The Hima: A relationship between people and nature
The Hima is more than a protected geographical area. It represents a relationship between people, nature, culture and responsibility.
Rooted in a long tradition of community based stewardship, the Hima recognizes that conservation and human well being are interconnected. Communities depend on healthy ecosystems for food, water, livelihoods, cultural identity and resilience, while communities themselves have a responsibility to protect the natural resources on which their lives depend.
This principle is particularly relevant today as communities face biodiversity loss, climate change, land degradation, water scarcity, pollution and declining livelihoods.
Effective conservation cannot be achieved by excluding communities from decision-making. It requires local knowledge, participation, shared responsibility and equitable access to benefits.
Within this approach, women have a fundamental role.
Women as environmental stewards and knowledge holders
Women are farmers, pastoralists, fishers, producers, educators, entrepreneurs, caregivers and community leaders. They often possess detailed knowledge of local ecosystems, plants, seeds, food systems, water resources, agriculture and seasonal changes.
This local ecological knowledge is a valuable complement to scientific knowledge.
Women can contribute to biodiversity monitoring, ecosystem restoration, sustainable agriculture, water conservation and environmental education. With access to appropriate technologies, they can also participate in community mapping, citizen science and monitoring of environmental change.
Recognizing and protecting women’s knowledge is therefore part of protecting biodiversity and strengthening community resilience.
Women, livelihoods and conservation
Conservation must also respond to economic realities. Communities are more likely to protect natural resources when conservation contributes to sustainable and dignified livelihoods.
Women play an important role in local economies through agriculture, food processing, handicrafts, fisheries-related activities, tourism and small-scale enterprises.
The Hima can create opportunities for women through:
- sustainable agriculture and agroecology;
- traditional and local food production;
- medicinal and aromatic plants;
- sustainable handicrafts and local products;
- community-based tourism and ecotourism;
- environmental guiding and education;
- recycling and circular-economy activities; and
- nature-based enterprises.
However, empowerment requires more than training. Women also need access to markets, finance, technology, business networks and decision-making.
A gender-responsive Hima should therefore consider the entire value chain and ensure that the benefits of conservation are shared fairly.
From participation to leadership
There is a difference between inviting women to participate and enabling them to lead.
Women should have meaningful influence over decisions concerning natural-resource management, biodiversity conservation, water, agriculture, tourism, restoration, environmental education and local economic development.
Leadership can take many forms: a woman organizing an environmental initiative, establishing a cooperative, monitoring biodiversity, representing her community or creating a sustainable enterprise.
When women have a real voice in governance, the governance of the Hima itself becomes stronger and more inclusive.
Intergenerational knowledge and climate resilience
The Hima can also provide a space for intergenerational learning.
Older generations can share knowledge about plants, food, agriculture, landscapes and traditional practices, while younger generations can contribute new ideas, technologies and communication tools.
This exchange is increasingly important as climate change affects rainfall, water availability, agriculture, ecosystems and livelihoods.
Women can contribute to climate resilience through water conservation, sustainable food production, seed preservation, ecosystem restoration, livelihood diversification and environmental education.
But women should not be expected to carry the burden of adaptation alone. Their resilience depends on access to resources, technology, finance, education and decision-making.
The Hima and environmental justice
The Hima also offers an important perspective on environmental justice.
A just conservation approach must ask:
Who participates? Who benefits? Who carries the costs? Whose knowledge is recognized? Who has the power to make decisions?
These questions are particularly important for women and communities facing economic hardship, climate vulnerability or social instability.
The Hima can provide a platform for more inclusive environmental governance, where conservation is connected with dignity, livelihoods, cultural identity and social well being.
Toward a gender-responsive Hima
A future-oriented Hima should:
- recognize and integrate women’s ecological and cultural knowledge;
- guarantee meaningful participation in environmental governance;
- invest in women’s and girls’ leadership;
- strengthen access to finance, markets and sustainable enterprises;
- support young women in science, technology and environmental action;
- protect intergenerational knowledge;
- measure women’s participation, leadership and economic empowerment; and
- ensure equitable distribution of conservation benefits.
Gender equality should therefore not be treated as an additional component of conservation. It should be part of the governance model itself.
A vision for the future
Imagine a Hima where women participate equally in environmental decisions; where local knowledge is valued alongside science; where young women use technology to monitor biodiversity; where women farmers contribute to climate-resilient food systems; and where women-led enterprises create sustainable livelihoods without degrading natural resources.
Such a Hima would connect biodiversity conservation, sustainable livelihoods, cultural heritage, climate resilience and gender equality.
This is not simply an idealistic vision. It is a practical direction for community-based conservation.
Conclusion
The Hima reminds us that nature cannot be separated from communities, biodiversity cannot be separated from livelihoods, and cultural heritage cannot be separated from the landscapes in which it developed.
Women are at the heart of these relationships. They hold knowledge, sustain local economies, preserve cultural practices, educate future generations, organize communities and protect natural resources.
They must therefore be recognized not simply as beneficiaries of conservation, but as guardians, innovators, knowledge holders, entrepreneurs and leaders.
Empowering women strengthens more than gender equality. It strengthens communities, protects biodiversity, sustains livelihoods and builds resilience.
The Hima is a living relationship between people and nature. For that relationship to remain strong, women must be recognized not at the margins, but at its heart.
