Ghana Environmental Management Project (GEMP)

How to Mainstream

Gender Equality in

ProjectsEnergy Resource Management

MODULE 3

Energy Resource ManagementEnergy Resource Management Projects Projects

ContentsIntroduction to the Module ....................................................................................................................2

Gender and Energy Resource Management

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1.

Problem

Identification

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Gender Issues

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2.

Project Design

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Project Logic Model: Gender and energy resource management

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3.

Project Implementation

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Case Study 1: Women’s Charcoal Project in Jelinkon, Sawla -Tuna- Kalba District

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Case Study 2: Dimajan community adopts the use of appropriate environmental management

technologies

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4.

Project Monitoring

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Indicators

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5.

Project Evaluation

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Monitoring and Evaluation Tools

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Introduction to the Module

These modules are for government staff of the ministries and departments related to Environmental Protection, Environment, Science and Technology, Food and Agriculture, Gender, Children and Social Protection; District staff, planners and Gender Desk Officers; NGOs, CBOs, women's groups and community leaders.

The modules cover each of the six themes of the Ghana Environmental Management Project: Module 1: Land use and soil managementModule 2: Wildlife and biodiversity conservationModule 3: Energy resource managementModule 4: Water resource managementModule 5: Management of vegetative coverModule 6: Alternative and sustainable livelihoods.

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Despite many agencies' commitment to gender equality, gender mainstreaming in project cycle management has been limited. Some pay attention to gender during Problem Identification, and at certain points of the Design and Monitoring phases. To truly mainstream gender in sustainable land management projects, each phase of the project cycle needs to be linked with appropriate gender analysis tools and key gender questions.

Each module contains advice on how to mainstream gender through the project cycle: 1. Problem Identification2. Project Design3. Project Implementation4. Project Monitoring 5. Project Evaluation

You can use these materials to assist you to go through the planning cycle with staff, district stakeholders and communities to ensure that the gender issues of inequity are really being addressed by interventions for gender and sustainable land management. Each section contains key questions and examples to assist you to design, implement and monitor gender-sensitive projects with stakeholders and communities.

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Gender and Energy Resource Management

Problem identification involves understanding the problems, needs and opportunities related to gender and sustainable land management. It should take into consideration environmental policy, current technologies, ways of working with communities, and considerations for transforming existing gender relations of power and control.

When you are identifying a problem related to gender and sustainable land management, answer the following questions to ensure that gender equality is mainstreamed.

1. Has relevant gender information, especially socio‐economic information, been identified and collected so that it can be included in discussions about project design?

2. Is background data disaggregated by sex? (In many cases, disaggregation by other social identities such as age and ethnic origin is also required, given that communities are rarely homogeneous units.)

3. Have gender specialists (in the CBO or NGO, for example) and representatives of women's organizations within the community been consulted?

4. Have both men and women been involved in problem identification (even if the ultimate problem recognized affects one sex more than the other)?

Here is a list of some of the issues of gender inequity (gender issues) related to energy resource management: 1. Harvesting of fuel wood is physically demanding on women and girls and affects their health2. The scarcity of fuel wood affects women and girls by making them trek long distances to harvest

wood3. Women and girls are exposed to danger such as reptiles, rape, bushfire and injuries in search for

firewood4. Fuel wood harvesting adds to the burden of women and girls who are responsible for other

household chores,and family and social activities5. The girls have to help their mothers to fetch fuel wood instead of going to school and this affects

their attendance in school6. Women do not have access to land for the development of woodlots7. Women do not have access to and cannot afford technologies for alternative and improved energy

sources to reduce their burden8. Other sources of energy such as Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and electricity are not readily

available to enable women and girls to reduce their workload9. Women are reluctant to use alternative sources of fuel for cooking because they believe that men

will say that the food does not taste good 10. Women cannot afford donkeys, bullocks or bicycles to assist them in fetching firewood11. Socio-cultural issues limiting women's ability to initiate, and share responsibility and ownership

with men often prevents them from seeking alternatives for energy resource management.

1. Problem Identification

Gender Issues

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The following is a short description of the major gender issues of inequity related to gender and energy resource management:

The main energy source for cooking is fuel wood, others are charcoal and kerosene with few people using liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The most widely used and cheapest source is the fuel wood because most of them do not have the financial means and cannot afford the alternative energy sources. Alternative energy sources such as solar energy, LPG and biogas are still far from meeting the large demands of rural energy, because of the immaturity of the technology and its high cost.

