7 February 2014: The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE), led by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), has released its Gender Strategy, which hypothesizes that women are the best custodians and natural resource stewards.

The strategy aims to improve equitable sharing of benefits and responsibilities of land, water and ecosystems, through WLE’s innovations and approaches for enhancing the sustainable use and stewardship of the natural resource base.

The strategy: outlines a path for engaging in research that generates results; catalyzes action to address gender-based challenges facing those who are dependent on water, land and ecosystems for their livelihoods; and supports the idea that “gender equity promotes sustainable agriculture in vibrant ecosystems.” It applies innovative gender equality and women’s empowerment frameworks, and research approaches and methods, to build on work undertaken within and outside the CGIAR system. The expectation is that knowledge generated in undertaking the strategy will improve WLE interventions at the policy, programming and community levels.

The strategy highlights the need to: strengthen the positive role of women, recognizing the transformative effect their involvement and leadership can have on natural resource management; reduce gender-discriminatory practices that negatively affect women’s use and stewardship of water, land and ecosystems; and transform the social, cultural and political structures in which WLE is implemented.

The report also addresses: various approaches of the strategy, including gender-responsive research (ensures that gender is integrated into all aspects of the WLE Program) and gender-specific research (describes what women and men need to be able to adopt sustainable agricultural practices); gender in the WLE monitoring and evaluation system; gender-specific WLE budgetary allocations; the integration of gender into WLE management with respect to accountability, responsibility and staffing; and capacity for gender analysis and research.

The CGIAR Research Program on WLE combines the resources of 11 CGIAR centers, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), and other national, regional and international partners to provide an integrated approach to natural resource management research. IWMI leads the Program, with support from CGIAR. [WLE Gender Strategy] [CGIAR Press Release]