Understanding the constraints that lessened the involvement of women regarding integrated water management in the Mouhoun region of Burkina Faso

In Burkina Faso, women represent 51.7% of the population and provide more than 60% of national agricultural production. Although women make an essential contribution, there is still a large gap between men and women when it comes to access to natural resources, such as land and water. The ability of a woman to participate in water management depends on the authority that she has over this resource in the society. This paper explores the constraints that weakened the involvement of women in watershed management in Burkina Faso, with regards to participation, representativeness, role and ability in relation to means of production. Semi-structured individual interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with users (men and women); representatives from local water committees. The results show that women cannot make any decision regarding water resource management that affects them (men and women) differently. Although women are the primary stakeholders/end users of water resources, and are therefore key actors in terms of use, they are lagging behind in terms of their ability to make decisions regarding water management. This impacts the sustainability of water and the ecosystems as a whole.

In Burkina Faso, women represent 51.7% of the population and provide more than 60% of national agricultural production. Although women make an essential contribution, there is still a large gap between men and women when it comes to access to natural resources, such as land and water. The ability of a woman to participate in water management depends on the authority that she has over this resource in the society. This paper explores the constraints that weakened the involvement of women in watershed management in Burkina Faso, with regards to participation, representativeness, role and ability in relation to means of production. Semi-structured individual interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with users (men and women) ; representatives from local water committees. The results show that women cannot make any decision regarding water resource management that affects them (men and women) differently. Although women are the primary stakeholders/end users of water resources, and are therefore key actors in terms of use, they are lagging behind in terms of their ability to make decisions regarding water management. This impacts the sustainability of water and the ecosystems as a whole.

Integrated water participation genre sustainable

Integrated water Participation genre sustainable