The influence of culture also impacts on wood utilization, as opposed to other sources of energy. It is a cultural belief among the indigenes that food cooked using wood tastes better than when cooked using LPG or other sources of energy other than wood fuel. The people consider fuel wood harvesting to be their traditional right inherited from their ancestors. It is therefore difficult to introduce alternative energy sources, such as kerosene and LPG. Besides, there is a problem of high initial cost and its availability is not consistent and therefore cannot be guaranteed.

Hitherto, wood was normally harvested from the surrounding woodland and then stored at home until it was ready for use. With increases in population and dwindling natural resources with high consumption of fuel wood, majority of women and children have to travel long distances of about 3 to 4 km to gather fuel wood. Harvesting of fuel wood is physically demanding and time-consuming work, especially for women and girls, who are also responsible for other household duties. Promoting woodlot plantations with fast growing tree species will provide good quality fuel wood, reduce trekking distance and in the long term reduce land degradation.

Increasing access to alternative energy sources; construction of infrastructure for the transportation of fuel wood; improvement of charcoal production techniques and marketing; and the dissemination of improved cooking stoves can save women's time and reduce drudgery.

An excerpt from: Gender Equality Strategy and Action Plan to Combat Drought and Desertification in the three Northern Regions of Ghana (GESAP), developed in 2011 by the Environmental Protection Agency, in conjunction with the Ghana Environmental Management Project.

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2. Project Design

Within the framework given by your agency or organization, or sometimes by your funder's request, you will need to identify objectives and the activities that will enable you to achieve expected results. The Project Design stage is the most important when it comes to integrating the gender dimension into the project. You can apply all the information obtained from your gender analysis in order to plan based on real information concerning the lives of the male and female beneficiaries.

When you are choosing expected results and activities for your project, answer the following questions to ensure that gender equality is mainstreamed.

1. What is the current situation of men and women in the area of your planned intervention?2. Will the proposed project contribute to existing inequalities among men and women?3. Does the proposed project break down or challenge existing inequalities among men and

women?4. Will the proposed project change the perceptions or stereotypes about men and women

and their roles in any way?5. What options should be considered to strengthen a gender perspective?6. Will the proposed project contribute to women's empowerment? If not, is there place for

an allied intervention that will contribute to empowerment, so as not to reinforce the disparity between men and women?

Once you have decided on all the expected results and activities for your project, you can summarize them in a Logic Model:

· The Ultimate Outcome is the overall goal of the project, which contributes to national-level aims and policies.

· The Intermediate Outcomes are the expected results related to changes in your organization or group, and its systems or processes.

· The Immediate Outcomes are the expected results related to changes in individuals, their knowledge and awareness, skills or abilities, or access.

· Outputs (or completed activities) lead to outcomes.

Therefore it is important that you implement your activities as planned, based on gender analysis. If you do, you will certainly achieve your expected results.

The expected results and activities listed in the logic model below are examples for you. Depending on the funds you have, you may want to implement only a few of the activities represented in this Logic Model.

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Project Logic Model: Gender and energy resource management

Theme ENERGY RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Ultimate Outcome

Strengthened mainstreaming of gender considerations in issues relating to community-based activities necessary for the reduction and reversing of land degradation and desertification. Gender Equality Strategy and Action Plan

↑ ↑ ↑ ↑

Intermediate Outcomes

improved use and management of energy sources by households in various communities

Increased women’s access to and ownership of land (for woodlot development)

↑

↑

↑

↑

Immediate Outcomes

Reduced burden on women and girls as they have increased access to fuelwood and alternative energy sources

Enhanced capacity of women, girls, men and boys in the management of energy resources and household chores

Strengthened capacity of traditional authorities to reform land tenure system to improve women’s access to and ownership of land

↑

↑

↑

↑

↑

↑

↑

Type of

Activities to be implemented

in order to achieve results

Training of groups on nursing and planting of trees

(growing trees)

Woodlots plantations for women developed

Linking groups to NGOs and financial Institutions for assistance to procure donkey and donkey carts

Women’s groups supported to acquire donkeys and donkey carts

Alternative energy sources promoted and made accessible to women

Local women trained to produce biogas

Introducing women to energy conserving stoves eg: Obaapa coal pots, wood stove etc.

