Women's Perception of their Forest Resources in Espiritu Santo (Vanuatu)

Abstract

Women's perceptions of their environment in two remote communities (Monxhill and Butmas, in Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu) were explored, as their perception is though to guide their involvement in environmental education. Qualitative insights from participatory fieldwork, using ranking exercise, community resource mapping and perception activities, showed that women of Monxhill see the forest as a place to live, to know and to learn about, to plan for and to take care of. In turn, women of Butmas see it as a resource, which has to be managed in order to provide the communities with food, materials and medicines; however, they also see it as a problem, which has to be solved. Furthermore, this research showed that these women are a key actors in community environmental education.