Women play a crucial role in natural resource conservation projects in India, shaped deeply by the socio-cultural system within which they live and work. Their relationship with nature is not merely economic but also social, cultural, and symbolic, rooted in everyday practices, traditional knowledge systems, and community life. In rural and tribal India, women are primary collectors, users, and managers of natural resources such as water, forests, fuelwood, fodder, and minor forest produce. This close and continuous interaction places them at the center of conservation efforts, even when their contributions remain undervalued or invisible in formal policy frameworks. Within the socio-cultural system of Indian society, gender-based division of labor assigns women responsibilities related to household sustenance. Fetching water, collecting firewood, grazing livestock, and gathering forest produce are traditionally seen as women’s work. While this reflects patriarchal norms that confine women to domestic and subsistence roles, it also gives them intimate ecological knowledge. Women possess detailed understanding of seasonal variations, soil fertility, plant species, water sources, and sustainable harvesting techniques. Conservation projects that recognize and integrate this indigenous knowledge tend to be more effective and culturally grounded. For example, women often know which trees regenerate quickly, which herbs have medicinal value, and how overexploitation affects long-term availability. The Chipko Movement in Uttarakhand stands as a powerful example of women’s leadership in conservation rooted in socio-cultural realities. Rural women, dependent on forests for fuel, fodder, and water, resisted commercial logging by embracing trees to