Differences in women’s and men’s conservation of cacao agroforests in coastal Ecuador

Abstract

SummaryStakeholder preferences for the conservation of cacao agroforests are scarcely known. Here, a revealed preference model was used to estimate the value that smallholders place on the conservation of their cacao agroforests in coastal Ecuador. Variables in the model included plot-level data (the gender of those who owned and managed the plot, profit, land title and years of ownership) and household demographic data (ages, educational levels and wealth indicators). Households were willing to give up some profit to conserve agroforests especially if they had managed the plot longer. Furthermore, when women were included in the management of a plot, the household was more likely to conserve the cacao agroforest, but the gender of the person who owns the plot had no effect on the probability of conserving the agroforest. These findings provide further evidence of the gender differences in preferences for agroforests and that more inclusive land-use decisions may lead to the use of more sustainable farming practices. They also demonstrate that policies that encourage inclusive land ownership do not necessarily ensure equal gender participation in plot decision-making and management.

Teenagers’ Awareness about Local Vertebrates and Their Functions: Strengthening Community Environmental Education in a Mexican Shade-Coffee Region to Foster Animal Conservation

“…Finally, although it was not our goal to assess gender differences in student responses, it is worth mentioning that, with the exception of one question, gender had no effect on our results. This is interesting, because many studies have found a strong gender effect, with females generally showing more conservation-conducive responses (e.g., [38,56,57]). The cultural context of our study may have influenced this result.…”

Implementation of sustainable farming practices by cocoa farmers in Ecuador and Uganda: the influence of value chain factors

“…Reports from farmers suggest that long-standing relationships with local intermediaries facilitated the receipt of loans or inputs, which farmers repay with the next cocoa harvest. For pest or disease management, many Ecuadorian cocoa farmers seek advice from input providers (Blare and Useche, 2014), highlighting their importance for reducing synthetic pesticide use in cocoa. Reis et al (2020) demonstrated that stable relationships between value chain partners can improve the sustainability performance by comparing between value chains.…”