Conceptual Framework for Gender and Community-Based Conservation

The MERGE programme (Managing Ecosystems and Resources with Gender Emphasis) is a collaborative network of Latin American organisations involved in applying a gender, participatory focus to work with communities in the management of natural resources. It is mainly focused on developing training and technical assistance programmes. This document gives an overview of the conceptual framework behind the MERGE programme and discusses some of the challenges of collaborative research. Participatory methods are suggested for each step, including large and small group discussions, mapping, groups analysis and evaluation, brainstorming. This training can develop skills such as the ability to analyse women's and men's roles and their relationship to the management of natural resources, to articulate the importance of women's participation in conservation efforts and remove barriers to such participation.