Reviving existing groups for men, women and youth

Lobbying District

Assembly through Gender Desk Officers

to train the local artisans (men and

women) on energy saving stoves

Men and boys educated to share in fetching fuel wood and other household chores

Women and girls educated on sustainable and efficient management and use of fuel wood

Women’s capacity built to engage in IGAs to purchase fuel wood

Women engaged in decision-making and management of energy resources

Educate men, women, boys and girls on improved charcoal

processing and

Sensitizing community leadership (Chiefs, Magazias, Tindanas etc) on the need to release land to men and women for the establishment of woodlots

Reforms advocated for in land tenure systems to include women’s ownership of land for woodlot development

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sharing men and women groups to GRATIS Foundation to train them on improved energy saving stoves

Local artisans supported to produce energy efficient and labour-saving devices for women

Organizing user education on alternative sources of energy eg; biogas, solar etc.

Local farmers trained to produce compost for use in agricultural activities

Educate men and boys to help fetch fuel wood and other household chores

Linking experience forestation·

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3. Project Implementation

Implementation is the major phase in the project cycle, when plans are transformed into reality. Implementation involves using your resources to implement activities in order toachieve the expected results.

When you are implementing the activities for your project, answer the following questions to ensure that gender equality is mainstreamed. 1. Are women and men benefiting from the project? In the same way or different ways? 2. Are some women or men negatively impacted by the project?3. Have gender relations (power and control) of women and men changed as a result of the

project? Have gender gaps been reduced?4. Are new gender issues of inequity emerging within the project?5. Are there new external factors affecting gender relations besides the project? Are they

positive or negative?6. Are women and men both supportive of the project, or do they wish to change it? Who?

Why? How?

What follows are some case studies about project activities. Ideally, it would be great if your staff and stakeholders, including community members, could visit the communities described in the stories. However, these case studies are the next best thing to visiting. Each case study shows how women and men are:

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· participating in the project· sharing project resources· sharing project benefits· changing their lives together· experiencing empowerment.

After each story, there are a number of questions to answer. Read (or translate) the story to your staff, stakeholders or community members. Lead the discussion based on the questions listed after the story. This will assist your staff and stakeholders to visualize the types of changes that they should expect, and allow them to discuss the implications for their own work and lives. They may want to implement a similar project. Similarly, their discussion of the story may inspire them with new ideas for their own projects.

Your staff and stakeholders should understand that exciting things related to gender and sustainable land management are happening in northern Ghana. They too can be part of it! They can transform gender relations through sustainable land management projects!

Human activities like farming, mining, bush burning, felling of trees, hunting and charcoal burning have great impact on the environment. Studies have shown that forest degradation has led to serious destruction of our environment, which affects the climatic situation in the country. Charcoal production has become a major livelihood of the most women in Jelinkon. Jelinkon is a community under Sawla Area Council in Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District. Most of the community's livelihood is dependent on subsistence farming, and the people predominantly rely on rain for their farming activities. During the dry season, most of the farmers, both women and men, are idle, so life during this time is not easy for them. In any case, they must survive. So, in order to earn some money, many of the women end up in the forest searching for wood logs for charcoal production. For instance, seventy-five percent (75%) of women were engaged in some form of charcoal business, whereas fifty percent (50%)of men were involved. Women collect the wood for charcoal production, so their role is essential to providing the raw material. In addition to the business of charcoal, women need to use it every day for cooking. Charcoal activities end up destroying the trees and soilin the forest. Yet, women and men are ignorant about the dangers of charcoal production and its affect on the environment.

A local NGO called PAPADEV carried out sensitization on environmental degradation for the whole community. People, especially women, changed their attitude towards the environment and protecting the environment from human activities. Community members developed their own rules to govern the activities of charcoal production, indiscriminate felling of trees and bush fires. All these activities have decreased because defaulters are now punished. Men and women came together to regulate degradation from charcoal production. As a result, all the women who depended on charcoal production had to seek alternatives for business opportunities and for cooking fuel.

Women who were identified as the most active in charcoal production were sensitized and formed into groups. The women came out with their own ideas for income generating activities

Case Study 1: Women's Charcoal Project in Jelinkon, Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District

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to be able to support their families, like shea butter processing, gari processing and plantation farming. They have seen the need for more shea nuts to support their processing activities, and they were encouraged to plant more shea trees and stop felling and burning economic trees.

Now community members do not produce charcoal on a commercial basis and this has increased the green vegetation in Jelinkon. The community participated in decision-making and accepted the new ideas – this makes this case special. The women who were involved now know that unregulated charcoal production endangers their futures. The involvement of women in self-initiated activities and the benefit they derive from them will encourage others to take part in similar activities, allowing the environment to regenerate.

The District Gender Desk Officer continuesmonitoring the activities of the women and reviewing community bylaws. The community's and women's activities that are meant to save the environment should be part of yearly annual budgets and action plans.

