Gender, Environment, and Development Concerns in Irrigated Rice Schemes in West Africa

Abstract

In this study, I examine the links between gender, environment, and development (GED), first analyzing various approaches to studying the topic, and then outlining the social repercussions of two development projects in terms of GED considerations. I review three approaches to studying GED, cultural ecofeminism, gender planning, and political ecology, examining the benefits and limitations of each approach. Following this examination, I outline a GED study completed from a political ecology perspective. Using Judith Carney's study of irrigated rice cultivation and gender conflict in The Gambia, I argue that her somewhat modified political ecology approach is an effective framework for analyzing GED concerns at The Gambia setting. I test Carney's model further, using the framework to study the social repercussions of irrigated agriculture at the Bakel in the Senegal River Valley. I both modify Carney's framework for studying GED, and examine women's involvement in an irrigated agricultural development project.