Book's big green idea: women in charge of forests

Economist and Harvard University professor's new book highlights the importance of gender in preserving forests.

What if women were put in charge of preserving forests? Economist and Harvard University professor Bina Agarwal answers the question in her new book Gender and Green Governance.

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Environment minister Jairam Ramesh and planning commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia released the book in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Are women's interests in forests different from men's? Would women's presence lead to better preservation of forests? Does it matter which class of women is given the task of preserving forests?

A panel discussion, which included chief economic adviser Kaushik Basu, Jawaharlal Nehru University professor Niraja Gopal Jayal, and professor Mahesh Rangarajan of the Delhi University said Agarwal's book helps in answering these questions and in highlighting women's importance in community forestry.

Ramesh said the book will be useful in framing policies for forest management and implementing the Forest Right Act.

The role of gender in green governance has not go attention before but Agarwal's book combines the two fields competently and great depth, said Basu.

Rangarajan said the book reminded planners that social sciences are part of the economic policy making.

Issues discussed in the book have been comprehensively addressed with the help of extensive data analysis, said Ahluwalia.

(Gender and Green Governance, The Political Economy of Women's Presence Within and Beyond Community Forestry, Oxford University Press, Rs 625.)