Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani- Hyderabad Campus, India
Forests and forest governing systems are embedded in political ecology, where the perception and value of a forest vary across different perspectives and influence governing practices to conserve forests and sustainably use its resources. From the gender perspective, the literature demonstrates that different roles and positions women and men occupy in forest governance are significantly shaped by their everyday dependency on forests and their socio-economic and cultural position.
In Odisha, women and girls from Adivasi communities, particularly Kondh Adivasis, bear the responsibility of the household and contribute to the auxiliary activities in agriculture and animal husbandry. Due to these responsibilities and limited mobility perpetuated by socio-cultural norms, they extensively depend on forests to sustain their households. Hence, women actively participate in local governance systems such as ‘Thengapalli’, a rotational patrolling system.
Socio-cultural norms continue to limit the decision-making power of women in forest governing institutions and undermine the knowledge they possess. Therefore, this study examines the ways local knowledge held by Kondh women is integrated into decision-making in forest governing systems. Parallelly, explore the challenges women face. We examine the case study of Thengapalli in Gundurabari, Nayagarh district, India. To analyze the data we adopt the framework on the success of community practices for natural resource protection by Chaiphar et al., (2013), and Gopalam & Reddy (2006). The framework is based on Lave & Wenger's (1991) community of practices (CoPs), that emerge when individuals share knowledge and expertise to attain a common goal at different scales. This collective knowledge encompasses long-term observations, local wisdom, human behaviour, and ecological and social characteristics.
Our analysis illustrates the integration of women’s local knowledge into practice in forest governance which is evident in how women utilize their understanding of the forest condition, human behaviour within the governing system and household needs to guide decision-making. Socio-cultural stratification such as caste, internal conflicts, the practice of ostracization, and belief systems add layers of complexities to women-led governing systems. These factors continue to affect the longevity of forest governing institutions and knowledge circulation.
