Summary of project on website : 'to investigate the reasons behind skewed sex ratios and patterns of female out-migration in the Hispaniolan Pine ecoregion of the Cordillera Central. The project considered the implications of these patterns for land and resource conservation and the economic status of women in the region. The project was carried out in two rural secciones (counties) in the Hispaniolan Pine Forest, where residents are herders and growers of coffee, potatoes, garlic, cabbage, onions, carrots, and flowers. Production ranges from small-scale family farms to increasingly intensive, industrialized enterprises. Research was conducted using both quantitative and qualitative methods, including semi-structured inter-views; focus groups; an opinion survey; surveys of fertility, technology use, and household composition; and the mapping of resource use according to gender. Data on sex ratios gathered in 1998-1999 by USAID and The Nature Conservancy as part of the Parks in Peril program were also analyzed.
Gender and Shifting Population Trends in Protected Areas in the Dominican Hinterlands: Implications of Female Out-migration for Conservation in the Cordillera Central