Case study by Sherika Bashiru, Gender Desk Officer, Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District

Questions for Discussion:1. Within the cycle of charcoal production, what are women's and men's traditional roles?

Do women have particular roles, such as indigenous knowledge or special skills related to charcoal production?

2. How does the story show that gender roles have changed? How have the roles and tasks changed? Has the way the community values those roles and tasks changed?

3. Do you think that the plan to stop charcoal production was potentially more beneficial to women or more harmful to them in the long run? Why?

4. What environmental-friendly activities promoted women's involvement in sustainable and alternative livelihoods? What became the replacement for charcoal production?

5. What new skills did women learn? 6. What new channels for community involvement opened up for women? 7. How do you think women and men worked together to make the shift from charcoal

production to new dry season activities?

For years, the 300-strong community residents of Dimajan in the Sissala East District of Upper West Region have been subsistence farmers. They predominantly grow millet, maize and yam and are also passionate small ruminant rearers. Moreover, the Chief of the village has 50 heads of cattle.

The people of Dimajan, just like those of the outlying communities and their ancestors before them, have been using wood, charcoal and cow dung for fuel. In 2008, however, they realized that they were losing the once lush wood lands and economic trees around them very quickly. The fields around the community were being laid bare. The harvests per acre reduced from eight bags of maize per acre to two maxi bags of 45 kilos each within five years. They were worried. Something had to be done.

Case Study 2: Dimajan community adopts the use of appropriate environmental management technologies

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The chief summoned his elders and community members to the village square to discuss the way forward. Forty-five (45) women were among the one hundred-and-twenty (120) people in attendance. A decision was arrived at; and the resolution? - A Community Environmental Management Committee (CEMC) would have to be formed. The committee, comprising five women and seven men, made the following decisions:

a) They would oversee all environmental management affairs in the villageb) A community reserve spanning forty (40) acres would be created around the communityc) They would adopt compost use to grow their cropsd) All households would build and use energy saving stoves as a means of cutting down the

amount of wood used for fuele) Exotic, disease resistant small ruminants would be introduced into the communityf) A fire volunteer corps would be trained and deployed to combat bush fires.

Later that year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) came to the sceneand, after discussions with members of the community; a six-point environmental management plan was put into effect.The village chief and the landlord gave out the site for the community reserve. The men and women created a fire belt around it and also constructed energy-efficient stoves.

The men dug the compost pits and the women filled them with farm residue, ash and dung. The men also filled the pits and turned the compost pile until it was ready for use. The women carried the compost to the farms and the men applied them to the crops.

By sharing roles and responsibilities, the women and men of Dimajan are now harvesting 10 maxi bags of maize per acre, and have successfully checked the wanton spate of environmental degradation they were witnessing a few years back.

Report by Kwaku Baawine and Jeffrey Makin, REMC: Upper West Region

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Questions for Discussion:

1. How did women and men work together to make their environmental management plan a success?

2. What new skills did women learn? 3. What new channels for community involvement opened up for women? 4. How does the story show that gender roles have changed?

4. Project Monitoring

The progress of a project has to be monitored to ensure that the expected results are happening. Think about some of the changes you read about in the case studies and in your own projects. Many of the changes are related to the environment and, at the same time, related to gender.

An important way of monitoring whether a project has mainstreamed gender and transformed gender relations is to use gender-sensitive indicators. Gender-sensitive indicators will let you know whether there are changes in gender relations – women's and men's dynamics of power and control. Here are some features of gender relations that should change after implementing a project on gender and sustainable land use: · participation in projects and committees· awareness, knowledge, skills · decision-making powers · roles and responsibilities in the household, community and leadership· how roles, tasks, resources are valued· access to and control of project resources and benefits· access to and control of household and community resources and benefits.

All this information should be sex-disaggregated, so that differences between men and women can be highlighted and inequities addressed. Sex-disaggregated data presents information separately for women and men, and as required, boys and girls.

When you are monitoring a project, answer the following questions to ensure that gender equality is mainstreamed.

1. Does the monitoring plan invite input and feedback from women and men?2. Are generated data, analysis and reports sex-disaggregated?3. Are gender indicators effectively used and assessed?4. Does monitoring consider both women's and men's roles (even if those roles are

different)?5. Is progress toward objectives and expected results related to men or women on track?6. Have any gender issues of inequity arisen that were not identified at the project design

stage? If so, how can theybe addressed?

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Indicators

5. Project Evaluation

Monitoring and Evaluation Tools

Here are some examples of gender-sensitive indicators for gender and energy resource management. You can use these and others that you develop to assess whether your project is on track to changing gender relations, roles, responsibilities and how they are valued.

