Enhancing women participation in forest conservation

L’Orient Le Jour published on April 2 an interview with the representatives of German Agency for International Cooperation in Morocco, Heidi Belud and CEO of the Association for the Support of Self-Development in Tunisia, Asmaa Muhamadi Bin Mabrouk on the occasion of the fourth week of the Conference on Forests and Climate Change. The event which was held in Barcelona between March 17th and 20th was aimed at designing policies and plans for the conservation of forests in Mediterranean countries. Belud highlighted the gender gap which is present in the forestry sector while indicating that that effort should focus on two tracks. The first, she explained, is to enhance the participation of women in the management of the sector, and second, is to give greater attention to rural women who depend on forest life, while identifying their needs and mobilizing their efforts in selected local projects that can be of benefit to them. For her part, Bin Mabrouk shared the successful experience of her Association in promoting the participation of women in decision making and not only in project implementation. (L’Orient Le Jour, 2 April 2015)