Abstract:
The natural environment of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka is threatened and polluted
in several ways as a result of the civil war, resettlement and development projects etc. Now
we have to take action to rehabilitate and manage the natural environment in the waraffected
areas. Gender plays a major role in environment management in this areas. This
study examined the role of women in environment management in Kilinochchi District
with special reference to the Ambalnagar Grama Niladhari Division. The principal
objective of the study was to identify to what extent women have played a role in
environment management after resettlement. Primary data was generated from a
questionnaire survey, interviews, group discussions and observation, while secondary data
was mainly collected from previous research and annual statistical reports. One hundred
women (between 18-70 years) were selected via a simple random sampling method for the
questionnaire survey from 767 total individuals. The majority of the women, about 63%,
were involved in agricultural activities. Among them, 40% have engaged in agriculture for
more than 4 years after resettlement. For agriculture, 80% and 65% of women respectively
used organic fertilizer and pesticide. About 90% of the women have an adequate
knowledge of soil degradation and its management methods. During the last 5 years after
resettlement, 78% of the women have planted more than 10 multi - purposes trees on their
land. 90% of the women planted fruit trees, while others planted shade, flower and herbal
plants. Women have a good knowledge of solid waste management at household level.
40% of the women re-use polythene and plastics wastes, 33% sell the latter for recycling
purposes, while 27% dispose of these carelessly. 73% of the women clean their
surroundings by sweeping and weeding. Half of the women acquired their knowledge
about the environment from their parents, while 30% learned of it in school and 16%
through training programs. 87% of the women participated in at least one environmental
protection program or event. 36% of the mothers teach their children about the importance
of planting, 34% teach about environmental cleaning, while 20% teach about the
protection of biodiversity. After resettlement, women play a more significant role in
environmental management than men through farming, tree planting, and resource and
solid waste management. The burden of household work (44%) was the major cause for
lack of women's participation in environmental management in this area. Education,
awareness, training programs, as well as instruction about solid waste management and
rain water harvesting methods should be further encouraged among women for
environment management and the creation of a greener environment. This will lead to the
achievement of sustainable development goals in the war-affected regions.
