Gender dynamics and land use change amongst smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa

撒哈拉以南非洲小农的性别动态和土地利用变化

• 批准号: 2102495
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Oxford
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2018 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2102495
• 关键词: Gender; dynamics; land; use; change

Rapid land use change in sub-Saharan Africa is threatening the provision of local and global ecosystem services. Nearly 10% of forest area was lost between 2000 and 2010 and deforestation rates in the region are the highest globally, predominantly driven by smallholder agricultural practices (Franks et al ., 2017; Hosonuma et al ., 2012). There has been a recent emergence of studies using remote sensing techniques to identify land use change trends globally and in Africa, following the availability of high-resolution satellite data such as Landsat (e.g. Curtis et al ., 2018; Mayaux et al. , 2013; Rudel, 2013). Research has also linked land use change patterns in sub-Saharan Africa with high-level socio-economic data to identify key drivers of deforestation, such as commodity crop expansion (Ordway et al ., 2017) and urban population growth and agricultural trade (DeFries et al., 2010). However, there remains a lack of understanding about how socio-economic conditions affect nuanced smallholder-landscape interactions on the ground. I propose to address this knowledge gap, with a focus on gender dynamics. Comprising nearly half the workforce, women play a key role in rural sub-Saharan Africa landscapes, and agriculture is becoming further feminised due to demographic shifts such as male rural-to-urban migration (FAO, 2011). Despite this, female smallholders face persistent gendered legal and de facto disadvantages that affect their interactions with land, including insecure land tenure (particularly in countries with pluralist systems); exclusion from decision-making; and lower access to credit, inputs and extension services (Doss, 2001; Njie, 2013; UNDESA, 2011). Gendered crop species preference and responsibilities over different stages of agricultural processes further shape how male and female farmers choose to use land. Men and women may also depend differently on local ecosystem services, with men for example harvesting timber whilst women gather a variety of non-timber forest products such as food, medicine and fuelwood (Sunderland et al ., 2014). Analysing these complex socio-economic conditions with satellite data will shed new light on human-environment interactions in the region. I aim to investigate how gendered dynamics amongst smallholder farmers affect land use patterns in sub-Saharan Africa. I will address questions such as: What are the patterns and dynamics of land use change in smallholder farminglandscapes in sub-Saharan Africa? How do women engage with different aspects of land use change processes? How do gendered crop production and gendered preferences for ecosystem services shape land use change? How does land use change bring gendered benefits and disbenefits to local farmers' lives and livelihoods? This work aims to inform policy-making and development interventions that, due to lack ofadequate consideration for gender dynamics, may be misguided in their efforts to protect ecosystems and support smallholder farmers.

撒哈拉以南非洲土地使用的迅速变化正在威胁到当地和全球生态系统服务的提供。在2000年至2010年期间，近10%的森林面积消失，该地区的森林砍伐率是全球最高的，主要是由小农农业做法造成的（Franks等人，2017; Hosonuma等人，2012年）。随着大地卫星等高分辨率卫星数据的出现，最近出现了利用遥感技术确定全球和非洲土地利用变化趋势的研究（例如Curtis等人，2018; Mayaux等人，2013; Rudel，2013）。研究还将撒哈拉以南非洲的土地使用变化模式与高层次的社会经济数据联系起来，以确定毁林的主要驱动因素，如商品作物的扩张（Ordway等人，2017）和城市人口增长和农业贸易（DeFries et al.，2010年）。然而，人们仍然缺乏对社会经济条件如何影响当地细微的小农与景观互动的了解。我建议解决这一知识差距，重点是性别动态。妇女占劳动力的近一半，在撒哈拉以南非洲农村地区发挥着关键作用，由于人口结构的变化，如男性从农村向城市迁移，农业正进一步女性化（粮农组织，2011年）。尽管如此，女性小农户仍然面临长期存在的基于性别的法律的和事实上的不利处境，影响到她们与土地的互动，包括土地保有权无保障（特别是在实行多元化制度的国家）;被排除在决策之外;获得信贷、投入和推广服务的机会较少（Doss，2001年; Njie，2013年;联合国经社部，2011年）。在农业生产过程的不同阶段，性别对作物种类的偏好和责任进一步影响了男性和女性农民选择如何使用土地。男子和妇女对当地生态系统服务的依赖也可能不同，例如男子采伐木材，而妇女则采集各种非木材森林产品，如食品、药品和薪材（桑德兰等，2014年）。利用卫星数据分析这些复杂的社会经济条件，将为该区域人类与环境的相互作用提供新的线索。我的目标是调查如何性别动态小农影响撒哈拉以南非洲地区的土地利用模式。我将讨论的问题，如：什么是小农户的土地利用变化的模式和动态在撒哈拉以南非洲？妇女如何参与土地利用变化进程的不同方面？性别化的作物生产和对生态系统服务的性别偏好如何影响土地利用变化？土地使用的变化如何给当地农民的生活和生计带来不同性别的利益和不利影响？这项工作的目的是为决策和发展干预提供信息，因为这些干预措施由于缺乏对性别动态的充分考虑，在保护生态系统和支持小农的努力中可能会受到误导。