What type of study is this?

This is a Quantitative Study study.

September 17, 2025

Protecting Natural Resources, Empowering Women: Investigating the Effects of Natural Resource Protection on Women's Empowerment in Sub‐Saharan Africa

Key Points

Natural resource protection impacts women's empowerment negatively by reducing agricultural employment and political representation.
Data analyzed from 37 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa between 2006 and 2021 highlights significant regional disparities.
The methodologies employed include panel quantile regressions and Driscoll–Kraay estimators to understand the NRP's effects.
These findings suggest a need for gender-responsive reforms to ensure women's rights and improve their role in conservation governance.

Abstract

ABSTRACT Women in Sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA) confront institutionalized marginalization in the context of Natural Resource Protection (NRP) where patriarchal land tenure systems, exclusionary conservation institutions, and gendered livelihood dependencies perpetuate their marginalization. These barriers exacerbate ecological vulnerability while denying women agency over the resources vital to their survival. Analyzing data from 37 SSA nations from 2006 to 2021, this study leverages secondary data from the World Bank and CIESIN to investigate how NRP impacts women's empowerment. Using Driscoll–Kraay estimators, Lewbel IV methods, and panel quantile regressions, the results reveal that while NRP reduces women's agricultural employment, it simultaneously increases vulnerable employment and reduces labor force participation, reflecting displacement into precarious informal sectors without secure alternatives. The results also indicate that NRP exacerbates barriers to political representation, underscoring the exclusion of women from conservation governance. Sub‐regional analyses highlight stark disparities: Central Africa faces heightened vulnerability to employment due to restrictive conservation policies, whereas Southern Africa's stronger institutions mitigate adverse effects. Eastern Africa's NRP initiatives reduce economic precarity but fail to improve political inclusion, while Western Africa shows insignificant gendered impacts, indicating underprioritized gender equity in conservation agendas. These findings highlight how NRP risks reinforcing “green grabbing” and patriarchal systems without intentional gender integration. Practically, the study urges policymakers to adopt gender‐responsive reforms: prioritizing land tenure rights for women, inclusive conservation governance, and region‐specific livelihood programs. For societies, this research underscores the imperative to align environmental sustainability with gender justice, ensuring that NRP empowers women as agents of ecological and social resilience.

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