As such, they do much of the work needed to maintain or restore the environment. Because of the nature of their responsibilities and direct dependence on land-based resources, they are also the hardest hit by desertification, deforestation and misguided economic and development policies. Women may also be agents of environmental degradation by the nature of their activities and responsibilities. They can have an equally enormous impact on conservation because of their multiple roles. Their special knowledge of the environment is derived from growing food, collecting fodder, gathering firewood and water, caring for children, the sick and the elderly, tending domestic animals and gathering medicines.
Women are also usually responsible for marketing agricultural produce.
In Africa they do up to three-quarters of all agricultural work in addition to domestic responsibilities. In order to be effective, women must gain more control of resources and of development planning and their needs and role must also be integrated into decision-making in general. Solidarity for Africa International advocates for the integration of environmental concerns into poverty alleviation and economic development strategies and programmes. In most African regions, the majority of poor people live in rural areas and depend directly or indirectly on terrestrial and marine natural systems for income generation. Real, lasting poverty reduction is only possible if the environment is able to provide the services people depend on, and if natural resources are used in a manner that does not undermine long-term development.