Women and Natural Resource Management in India: A Historical Review

It has long been well established that women are the primary users of many natural resources that provide the basic means of subsistence. Women collect fuelwood for energy, plants and herbs for medicine, besides conserving and utilizing the natural resources to support their families economically. Since the majority of the rural poor are women and because their social roles and responsibilities require them to depend heavily on the natural resources, women are adversely affected by the loss of them. This paper is an attempt to sketch the close association that women share with nature and natural resources since ancient times in India before delving into the recent studies on the issue that unveil that despite the reliance of women on natural resources for survival and livelihoods, the in-depth knowledge that women have regarding resource use and management, women are not adequately engaged in the planning and implementation of natural resource management activities.