Breaking Ground: Conducting community dialogues on gender and land restoration

Land restoration initiatives can have varying impacts on men and women due to differences in their roles, responsibilities, and access to resources. Ignoring gender in the design and implementation of restoration activities can exacerbate existing gender inequalities and undermine the success of restoration efforts. Community Dialogues are a powerful tool to facilitate open and constructive discussions about gender perceptions, roles, constraints, and opportunities and how they impact people’s lives and ability to engage and benefit from land restoration.

This manual provides a step-by-step guide that outlines several activities that can be used during a 3- to 4-hour community dialogue. By taking part in these activities, participants will have the opportunity to:

• Discuss gender roles and norms in theircommunity and how these impact their engagement with the landscape.

• Reflect on how local gender norms can generate constraints or opportunities for land restoration activities and how to take action to address them.

• Learn about the importance of gender in promoting equitable outcomes for land restoration and how to identify and address gender-related challenges in the design, planning and implementation of restoration activities.

By using community dialogues, participants can benefit from a safe and engaging space to talk about gender roles and perceptions, as well as
opportunities to develop new insights and skills. Through role-play, reflection, and discussions, they can apply problem-solving and bargaining skills and develop their own ideas on how to promote gender equality and enhance land restoration activities.