Gender, Class, Ecological Decline, and Livelihood Strategies: a Case Study of Siquijor Island, the Philippines

This study investigates issues of gender and resource management in Siquijor island in the Philippines. A rapidly growing population, severe environmental degradation and declining economic growth means that rural women and men are often forced to make short-term decisions about managing natural resources which are not necessarily appropriate for the long-term sustainability of the resource base or of their families. The study analyses gender roles in rural livelihood systems in order to clarify the ways in which rural people are responding to these problems, and to give direction to future efforts to assist these processes. The research methodology involved the complementary use of PRA techniques and more conventional survey methods. For example, wealth ranking was used to ensure that the household survey sample proportionately represented the range of household circumstances in each community. The results of the wealth ranking and household interviews were then used to help formulate questions for key informant interviews, focus group meetings and a short confirmation survey. Other PRA methods used included transects, mapping, seasonal calendars and institutional analyses.