25 July, Kathmandu Nepal
In collaboration with the REDD Implementation Center (REDD IC), Women Rights And Resource Network (WRRN) and Female Forester Nepal (FFN), WOCAN organized the workshop on to share the W+ case studies from Nepal and Mexico. There were 38 (30 women and 8 men) participants representing government institutions, indigenous people organizations, academics and non profit organizations from across Nepal.
WOCAN presented the learnings from its two recently conducted case studies on women’s leadership in the forest sector, that were supported by the World Bank Group’s FOLUR/PROGREEN program:
Women’s Leadership Outcomes within Nepal’s Community Forestry Program using the W+ Standard
Members of WOCAN’s team of W+ experts applied the W+ Standard and its Leadership Domain to assess the extent of changes in women’s leadership initiatives within Nepal’s Community Forest User Groups (CFUGs) of the Community Forestry program in December 2023
Promoting Community ‘Voice’: The Role of Champions. Case Study of the Dedicated Grant Mechanism for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in Mexico
The W+ Standard was applied to assess the impacts on women’s empowerment within the DGM and Rainforest Alliance project for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in Oaxaca, Campeche, Yucatan, Jalisco and Quitana Roo in Mexico in August 2024.
Key Takeaways from the workshop discussion
Measuring Leadership
Several participants were appreciative and curious to understand how WOCAN measures and quantifies leadership outcomes. They were not only excited to know that a standard exists to measure leadership but that the process also validates their experience as leaders.
Loneliness is a Common Emotion of Women Leaders
The findings from the Mexico case study of loneliness in leadership resonated with many participants both male and female. It led to the discussion of how some of the male champions on women’s leadership and empowerment also feel lonely and require a different strategy to push for change.
Carbon and W+
The participants who are engaged in carbon projects reiterated the potential of the W+ Standard to reinforce the integrity of the carbon projects and highlight the non-carbon benefits. Some of them were concerned if such W+ carbon credits would get a premium price and were curious to understand the market demand. There was also discussion on how the W+ Standard is not internalized by the REDD IC and needs more engagement such as this workshop to build awareness.
Understanding W+ Standard
For most of the participants, W+ Standard was a new concept and expressed the need to learn more about it and understand how it can be applied. Some of them have invited the WOCAN to introduce it to their team and have shown interest to take the online course. Few participants were also intrigued by the need for social verifiers and had questions on who the providers are in Nepal or in the region.
Cost of the measurement
Though the focus of the workshop was not to present the cost of the application of the W+ Standard, participants had many questions regarding the cost and what resources are available for their projects to apply the standard.