WAVES: Weaving Leadership for Gender Equality in Lao People’s Democratic Republic 2019–2022

WAVES, or Weaving Leadership for Gender Equality, is a RECOFTC initiative on gender equality in the governance of forest landscapes in Asia–Pacific. It was created to strengthen leadership and expertise to improve policymaking and investments that promote gender equality and social inclusion.

WAVES built a network of 36 gender leaders from seven countries. In the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR), six gender leaders from government and civil society organizations were supported. They adopted the WAVES approach and conducted training on gender equality, skills development and gender in village forest management planning for national and village-level partners.

This report is the result of an evaluation conducted in 2021 to capture the results and learnings, with inputs from gender leaders and partners from Lao PDR. It finds an increased understanding of relational leadership and gender equality among gender leaders. WAVES built their abilities to think strategically, shift power dynamics and become resilient against challenges. 

The evaluation also highlights challenges faced and best practices and recommendations for future action to make forest landscapes more equal and inclusive.