ABSTRACTED FROM THE INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Housing, land and property rights issues affect men and women differently; hence these issues are not gender-neutral and require a gender equality analysis of the problem. While equal rights between men and women are enshrined in the 1993 Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia (the Constitution) and in a number of national laws, in practice women are still subordinate to men.

OVERVIEW: Cambodia is a largely agrarian country that emerged from a history of political strife and instability into a period of steady economic growth. However, the country started from such a low base that even after a decade of growth averaging 7% per annum, GDP is only $650. Cambodia is ranked 176th out of 213 countries in terms of purchasing-power parity. Poverty rates have reduced somewhat, but they remain higher than in most countries in the region and are only slightly lower than in Laos.

This article explores the effects that gender composition of forest user groups has on property rights and forestry governance, based on data from 290 forest user groups in Kenya, Uganda, Bolivia, and Mexico. Findings indicate gender composition of user groups is important, but not always in the expected ways. Female-dominated groups tend to have more property rights to trees and bushes, and collect more fuelwood but less timber than do male-dominated or gender-balanced groups.

The International Land Coalition (ILC)’s Commercial Pressures on Land initiative aims to support the efforts of ILC members and other stakeholders to influence global, regional, and national processes to enable secure and equitable access to land for poor women and men in the face of increasing commercial demand. Its global research contains a careful and focused analysis of the gendered impacts of commercial pressures on land (CPL), and especially the impacts on women.

OVERVIEW: The Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) is a landlocked country situated in Southeast Asia, bordering Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, China and Myanmar. Despite a recent increase in the rate of urbanization and a relatively small amount of arable land per capita, most people in Lao PDR live in rural areas and work in an agriculture sector dominated by subsistence farming. Lao PDR’s economy relies heavily on its natural resources, with over half the country’s wealth produced by agricultural land, forests, water and hydropower and mineral resources.

OVERVIEW: Thailand is facing the challenges of a transition from lower- to upper-middle-income status. After decades of very rapid growth followed by more modest 5–6% growth after the Asian financial crisis of 1997–98, Thailand achieved a per capita GNI of US $3670 by 2008, reduced its poverty rate to less than 10% and greatly extended coverage of social services. Infant mortality has been cut to only 13 per 1000, and 98% of the population has access to clean water and sanitation.

El mundo no puede eliminar el hambre sin cerrar la brecha que existe en la agricultura entre hombres y mujeres. Con igual acceso a recursos productivos y servicios como tierra, agua y crédito, las mujeres agricultoras pueden producir entre un 20 y 30 por ciento más de alimentos, suficientes para sacar del hambre a 150 millones de personas.

El Empoderamiento de las Mujeres Rurales, un evento organizado por el PMA y las Mujeres de las Naciones Unidas en el marco de la reunión 2011 de la Iniciativa Global Clinton, puso de relieve el papel fundamental que las mujeres agricultoras pueden desempeñar en la derrota del hambre. He aquí una muestra de la discusión entre tres personas importantes que asistieron al evento, empezando con la directora ejecutiva de de las ONU Mujeres Michelle Bachelet.

Generación Cultura apoya a las mujeres emprendedoras y más si su negocio tiene que ver con la ecología. Marta García, una joven agricultora ecológica y bióloga, nos habla dentro sobre los productos ecológicos que cultiva y por qué es importante que consumamos dichos productos.

Este audiovisual recoge las principales confusiones conceptuales alrededor de la igualdad, los viejos y nuevos debates sobre el mainstreaming de género en las políticas públicas y las propuestas para seguir avanzando hacia la igualdad.

En muchos países en vías de desarrollo, las mujeres producen la mayor parte de los alimentos para el autoconsumo. Las campesinas, al igual que sus familias, viven principalmente de la agricultura aunque las condiciones para desarrollar esta actividad sean poco favorables.