ABSTRACT
This chapter draws on the emerging results of WEDNET research to develop the gender-and-environments approach. After a brief introduction to the approach, the chapter discusses the significance for the gender-and-environments paradigm of African women's involvement in the "production of life" and "nature". The chapter emphasizes motherhood as a cultural metaphor, rather than a biological status, one that offers a powerful rationale for African women's increased participation and authority as environmental—and family—decision makers. The WEDNET research makes it abundantly clear that African women's landscapes commonly arise from their gender-based responsibilities as mothers involved in the production of life and nature for the benefit of their families. Women's landscapes differ, often quite profoundly, from the gender-based perspectives recognized and furthered by African men as "fathers", and more recently, as increasingly autonomous individuals. The potential significance of African women's environmental knowledge for the resolution of present-day environmental difficulties emerges clearly from the results of the WEDNET initiative.
