Women Champion Environmental Justice, Biodiversity, Commission Hears
In an interactive dialogue on environmental conservation, protection and rehabilitation, the Commission on the Status of Women today heard from speakers who called on Governments to bridge the gap between policy and practice and empower Indigenous women and other marginalized groups in a world where progress is “being slashed by anti-rights actors that are in the league with fossil-fuel industries and tech billionaires”.
The Commission’s two-week annual session has centered on accelerating the implementation of the Platform for Action adopted at the 1995 World Conference on Women in Beijing, where world leaders pledged to achieve gender equality and uphold women’s rights. Today’s panel discussion centred on cultivating a coordinated response to the triple planetary crisis — climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution — while emphasizing the need to reinvigorate efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Another dialogue was held on peaceful and inclusive societies.
Lorena Aguilar, Executive Director at Kaschak Institute for Social Justice for Women and Girls at Binghamton University in New York, said that the discussion will centre on the key barriers Indigenous women face in securing land and resource rights, exploring how Governments and non-State actors, including academia, civil society and international organizations, can more effectively support Indigenous communities in overcoming these challenges. Speakers will also examine the disconnect between policy and practice, particularly the obstacles preventing young women from pursuing education and careers in fields that foster their meaningful participation in the green and blue economies. Looking ahead to 2030, she said, the dialogue will showcase best practices and scalable strategies that align the Beijing Platform for Action with the SDGs, advancing gender-responsive climate and environmental action.
Exclusion of Women from Green, Blue Economies
Manasiti Omar, Founder and Executive Director of Spring of the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands, said that, as a young Indigenous woman who has personally encountered the barriers hindering young women’s participation in the green and blue economies, she knows that the promise of a just transition will remain unfulfilled if powerful obstacles persist. Too often, young women especially those from Indigenous, rural and marginalized communities struggle to access education, employment and leadership opportunities in climate and environmental action. “The reality is a system designed to exclude young women,” she said. On paper, many Governments have policies promoting environmental education, technical training and gender inclusion, yet these commitments rarely translate into real, tangible opportunities. Structural inequalities, financial constraints, cultural biases and a lack of mentorship or institutional support create layers of exclusion that prevent young women from fully engaging in the green and blue economies. It is important to dismantle these barriers, bridge the gap between policy and practice, and create pathways that empower young women to lead in climate and environmental action. “I have seen first hand that, when young women are given the right opportunities, we don't just participate, we transform entire communities, but we cannot do it alone,” she said.
Need to Address Structural Inequalities
Astrid Puentes Riaño, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, said that she is the first woman to serve as a UN Rapporteur and the first person from the Global South in this role, covering not only the environment, but also climate, toxins and water. “This is the kind of changes, of course, that we need,” she added. However, true progress isn’t about checking boxes; it requires a systematic and sustained approach to breaking barriers that have historically excluded women, particularly those from marginalized and Indigenous communities. Looking ahead to 2030 and beyond, she said it is essential to ensure that policies promoting gender inclusion in environmental governance translate into real opportunities. This means addressing structural inequalities, ensuring access to education and leadership roles, and creating pathways for women to actively participate in shaping climate and environmental action. The need for expertise-driven, inclusive leadership is more critical than ever, and only by dismantling these barriers can truly create a just and sustainable future. “Women and girls in marginalized situations are not only victims; we are also key actors for change,” she stressed.
Hopes Slashed by Anti-Rights Actors
“I am angry at what is happening in the world today,” said Sascha Gabizon, Executive Director of Women Engage for a Common Future and Co-Facilitator of the Women’s Major Group on SDGs. She recalled working in Beijing at the fourth World Conference on Women 30 years ago. “We had so much hope that we could make this world a better place,” she added, emphasizing: “But, unfortunately, our work is being slashed by anti-rights actors that are in the league with fossil-fuel industries and tech billionaires that are clearly only interested in their own profit.” Authoritarian regimes are trying to silence and criminalize climate activists and women environmental rights defenders. In the Caucasus, where she works, the Government has rolled back gender equality laws and institutions and silenced feminist and civil society organizations through what they call foreign agent laws, a tactic which is spreading also now in other countries. Half of the CO2 emissions come from only 36 fossil-fuel corporations annually, she noted. Each year, $700 billion go into subsidies for fossil fuels. “That is where we should be cutting,” she said, adding that “billionaires produce more carbon in 90 minutes than each of you in your entire life”. She urged the need to continue to mobilize and collectively organize, to engage in policy processes, “to claim our seats, to go on strikes, to go onto the streets and to implement gender just solutions on the ground”.
Solar Farming
Valbona Mazreku, Founder and Director of Milieukontakt Albania, said that integrating gender-responsive policies into climate adaptation is crucial. Over 50 per cent of rural women in Albania are engaged in agriculture, yet they have limited access to resources and technology, and “only 8 per cent of agricultural land is owned by women”, restricting their ability to make sustainable land-use decisions. Highlighting the high cost of water, she said her organization worked with a group of farmers from a small village in south-east Albania to develop Piskova Solar Farming, a renewable energy cooperative. It also created a curriculum on renewable energy aimed at young people “to influence women's career aspirations in the energy sector”, she said. Noting that the organization’s trainers and experts are women, she said: “We not only break down gender stereotypes, but also prepare the next generation for participation in the green economy.” Women should not just be seen as victims of climate change, but as key agents of change, she said, calling on UN-Women to partner with local organizations.
Fisherwomen ‘Guardians of Local Biodiversity’
Yuli Velásquez, Director of the Federation of Artisanal, Environmental and Tourist Fishermen of Santander, Colombia, speaking via video, said that, while her fishing community is male dominated, it is the fisherwomen of the Federation who serve as guardians of local biodiversity. They are on the front lines of fighting for environmental justice, she said, highlighting several examples, including their work gathering evidence about water pollution in the Magdalene River. Highlighting the crucial role of “community water monitoring”, she said: “We are now learning how to do so with technical tools and instruments,” to facilitate this data-collection. Women in her community who spoke out against corruption have received threats. “We have spoken out robustly,” she said, but due to prevailing impunity, the cases are often closed. This demonstrates the need for stronger State institutions to ensure investigation and prosecution of crimes against social and environmental activists.
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* The 16th meeting was not covered.