There are perceived and actual gender differences in the use and management of natural resources and the challenges of integrating women into activities related to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation or other natural resource management projects in Uganda.

NAREGONET implements actions that empowers women to understand the relationships between gender and key natural resources such as biodiversity, water, energy, food and mining. In these actions, NAREGONET provides women an opportunity to identify the main economic, social and environmental impacts, as well as the opportunities for incorporating gender perspectives into public policies for natural resources. One of the main factors that has created a differentiated impact between men and women is the unequal access to ownership and control of natural resources, which creates a gender gap in natural resource governance (understood as governance of the ownership, modes of appropriation and distribution of the costs and benefits of renewable and non-renewable natural resources, so that society as a whole can benefit from their exploitation and/or conservation). Furthermore, this has a major impact on the unfair division of labour, wherein women are overburdened with care duties, a situation that has been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

NAREGONET implements actions that uncover key psychological, cultural, social, and non-material barriers to women’s participation in natural resource projects. Women use natural resources differently than men, which sets the stage for a variety of structural barriers. Differentiated resource use makes women vulnerable to economic, social, and external environmental influences, especially in rural areas. NAREGONET conducts qualitative and quantitative studies on the participation of women in management of natural resources in Uganda. Through these studies, NAREGONET identifies activities that rural women in Uganda will prefer to undertake in light of the upcoming programs/projects around natural resource use and management. NAREGENOT develops gender action plans that provides concrete recommendations for the inclusion of a gender perspective and female empowerment in policies, practices, and projects, especially those related to emission reduction programs, natural resource management, and REDD+. When designed to take into consideration gender differences, REDD+ related activities and natural resource management programs can offer important opportunities for women’s empowerment, sustainable resource management, and shared prosperity.