Kohima: Naga women have played vital roles in ensuring sustainable development by harnessing and managing rich biodiversity, yet they tend to be marginalized in decision making for management and preservation of the resources with which they are acquainted.
This was inferred in a thematic report on the “Role of Women in Natural Resource Management,” written by a group of researchers under a study jointly sponsored by Government of India and UNDP pertaining to human development report (HDR) in Nagaland.
Chief minister Neiphiu Rio formally released six such thematic reports on various issues along with district human development reports on three districts of Nagaland yesterday during celebration of Independence Day at civil secretariat ground.
The report on role of women in natural resource management, making an in-depth field study highlighted the role of women in preservation of plant species, flora and fauna and their livelihood options.
The report widens the people’s awareness on the role of women in retarding the effects of resource depletion and it helps to understand the vast range of environment, economic, social and political issues and linkages for resource management, the authors say.
The other thematic reports are Traditional agriculture: practice and sustainable livelihood; Communitisation of education: Nagaland experience; Communitisation of health: Nagaland experience; Rural-urban migration and Livelihood and employment: opportunities in Nagaland.
The UNDP sponsored study also included publication of a “Gender budgeting manual.”
As part of the millennium development goals (MDG), the countries have to come with publications of human development reports (HDR) at national, sub-national or state and district levels concerning human development indices such education, health care, livelihood options, water, sanitation and gender issues from time to time.
Development commissioner Alemtemshi Jamir told newsmen that after publication of state HDR in 2004, the UNDP had sanctioned preparation of HDR for any two districts of Nagaland but due to the state government’s insistence, both Planning Commission and UNDP allowed the state planning department to prepare the reports for three districts.
He pointed out that unlike other states, Nagaland did not outsource experts or depend on secondary data for preparing the HDR and thematic reports, but only took the help of a guide in authoring those reports.
Prof Manoj Pant of JNU, the main guide in writing the HDR and thematic reports, pointed out “I have gone through many reports of other states, but the uniqueness of Nagaland district HDRs is that they were joint efforts of bureaucrats, academics and NGOs and they went beyond the MDG and HDR regime of UNDP.” (PTI))
