-projects. Men need to be encouraged to work more as partners with women. |
