Celebrating International Women’s Day 2023 | Cameroon

This International Women’s Day 2023 we hear from the women across our partnerships on why including women in land and forest use decision making is so important.

Women make up half of the world’s population and are crucial stakeholders in sustainable development. They play a critical role in food production, natural resource management, and biodiversity conservation, all of which are essential for mitigating and adapting to climate change.

When women are included in decision-making processes, they bring valuable perspectives and solutions to the table, leading to more sustainable outcomes (UN Women).

So to celebrate International Women’s Day 2023, we spoke to five women from CCREAD our rainforest partners in Cameroon; Belinda Menyange (CCREAD Administrator), Georgiana Efande Kongwe (Project Management and Coordination Officer), Abang Jacobine Takor (Programs Unit), Ndofor Nancy (Program Coordination and Outreach, Rise for Nature) and Egbe Bernice (Monitoring and Evaluation Unit).

Here’s what they had to say.

Why is it important for women to be included in decisions about land and forest use?

Belinda Menyange: It is important to include women in decisions about land and forest use because it promotes gender equality. Their participation is very important to the success of sustainable forest management and land use because it generates important social co-benefits such as improving women’s land tenure security and creating new streams of income.