Cornelia Butler FloraDistinguished Professor of Agriculture and Sociology

Iowa State UniversityDirector, North Central Regional Center for Rural Development

Profesora Visitante, Departamento de Fitotecnica, Universidad Nacional Agraria-La Molina, Peruwww.ncrcrd.iastate.edu

cflora@iastate.edu

Women and Natural Resource Mangagement in

the Andes

SANREM CRSP

Jan L. FloraProfessor of SociologyIowa State University

Profesor Visitante, Departamento de FitotecnicaUniversidad Nacional Agraria-La Molina, Peru

Floraj@iastate.edu

ADVOCACY COALITIONS AROUND ISSUE MANAGEMENT OF THE COTACACHI -CAYAPAS ECOLOGICAL RESERVE (2)

INTERNATIONAL NATIONAL PROVINCIAL LOCAL COMMUNITY

UNORCAC Indigenous

Peasant

MUNICIPALITY

Tourism Commitee

IREGIONAL NTENDANCY OF ECOLOGICAL RESERVE

MINISTRY OF ENVIRON MENT

AGRITE-RRA

DUTCH NGO

ASOCIA CION

INKAMAQUI

CUYCHICCOCHA

Commitee

TYNCUINCEM Mxed

Company (E E.M)

CANTONAL ASSEMBLY

WATER BOARDS

STATE’S LAW OFFICE

FENOCIN Indigenous Federation

FUNDACIONHEIFER

NGO

Runa Tupari Native travel

MUNICIPIO DE URCUQUÍ

Political Capital

Cultural Capital

Natural Capital

Human Capital

Financial Capital

Social Capital

Healthy EcosystemVital Economy

Social Well-Being

Built Capital

Natural Capital

• Air• Water• Soils• Biodiversity • Landscape

Natural capital provides the possibilities and limits for human action. Men and women have different uses and access to natural capital. With increasing male out-migration, women often have responsibility without control for both communal and individual land.

Cultural Capital

• Symbols• Ways of knowing• Ways of being• Cosmovision• Language• Definition of what can be

changed

Women’s cultural capital provides a special manner of viewing the world, defining which things have value, and which things are possible to change. Cultural hegemony results in a devalorization of women’s cultural capital and their knowledge of how to manage natural resources.

Human Capital• Educacion • Abilities• Health• Self-

esteem • Leadershi

p

Young women have the same level of formal education as men, while older women are likely to be mono-lingual in an indigenous language and illiterate. All women have special problems of health and less leadership and management opportunities.

Social Capital

• Mutual trust • Reciprocity• Groups• Collective identity• Sense of a shared future• Working together

Social capital has two dimensions: bridging and bonding. Women’s social capital in the Andes tends to be bonding and there are boundaries to women forming bridging social capital.

PoliticAl Capital

• Good grassroots organization

• Connections between the base and organizations at other levels.

• Voice for excluded people

• Access to and use of power

Women have little ability to influence the distribution of resources in the family, community, or region. Rural women generally participate very little in the organizations which manage natural resources and do not feel comfortable around powerful people who do control them. Their strategic intrests are not part of the natural resource management agenda.

Financial Capital• Loans and credit• Investments • Taxes, payments for

econsystem services• Earnings, Savings• Grants

Women have little access to their own savings, which they mainly use for household emergencies. Women’s groups receive donations from various sources, but these are seldom to help them with natural resource management. Instead, such donations as the Vaso de Leche program, create dependency. Many women want to invest in their own land.

Built Capital• Homes• Sewers• Roads• Health centers• Electronic

communication• Machinery• Technology

Poor rural women have less access to infrastructure which could decrease their domestic work or increase their productive efficiency.  Inappropriate technology has negative impacts on natural and human capital.

Conclusions• Women in Cotacachi have cultural

capital that could contribute to improved natural resource management

• Women in Cotacachi have a low access and control of the capitals that could enhance their management of natural resouces.

• Programs that involve women in natural resource management are more successful when they address their strategic needs related to a healthy ecosystem.