Additional File 4: Key findings from the included studies

Table 4A Key findings of governance and conservation outcomes

Evidence area / Article / Key findings /
Governance / [1] / Among 6 forest user groups in Nepal, having women leaders is qualitatively determined to strengthen the transparency of a group’s financial management.
Governance / [2] / Among 135 community forest groups in India (Gujarat) and Nepal, women reach a critical mass for effectively participating when they compose 25 to 33% of a group’s executive committee.
Governance / [3] / Among 49 community forest groups in Nepal, all-women groups have significantly fewer violations per year compared with other groups.
Governance / [4] / Among 58 community forest groups in India (Gujarat), executive committees with one third or more women are less likely to face firewood shortages.
Governance / [5] / Among 135 community forest groups in India (Gujarat) and Nepal, women comply more with the rules and participate more in patrolling when they are on the group’s executive committee. Inclusion of landless women in governance further improves rule compliance and participation in Gujarat.
Governance / [6] / Among 135 community forest groups in India (Gujarat) and Nepal, groups with more women on the executive committee and especially all-women executive committees tend to make stricter rules than other groups. Exceptions include one district in Gujarat with executive committees that included a higher percentage of landless women and tended to make less strict rules (but still within sustainable limits).
Governance / [7] / Among 675 community forest groups in India (Madhya Pradesh), women’s participation is associated with an increase of 24% in the probability of controlling illicit grazing and an increase of 28% in the control of illicit felling.
Governance / [8] / Among 16 forest user groups in Nepal, women-only groups tend to be created by external forces without the support of local women, and a qualitative assessment shows governance of such groups is lacklustre.
Governance / [9] / Among 3 marine protected area groups in the Philippines, women’s participation is qualitatively assessed to be associated with improved project accountability, lower local conflict, better compliance, and more effective patrolling.
Governance / [10] / Among 96 forest user group associations in 10 countries, the number of women councillors is negatively correlated with disruptive conflict.
Governance / [11] / Among 431 households in 8 villages in 1 district in India’s West Bengal state, women-only forest protection committees tend to have fewer rules violations, increased patrolling, greater transparency, and higher overall participation than mixed-gender groups.
Governance / [12] / Among 431 households in 8 villages in 1 district in India’s West Bengal state, villages with women-only forest protection committees tend to have higher social capital and better ‘livelihood performance’ than villages with mixed gender or no forest protection committees.
Governance / [13] / Across 12 ponds in Bangladesh, communities with mixed-gender led fisheries have better conflict resolution, greater transparency, and better 'institutional arrangements' than communities with women-led fisheries.
Governance / [14] / Among 11 forest user groups in Nepal, addressing local gender and caste inequalities may contribute to increased local income generation and greater representation of poor in the groups.
Governance / [15] / Among 4 community forest groups in India (Maharashtra), leadership abilities may matter more for good governance than the gender of the leader.
Governance / [16] / Among 3 fisheries management committees in Bangladesh, the gender-balanced and women-led committees had higher trust, unity, empathy, and cooperation than the men-only committee.
Governance / [17] / Among 46 natural resource management groups across 20 countries on 3 continents, collaboration, solidarity, and conflict resolution increased in groups where women were present.
Conservation / [7] / Among 673 community forest groups in India (Madhya Pradesh), women’s participation is associated with a 28% greater probability of forest regeneration.
Conservation / [5] / Among 135 community forest groups in India (Gujarat) and Nepal, groups with a high proportion of women (or only women) in their Executive Committee show significantly greater improvements in forest condition.
Conservation / [16] / Among 3 fisheries management committees in Bangladesh, the gender-balanced, men-led, and women-led committees saw increases in fish species diversity, suggesting that ‘women are just as capable as men in protecting fish’.

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