In an article in the Malawi Nyasa Times, the paper reports that tree seedlings will be donated to villages in Traditional Authorities (TAs) Malemia, Mlumbe, Nkula, and Sub TA Nkapita in Zomba and Machinga Districts. The donation followed a study that IPOR, together with Ohio State University, Vanderbilt University, and the International Food Research Institute (IFPRI) conducted in the communities around the Zomba and Malosa forest reserves in July and August 2022.
The objective of the research project titled “Gender, Deliberation, and Natural Resource Governance: Experimental Evidence from Malawi” was to investigate how women’s groups impact discussions related to environmental governance. To achieve this, a lab-in-the-field experiment was conducted, where the gender makeup of six-member groups was randomly altered. Preliminary findings indicate that the presence of more women in a group results in an increase in their relative influence during group deliberations.
Expanding representation by women not only amplifies women’s overall impact but also increases the likelihood of any individual woman swaying group discussions. In instances where women comprise the majority of a group’s membership, their pre-existing policy preferences are more likely to prevail in a collective decision-making process.