Abstract

Although studies over the years have sought to understand the impacts of protected areas on surrounding communities, only limited research has explored these impacts from a gender perspective. Drawing from primary data collected from semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions in the Mole National Park, Ghana, and ten of its surrounding communities, this study assesses the differences in impacts arising from nature conservation on both men and women to determine how such differences affect how specific gender groups respond to collaborative natural resources management interventions. Results show that men primarily suffer economic impacts from conservation while women suffer both economic and socio-psychological impacts. Socio-cultural norms and practices further exacerbate the impacts of conservation on women resulting in negative attitudes of women toward conservation. This has serious consequences for women's participation in the collaborative management of protected areas and conservation goals in general.

摘要

尽管多年来的研究试图了解保护区对周边社区的影响，但只有有限的研究从性别角度探讨了这些影响。本研究利用从加纳鼹鼠国家公园及其周边十个社区的半结构化访谈和焦点小组讨论中收集的主要数据，评估自然保护对男性和女性产生的影响的差异，以确定这些差异是如何产生的。影响特定性别群体对合作自然资源管理干预措施的反应。结果表明，男性主要受到保护的经济影响，而女性则同时受到经济和社会心理影响。社会文化规范和做法进一步加剧了保护对妇女的影响，导致妇女对保护持消极态度。这对妇女参与保护区的协作管理和总体保护目标产生了严重后果。