There are many ways to define women, with most describing their admirable traits. Defining the role of women in society and what they can do changes over time—and a lot has changed in this lifetime alone.
For Haribon Foundation, women are the people who will bring balance to decision-making within their community. As such, the Foundation launched a program called, “Women Go” in which the organization seeks to help enhance the role of women in protected area governance for social change.
The program focuses on increasing the level of influence of rural women in Protected Area or PA governance and strengthening women’s contribution to improve community wellbeing.
With financial support from the European Commission, the project began with a consultation among women in the Municipalities of Infanta and Real in the Quezon Province.
Women Go site coordinator Arlie Edonila facilitated the baseline group consultation earlier this year with the women’s groups known as KALIPI and KUMARE. Haribon consulted the said groups to gather pertinent information in preparation of the project, as well as to brainstorm strategies with partners.
The consultation concluded that inventory of data, manpower, and existing operations of the organization will determine the current status of the protected areas within the KALIPI and KUMARE’s respective communities.
As the project moves forward, Women Go will mainstream its activities and sustainability approaches to empower women in taking the lead in forest governance to promote community wellbeing and climate resiliency.
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