The International Land and Forest Tenure Facility’s Post

Two write-ups I think anyone working in #biodiversity and #conservation should read, particularly those of us going to #COP16 🌿 Emil Sirén Gualinga 's paper on how to move beyond #tokenisation to Full and Effective and Participation of Indigenous Peoples in Decision Making 🦎 Rhett Ayers Butler 's piece on what IPs hope to achieve in #Cali Here's a summary of both: 🌿 For any project/program/investment (or workshop), start by identifying relevant Indigenous Peoples and their Decision-Making Processes 🌿 Go on to Identify and respect Indigenous Peoples’ priorities 🌿 To ensure inclusive community participation, make sure women and youths perspectives are included 🌿 Shift your Perspectives: From thinking about IPs as stakeholders and beneficiaries to partners and rightsholders (more on this in a Climate Collective paper by Lauren Serota and Nkwi Flores released at #NYClimateWeek 🔗 )   🌿 Emil Sirén Gualinga concludes by reminding us that given this diversity, there is no one-size-fits-all-approach - check out his paper to see a few examples of relevant actions to foster full and effective participation in practice. 🦎 Rhett Ayers Butler and Aimee Gabay or Mongabay captured "What Indigenous leaders want from the COP16 U.N. biodiversity convention": 🦎 Participation: A common theme was the need for Indigenous involvement in decision-making processes to shape how the GBF will be implemented. 🦎 Integration of traditional knowledge indicators into the monitoring system for the GBF. 🦎 Recognition of Indigenous territories as distinct conservation areas. 🦎 Preservation of traditional knowledge. 🦎 Financing: Delegates are pushing for mechanisms that will allow Indigenous peoples to directly access biodiversity funding. 🦎 Representation for all groups. I will keep these priorities in the back of my mind as I sit in workshops, panels and at networking sessions. Together we can be powerful allies.

Register for our upcoming #Webinar “Gender and biodiversity: how Indigenous and local community women safeguard nature.” #IndigenousWomen hold invaluable traditional knowledge that helps us understand the species and rhythms of nature. Their deep understanding of the seasons, native species and crops are key to preserving biodiversity. Their insights have significantly informed Western science, contributing to advancements in climate sciences, medicine and agriculture. Yet, their roles often remain marginalized. As we approach COP16, it's crucial to integrate their perspectives into global dialogues on biodiversity and benefit-sharing. Join us, TenureFacility and Land Portal Foundation on June 13th for a vital discussion with indigenous and local community leaders from around the world. Gloria Samaná, Josselyn Casama, Cristiane Pankararu & Aissatou Oumarou will share their expertise on: 1. The role of IP&LC women leaders in biodiversity preservation and climate mitigation. 2. Challenges in passing down traditional knowledge. 3. Ensuring COP16 and the GBF incorporate Indigenous wisdom effectively. 🔗 Register Now → https://buff.ly/3KkLrDE

Sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, 21 October–1 November 2024 - Colombia To the delegates of COP16, Women’s land rights are fundamental to recognizing and prioritizing their vital role as the primary guardians of biodiversity. Women have long been at the forefront of sustainable land use and natural resource management, safeguarding ecosystems, conserving biodiversity, preserving seeds, protecting forests, ensuring sustainable water use, and passing down traditional knowledge that fosters environmental resilience. However, their contributions are too often undervalued due to a lack of secure land rights, limiting their power to make impactful, long-term decisions for conservation. We urge COP16 to recognize and protect women's land rights as a core strategy to combat biodiversity loss and ensure climate resilience. Secure land rights for women will not only uplift their voices but also strengthen biodiversity protection efforts worldwide. By affirming these rights, we empower women as stewards of biodiversity, enabling them to continue their invaluable work for future generations and paving the way for a sustainable and equitable planet. #women'slandrights

🌍🌊 A Call from RISE UP as We Head into CBD COP 16 As the RISE UP team (Sivaja Nair and Flora McMorrin) prepares to join our partners at CBD COP 16, we are reflecting on the critical decisions that lie ahead. We, alongside other civil society organizations, are urging world leaders to place equity and justice at the forefront of every discussion. The decisions made at this conference will shape the future of our ocean—and the lives of the communities that depend on its health. #NatureIsAlsoBlue For us, this isn’t just about policy; it’s about the people and ecosystems that rely on the ocean. Here are our key priorities for the conference: ▶ Human Rights-Based Approaches – Governments must adopt inclusive approaches, ensuring human rights indicators are fully integrated into biodiversity frameworks. ▶ Support for Small-Scale Fisheries – Let’s ensure small-scale fishers are heard and policies are designed to uplift their livelihoods, while advancing gender equality. ▶ Ratify the High Seas Treaty – To truly protect our oceans, we must safeguard 30% of the high seas by 2030, while respecting Indigenous and community rights. ▶ Equitable Financing – Financial support for biodiversity efforts must reach those who need it most—Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and other rights-holders. ▶ Moratorium on Deep-Sea Mining – The health of our ocean depends on it. Let’s pause deep-sea mining until science can confirm no harm to marine ecosystems. We hope you'll stand with us in calling for these vital changes. Now is the time to act, for the future of our planet and its people. 🔗 Learn more and sign the open letter: https://lnkd.in/epbBeFVg #COP16 #OceanConservation #SSF #Biodiversity #HighSeasTreaty #DefendtheDeep #RiseUp4theOcean

