Women's local knowledge: An important factor in effective community-based wildlife management.

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Conservation Biology
• Sociology

Background:

• Men and women possess diverse, complementary knowledge in environmental management.
• Women's local knowledge is often underutilized in community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) due to socio-economic and cultural factors.
• Addressing this gap is vital for effective conservation strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the application and sharing of women's knowledge in community-based wildlife management (CBWM) groups globally.
• To investigate the impact of women's knowledge on wildlife conservation outcomes.
• To identify pathways for greater inclusion of women's knowledge in decision-making.

Main Methods:

• Collated and analyzed 32 case studies of CBWM groups worldwide.
• Focused on themes: application of women's knowledge, knowledge sharing mechanisms, and conservation impacts.
• Assessed outcomes against the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Conservation Framework goals.

Main Results:

• Women's participation in CBWM groups significantly contributed to positive conservation outcomes.
• These outcomes included improved species conservation, habitat restoration, and equitable benefit sharing.
• Effective knowledge sharing led to increased collaboration with external experts and organizations.

Conclusions:

• Greater inclusion of women in CBWM groups, enabling direct knowledge sharing with decision-makers, is essential.
• This inclusion advances both equity and conservation effectiveness in natural resource management.
• Integrating diverse knowledge systems strengthens biodiversity conservation efforts.