Gender and Green Governance

Gender and Green Governance is a magisterial work of astounding erudition. While resplendent with field interviews and statistical tables, its ultimate significance is as a thought-provoking examination of political institutionswhat makes them legitimate, efficient, inclusive, representative and stable over time. * Studies in Indian Politics *
Gender and Green Governance will rightly be acknowledged as a classic not just in environmental studies, but in studies of development, governance, public action and public service delivery more broadly ... It is a rigorous, engaged and deeply serious exploration of the conditions under which the greater involvement of women in forest management committees improves the quality of environmental (or green) governance ... it is a landmark text. * Stuart Corbridge, The Journal of Development Studies *
[A] tour de force ... rigorous, insightful and broad-ranging ... The book is innovative at more levels than one can list. * Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Indian Express *
An impressive study of women and community forestry in India and Nepal. * Nancy Folbre, The New York Times *
Path-breaking...an immense contribution not only to ecological economics but also to political science, rural sociology, and energy studies...a landmark contribution with depth and insight. * Joan Martinez-Alier, Economic and Political Weekly *
An immense, novel contribution to the literature and a milestone in the ongoing debate on forest governance, gender, rural energy and political economy...exceptional. * Kanchana Wickramasinghe, South Asia Economic Journal *
A timely reminder of the need for broad-based "Green Governance" which is inclusive of women. While focused on the forestry sector, the book very convincingly establishes the principle of community participation in management, conservation and sustainable use of dwindling natural resources. * Khawar Mumtaz, The Friday Times *
Bina Agarwal has crafted a book of central importance in today's world. Both women and their connections with forests have been under-represented in the field, in academic research, and in policy. With analytical rigour and originality, Agarwal bridges these major gaps in our understanding of the difference women can make, when they are actively involved in forest governance. * Elinor Ostrom, Nobel Laureate in Economics 2009 *
Beautifully written and soundly argued, this book makes an outstanding contribution to the fields of both environmental economics and governance. Drawing on over a decade of fieldwork in India and Nepal, and eschewing easy generalizations, Bina Agarwal offers a richly layered and insightful treatment of the effects of women's presence in local bodies governing village forests. * Jean-Philippe Platteau, University of Namur and co-author of Halting Degradation of Natural Resources *
A nuanced analysis that demonstrates the value ofmixed-methods approaches ... an important book. * Ruth Meinzein-Dick, Feminist Economics *
Cutting across areas of economics, environmental studies, political economy, gender studies, local green governance and public policy, this book needs to be read by all...this is a book for the people. * Manju Chellani, Indian Journal of Gender Studies *