🌍🌱 This #WorldEnvironmentDay, we focus on land restoration, desertification, and drought resilience under the slogan “Our land. Our future. We are #GenerationRestoration.” As a global women's advocacy movement for gender equality and environmental conservation, HER Planet Earth aims to empower women to become policymakers and agents of change, achieving social and economic equity and a thriving planet. Here are seven impactful ways to get involved in ecosystem restoration: 1. Make agriculture sustainable 🌾 Reduces soil degradation and boosts food security. 2. Save the soil 🌿 Prevents erosion and maintains nutrient levels. 3. Protect the pollinators 🐝 Essential for crop production and biodiversity. 4. Restore freshwater ecosystems 💧 Ensures clean water and supports aquatic life. 5. Renew coastal and marine areas 🌊 Protects shorelines and marine biodiversity. 6. Bring nature back to cities 🌳 Enhances urban living and reduces pollution. 7. Generate financing for restoration 💰Provides resources for large-scale environmental projects. Learn more from the United Nations: https://lnkd.in/djvpCkuB Let’s take action together for a healthier, more resilient planet! #WorldEnvironmentDay #GenerationRestoration #HERPlanetEarth #savetheplanet #protectourplanet #sustainability #climateaction #landrestoration #empowerwomen #genderequality #environmentalconservation Christine Amour-Levar

Now that the dust has settled from New York Climate Week, we've taken a moment to pause, restore and reflect on some key takeaways 💡 One theme echoed loudly throughout the week ☝ As we move into both Conference of the Parties later this year, a key message that must reverberate is that a larger portion of climate financing needs go to women's environmental initiatives! 🌳 Some critical points mentioned by leadership from around the world, that we simply cannot overlook: 1️⃣ Participation does not stop at Climate Week: Effective participation of Indigenous and local community leaders must not be limited to global events. The voices of Indigenous and local community women in particular need to lead in decision-making spaces at all levels —from grassroots to global, because they are backbone of family and community economies. 2️⃣ Supporting Community Economies: Funding to women's led initiatives is no doubt essential - but it only matters if communities are food secure and have their basic needs met. We cannot continue to fund environmental initiatives within communities where women's first and more urgent priorities are the immediate well-being of their families and communities at large. 3️⃣ Build Trust for Effective Action: To create a more impactful and efficient next iteration of a climate pledge, we need trust that flows in all directions. Collaboration and mutual respect will lead us to #ThePledgeWeWant Listen and watch leaders Rukka Sombolinggi of the Indigenous Peoples Alliance from the Archipielago/ Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara Bali Region (AMAN), Basiru Isa of the Network of Indigenous and Local Populations for the Management of Forest Ecosystems in Central Africa (REPALEAC) and Deborah Sanchez of the Community Land Rights and Conservation Finance Initiative (CLARIFI/ Rights and Resources Initiative) 📸 Thank you to @Tukumã Pataxó

On this World Environment Day, we celebrate women’s leadership and collective action to protect our planet. Since the landmark United Nations Environment and Development Conference (Rio de Janeiro, 1992) and the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995), the international community has remained steadfast that women’s full participation in environmental management and development is essential for a healthy and sustainable future. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gZscbWdn __ #WorldEnvironmentDay #environment #nature #environmentday #climatechange #fornature #saveearth #biodiversity #sustainability

🌿 Rural Women: The Backbone of Coastal Ecosystem Resilience 🌿 On this International Day of Rural Women, we celebrate the powerful, often unseen work of rural women in coastal regions—women who are not just sustaining their communities, but actively protecting the very ecosystems that support life on our planet. In coastal areas, rural women are fierce guardians of nature. They lead the way in preserving mangroves that protect against rising seas, manage sustainable fisheries, and champion biodiversity, often drawing on generations of knowledge to heal and sustain the environment. They don’t just adapt to climate change—they fight it head-on, creating solutions rooted in care and wisdom. When we empower these women with the tools and recognition they deserve, we unlock the full potential of coastal communities and ecosystems. Their leadership isn’t just essential—it’s transformative, creating stronger, more resilient coastlines and setting a path toward a sustainable future. Let’s raise our voices in support of rural women, whose dedication to both people and planet is shaping a new era of environmental stewardship. 🌊 They are not just caregivers—they are change-makers. 🌿 Photo de Aleksandra Sapozhnikova sur Unsplash #RuralWomen #CoastalGuardians #EcosystemResilience #WomenInConservation #ClimateLeadership #Sustainability #WomenEmpowerment

World Environment Day, celebrated annually on June 5th, is a global platform for encouraging awareness and action for the protection of the environment. This day has grown to become a global event, uniting governments, businesses, and citizens in their efforts to address pressing environmental issues such as climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. We have celebrated this #World Environment Day by organizing tree plantation drives led by our female employees. Women-led sapling plantation initiatives represent a powerful intersection of environmental conservation and women's empowerment. By taking the lead in planting trees, women are making significant contributions to combating climate change, restoring ecosystems, and fostering community development. Supporting and scaling these initiatives can drive transformative change, leading to a more sustainable and equitable future for all.

Gender + Biodiversity + Climate= All essential towards a fair and sustainable policy. We recently visited the Dutch House of Representatives to present a joint paper with ActionAid Nederland, Both ENDS, CARE Nederland, Milieudefensie, Simavi and WO=MEN, Dutch Gender Platform. In our paper, we demonstrate that women, especially from the Global South, are critical to providing insights and sustainable solutions to climate change and biodiversity conservation, especially as they are often enormously impacted by these issues. ⁠ ⁠ Based on their voices, we developed these recommendations: ⁠ ✔ Prioritize women's participation in political decision-making⁠ ✔ Ensure climate financing is accessible to (women) organizations⁠ ✔ Ensure that policies reinforce each other rather than undermine or contradict one another⁠ ⁠ Learn more about the importance of including women’s voices in environmental decision-making from our successful examples of initiatives, often led by local (women) organizations from the Global South. ⁠ ⁠Read the paper here (in Dutch): https://lnkd.in/eqf2sYWa Get inspired and see what works and what doesn’t at the local level!