Common property resources and the question of women’s sustainability in the rural Rajasthan

Pages: 44-50
Sunita Meena (Department of Economics, University of Delhi, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi)

Researchers have well established the critical role of Common Property Resources (CPRs) in India’s rural economy. The present study focuses on the impact of degradation and depletion of resources on women’s livelihoods in the rural parts of Rajasthan. The depletion of CPRs has a direct adverse impact on the poor people’s livelihood, and among them, women are the worst victims of this depletion. Women are responsible for collecting fuel, fodder, and bringing water from outside premises for their families’ sustenance. Due to the gender division of labour, the impact is most felt by the women in particular. The study investigated the change in rural women’s work pattern in Rajasthan due to the depletion of these natural resources from the 1980s to 2011, using the unit-level data from the various Round of Employment and Unemployment Situation in India (NSSO); across five regions in Rajasthan. Various socio-economic parameters, such as education, Monthly Per Capita Expenditure, Operational Holdings and social groups, were used to find the most vulnerable section among the women. The study finds that some regions show a reasonable reduction in CPR area while dependence on CPRs has substantially increased. These are the highly vulnerable regions in terms of both resource condition and poverty implications since the increased dependence is now catered to by a reduced CPR area thus increasing the pressure on increasingly scarce resources pushing the poor and marginalised population to the brink of sustenance. Dependence on firewood remains highest out of all the three activities related to Common resources. The collection of fruits and fish, is high for the Aravali and Hadoti region of Rajasthan, showing that the importance of CPRs also depends on their availability. The study also reflects that the most marginalised groups are illiterates, Landless, social groups (ST, SC and OBC) and rural women belonging to the lowest two MPCE groups. Their dependency on CPRs is highest across their respective parameters.