An ecofeminist epistemology also shows that a gendered environmental perspective is important to understanding epistemological methods of inquiry and forms of justification concerning women and nature. Consider orthodox Western forestry. Too often it has assumed that activities that fall outside the realm of commercial fiber production are less important than those that fall inside that realm. Yet the latter are precisely the activities that rural women in many parts of Africa and India engage in on a daily basis. Failure to understand the importance of these activities often makes women “invisible”. This invisibility helps explains why many orthodox, Western foresters 