Introduction
The title of the essay is the nature of gender. Gender could be devise as a process by which individualities are produced and shift over time and space. Gender has long been identified as crucial within environmental issues, but how it is important and in what contexts have been hotly deliberated. Some Feminists have disputed that there is an essential bonding between women and nature, which gives women intrinsic knowledge of ecosystems and environmental protection. This kind of essentialist thinking has been challenged by other Women´s right activist, who instead focus on work and materialist perceptions. They feel that it bring women closer to nature and which thus give them learned, practical knowledge of ecosystems. Gender is completely linked to how environments are produced. The aim of this essay is to analyse the production of social inequalities and environments by examining how and when gender and other forms of difference become enlisted in environmental issues.
Summary
The research was achieved by proper documentations of literatures conducted by other authors. Some of the theories of development deduced include essentialist conceptualisations of gender-environment, materialist conceptions of women-environment and feminist political ecology. According to essential-conceptualisations of gender-environment, men are rational and women are emotional. Women are nurturing whereas men are competitive. In return to this, some Women´s right activist grasp the idea that women are closer to nature. And has a better understanding of the importance of environmental issues.
Similarly, the book Feminist Political Ecology talks more about the gender differences in connection to environmental issues. From the gendered knowledge in the literature. It was analysed that men and women have differential knowledge of natural resources. It was found that men has privileged access to agroforestry, extension workers etc. and other knowledge associated with science. While women have experiential knowledge gained from the role as subsistence providers in households. This report proves that women have vital understanding of natural resources which propel to be included in development projects and extension work. Also the second theory on gendered rights and responsibilities explains the background which women are denied equal access to land and resources. Lands are legally distributed to male heads of households’ only, sabotaging women´s de Facto claims to use rights and control of land. Lastly, most of the work done within Feminist political ecology shows how gender have differential opportunities and challenges in relation to environmental change and development.
CRITIQUE
In relation to the authors objective. A critique evaluation was done based on the following methods or theory, namely gender and environment, gender and work in Nepal. Also on nature, work and gender. The method of gender and environment is a natural connection between women and land, providing women with privileged knowledge of environmental change and privileged roles in redressing environmental destruction. Emphasis where made through material practices that shaped the relationship between gender and environment. The theory of nature, work and gender advocate that work on gender and environment needs to move away from an accurate focus on how gender structures development and environmental outcomes to a focus on how gender and environment are mutually constituted. As argued, gender in this context refers to the processes by which individuals are produced. It does not refer to women or to differences between men and women. Rather, it is a process through which differences based on suppose biological sex are defined. The gender and work in Nepal was another theory considered. The forests in Nepal were all unified into agricultural systems and provide many food products for the people. Gender was relevant in community forestry given women´s role in collecting forest resources leading to a focus on women´s participation.
Conclusion
The study has presented a framework for understanding the importance of gender within environmental issues. It can be deduced that gender is the cause of environmental change, in the sense that gender is inevitably linked on how environments are produced. Based on the work that has been done on gender and environment. I suggest that once gender is reconceptualised as a process, the effective relationship between gender, environment and work can be brought to view. Also political ecologists need to examine gender beyond community and the need to conceptualize gender-environment connection.