All of the respondents said that men were harder on the forest because they
tended to collect products such as trees and animals that lead more directly to
forest decline compared to the products gathered by women such as vegetables.
Some responses were qualified with the statements that although men collected
building materials which were harder on the forest, the house built as a result
was used by both men and women.
There were modest differences between men and women in terms of both
forest use and environmental awareness. These discrepancies were in keeping
with Mohanti’s (1992) comment that men and women hold different attitudes
towards the environment and natural resources use and that to date
investigations into gender differences in concern for the environment have been
relatively few and inconclusive. Men and women in Northwestern Thailand appeared to have similar ideas and understanding about their situation.
The use of open ended questions in a situation where translation is a major
factor is challenging, however, providing people with the opportunity to express
their own thoughts is invaluable. In such a situation providing a selection of
responses to choose from may lead to the selection for selection sake rather
than an accurate reflection of the respondents opinion. Open responses also
reflect how people, men and women, express themselves in terms of vocabulary
and depth of discussion For example at site 2 the men were more willing to talk
Reproduced with about their involvement in forest protection and use than the women.
Traditionally men are more involved than women in interactions with society
outside the village therefore the responses reflect this situation more readily
than a closed ended approach.
This study involved the questioning of both men and women in similar
settings in order to best compare the responses of each gender. According to
Flaherty & Jengjalern (1995), Flaherty & Filipchuk (1993), and Leach et al.
(1995) researchers that focus on women or men alone are not ideal. Historically
research concentrated on the response or views of men in the areas under
study; however, of late the shift has been towards studying women rather than
men. Rather than one or the other these authors recommend that the
perceptions and attitudes of both men and women both be considered. This study's equal involvement of men and women in exploring their forest use
practices and perception of the changes to the environment in order assess
gender differences, was in keeping with these views. A better understanding of
rural people's knowledge of their environment and its perceived impact on their
welfare requires consideration of the opinions of both men and women. Men
and women were both users of the forest and observers of the changes going on
in their surroundings and therefore it was appropriate to consult with both
parties. Whether responses are similar or different a balanced perspective was
attained thus adding depth and validity to the data collected.