Converting the Wetlands, Engendering the Environment: The Intersection of Gender with Agrarian Change in the Gambia

Citation:

Carney, Judith. 1993. "Converting the Wetlands, Engendering the Environment: The Intersection of Gender with Agrarian Change in the Gambia." Economic Geography 69 (4): 329-48.

Author: Judith Carney

Abstract:

An examination is presented of the gender-based resource struggles accompanying irrigation schemes, with the environmental transformation of the wetlands of Gambia providing the setting. Divided into five parts the chapter examines: the environmental context of the Gambian wetlands, the extent and significance of wetland farming, as well as women's labour in ensuring its productive use; an historical overview is provided of environmental and economic changes modifying women's access to Gambian wetlands; an account of recent policy shifts addresses the country's environmental and economic crisis; two case studies are presented which detail the relationship between economic change and the forms of women's resistance to the process of land concentration; the conclusion analyses how wetland commodification has made women's access to resources increasingly tenuous despite income gains.

Topics: Economies, Environment, Gender, Livelihoods Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Gambia

Year: 1993