Local Forest Protection, Gender and Caste—Dhani Hill, Orissa, India

A questionnaire survey covering 35% of all households in five villages was conducted in a local forest protection group in Orissa, India. The aim was to study dependency, involvement and attitude towards forest protection based on gender and caste. A conceptual model indicating differences between the groups was used as a base. Women experienced more problems of restrictions caused by the protection and more threats associated with the forest than did men. Voting in meetings and a wish for more plantations was of greater importance for women than for men, while men emphasised importance of co-operation with government. Direct involvement was very low among women, even though they were well informed about forest issues. Tribal groups were the main contributers of labour, while general caste had been involved for considerably longer in forest protection than other groups. The tribal groups also wanted more plantations and had a good understanding of the ecosystem. For example, they indicated the value of a growing forest. Men and general caste tended to be more outspoken in this type of questionnaire situation compared to women and scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. The general attitude towards Dhani Hill, however, was positive and could be linked to daily use and future optimism. This optimism and the involvement of all the different groups should be considered as crucial in the timing of local forest management interventions. This should be seen together with the diversified opinions and ways of expressing such opinions depending on gender and caste.     

Types and Patterns of Later-life Migration

This paper refines previous typologies of later-life mobility by explicitly evaluating the spatial migration patterns and household characteristics of retired American migrants. Migrants' lifecourse attributes (economic status, disability, presence of spouse), large-scale migration patterns (internal migration) and household characteristics (living arrangements, economic independence, residential independence) are used to identify three types of post-retirement mobility. The first type, amenity migration , has a distinctive spatial pattern that suggests a search for attractive climate and leisure amenities. The second type of mobility, assistance migration , can be traced to low income and the absence of a spouse in the household. It often results in residential and economic dependence – specifically, in co-residence with adult children or other labor force members. The third type of mobility, migration in response to severe disability and spouse absence , tends to result in nursing home residence. While amenity migration has long been associated with good health and favorable economic status, this analysis reveals that many disabled and lower-income retirees share the inmigration pattern typical of amenity migrants. In fact, amenity migration is the predominant type of mobility among those migrants with fewer than two unfavorable lifecourse attributes (low income, severe disability and spouse absence). Unlike previous lifecourse typologies, this study shows no clear relationship between moderate disability and co-residence with adult children. The results suggest that co-residence is primarily a strategy for reducing living costs rather than a means of coping with moderate disability.