Women often play critical roles in forest management, and their unique knowledge and skills can help REDD mechanisms and projects become more effective, equitable and sustainable. At the time this brief was written, the international mechanisms for REDD were being negotiated. The brief emphasises the need to consider the gendered impacts of REDD’s financial resource structures, and the ways in which financing is allocated, managed and delivered. It argues that these processes hold new possibilities to engage and reward women for their forest stewardship. REDD is taking measures to incorporate gender considerations into project and programme design, including through the creation of informal consultation processes and a gender working group.Ideas for continuing to incorporate gender perspectives into REDD include:

systematically incorporating a gender perspective in national and international standards and guidelines;
utilising gender mainstreaming tools (e.g. gender analyses, sex-disaggregated data and gender sensitive participatory tools) in REDD mechanisms;
incorporating gender indicators and other gender-related criteria in the monitoring systems for REDD;
incorporating women’s knowledge (traditional and scientific) and entrepreneurial potential (in relation to natural resources) in REDD, which requires bottom-up planning and programmes;
building women’s capacities to participate effectively in REDD’s processes; and
recognising the women’s networks involved in natural resource management, as important  stakeholders.