ABSTRACT
This chapter provides evidence of gender bias in formal forest policy in Kenya and considered the implications for household food security and resilience. It considers the current segregation of forest-based harvesting activities and related policies, and its impact on household food security. The chapter concentrates on the State forests, which the constitution allows to be used for various purposes including apiculture, silviculture and infrastructural development. It hopes to enhance understanding of gendered issues of forest access, and to draw attention to the potentially harmful biases that exist in forest policies, which may undermine women's food-provisioning capabilities. Historically, men have dominated collective institutions and policy-making bodies and continue to do so despite support for increasing women's participation from a variety of public and private stakeholders. The chapter reviews issues of access that either support or prohibit stakeholder's engagement in decisions around local natural resource management.