At the end of your project, you will want to evaluate whether it has been successful – in achieving its goals for sustainable land use, and toward gender equality. Evaluation should be as systematic and objective as possible. Therefore, tools are developed to collect gender-sensitive and sex-disaggregated data. These tools can be used at the end of the project, but also at the beginning (baseline) and mid-point to assess progress over time.

Here are some examples of gender-sensitive tools for gender and energy resource management. If you use these tools at the beginning, middle and end of your project, you will see changes in how men and women have access to and control over resources; and in their roles and responsibilities. You may also discover some changes in gender relations that you did not expect! You should determine whether these are positive and progressive changes, or negative and counter-productive. When it comes time to designing a new phase of your project or even a brand new project, take these lessons into account to ensure that your project will implement all activities necessary to promote gender equality.

Gender-sensitive indicators for Gender

and Energy Resource Management

1.

# of households (women, girls, men and boys)sensitized and trained on the management of energy sources

2.

# of artisans trained to produce energy efficient cook stoves

3. % of households using improved energy resources

4. # of women using energy saving stoves in cooking their meals on daily basis

5. # of acres of woodlots established

6. # of acres of woodlots established by women

7. time used in fetching firewood daily

8. # of men and boys helping to fetch firewood

9. # of women having access to donkeys and donkey carts

10. # of men and boys sensitized on sharing household chores

11. # of women, men, boys and girls involved household decision making

12. # of Traditional Authorities who have released lands to women

13. # of women who have access to land 14. % of women who own land

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A. Household Survey Question1. On each table, indicate who does what. 2. If the Woman and the Man both do the same, indicate who does more with a + sign. Do

the same for Girls and Boys. 3. Follow the household over a period of a year to determine how roles and

responsibilities are changing. Repeat the exercise several times, and compare the results.

B. Focus Group Interview Questions with Women involved in the project1. What do you think about the men and boys who participate in household chores?2. What do think about women's engagement in income generating activities to support the

house?3. How has the availability of fuel wood affected your daily lives?4. How do you feel about the time you take in searching for firewood?5. What part did you play during the establishment of the implementation of the project?6. What do you think about the energy saving stoves?7. Is the clay used for the stoves good? Do you ever have any problems with cracking? What

types of maintenance and repairs do you do? How often?8. What do you think about the cooking time required with these stoves?9. Is the woodlot helpful to you?10. Do you now have time to engage in other income generating activities? What are they?

Household Tasks Woman Man Girls Boys

Sweeping

Laundry

Cooking

Washing Dishes

Fetching Water

Fetching Firewood

Bathing

Bed Making

Cleaning around compound

Brushing and scraping around compound

Construction of plate racks; clothing lines; compost fence

Child care / babysitting

Ironing

Feeding of Baby

Cleaning latrine

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C. Focus Group Interview Questions with Men involved in the project

1. What do you think about the men and boys participating in the household chores?2. What do think about women's engagement in income generating activities to support the

house?3. How has the availability of fuel wood affected your daily lives? The lives of women and

girls? 4. What do you think about the time you take in searching for firewood?What do you think

about the time women and girls take in searching for firewood? Are there any differences?

5. What part did you play during the establishment of the implementation of the project?6. What do you think about the energy saving stoves? Do you observe how they are used?

Have you ever used one to cook? 7. Is the clay used for the stoves good? Do you ever have any problems with cracking?

What types of maintenance and repairs do you do? How often?8. What do you think about the time used for cooking with these stoves? Are the stoves

more or less convenient for you? For women and girls who use them? 9. How is the woodlot helpful to you? Who uses it more – the men or women in your family? 10. Do you now have time to engage in other income generating activities? What are they?

Have you engaged in a business partnership with your wife?

D. Group Interview with CEMC Executives1. What do you think about the number of women representatives on the committee?2. Can you tell us about the women's contributions to the committee? Are they similar to

men's contributions or are they different? 3. What are the role and responsibilities of men and women in decision making?4. Can you tell us some of the activities women have taken in the community? 5. What are some of the challenges, achievements and lessons learnt in the committee?

Focus on how men and women work together.

E. Observation Guide at Project Site (List of what to look for)1. Donkey and donkey carts used in collecting fuel wood.2. Both men and boys participating in fuel wood collection.3. Whether equipment used by both men and women is gender friendly (easy to use, labour

and time saving)4. Construction of improved stoves5. Woodlot establishment.

This is the end of this module. Best wishes as you mainstream gender, empowering women and men in sustainable land management projects.

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