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How Forests in West Africa Are Teaching Us About Gender and Climate Resilience
June 4, 2025Across West Africa, climate policies too often leave out the very people most affected by the crisis: women. In rural communities, women are farmers, water carriers, forest stewards, and caretakers of local knowledge. They manage the land. They raise the next generation. Yet, they remain underfunded, underrecognized, and often invisible in formal climate planning.
But change is growing — quietly, but powerfully.
In the forests of Guinea, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire, a different approach is taking root. One that doesn’t just restore ecosystems, but redistributes power and values local leadership. The Nature-based Solutions for Climate Adaptation in the Guinean Forests project, led by WUSC and CECI, funded by Global Affairs Canada, and supported by partners like IUCN, IBOL, and CIFOR-ICRAF, is flipping the script. Women are no longer passive recipients. They are at the heart of the solution. The project is not only about planting trees. It’s about giving women the tools, training, and support to lead the way in protecting their environment and their communities.
From learners to Leaders
In Guinea, women who once stood on the sidelines now lead local conservation. In villages like Barékhouré and Kounounkan, they manage nurseries, track biodiversity using Malaise traps, and pass on environmental knowledge to their families. In Allassoyah, they grow food using ecological techniques and speak out against gender-based violence, showing how environmental justice and social justice are deeply connected.
In Ghana, in the districts of Bosomtwe and Bosome-Freho, 80 women are now scientific monitors. Trained to use insect traps that track ecosystem health, they rotate across forests, cocoa fields, and plantations, collecting data that feeds into a growing biodiversity record. Their work strengthens science and strengthens their connection to the land.
In Côte d’Ivoire, women are not only planting trees , they’re choosing which trees to plant. In Lôh-Djiboua and Nawa, they help select species like shea, locust bean, and mahogany for their ecological value and their potential to generate income. These women are now earning livelihoods through beekeeping and non-timber forest products while protecting the forests that protect them.
Climate Change and Gender Equality go hand-in-hand
These stories show something important: when women have support and leadership opportunities, whole communities become stronger. Nature gets healthier. Economies grow and women gain a stronger voice in the decisions that shape their lives. Too often, climate projects forget about gender or treat it like a checkbox. But climate change affects women differently, and their leadership is key to finding solutions that work for everyone.
This World Environment Day, let’s listen!
This project is a reminder: Training women and strengthening their leadership strengthens resilience. Investing in women grows local economies. Recognizing women’s leadership changes the way communities function. And centering their stories reshapes how we think about climate action altogether.
From forest restoration to biodiversity tracking to village governance, West African women are already building the future.
We all need hands in the soil, eyes on the horizon. So on this World Environment Day, let’s shift the focus. Let’s stop asking what women need, and start asking how we can collectively support their leadership and amplify their voices.
