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Defending the Web of Life: WECAN Report Back from the UN CBD COP16 in Colombia

“As people’s hearts get colder, the planet is getting warmer. We have to do the opposite. We have to warm our hearts and cool the planet.”

FEDERAL DEPUTY CÉLIA XAKRIABÁ

Federal Deputy in the Brazilian Congress, Co-founder of the National Articulation of Indigenous Women Warriors of Ancestrality (ANMIGA), Brazil


“Human rights, rights of Indigenous people, and the Rights of Nature are non-negotiable. And [I want to] remind you, you are being negotiated too. It is your body too that is being negotiated. So wake up everyone!”

SHIRLEY KRENAK

Founder of the Shirley Djukurna Krenak Institute, Co-founder of the National Articulation of Indigenous Women Warriors of Ancestrality (ANMIGA), Brazil


CBD COP16 OVERVIEW


From October 19 - 27, the Women's Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) participated in the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) held in Cali, Colombia. The Convention on Biological Diversity was signed in 1992 and is held biennially to discuss and encourage actions that lead to a “sustainable future.”


As part of our advocacy at COP16, WECAN presented policy interventions, on-the-ground biodiversity protection programs, reforestation projects, climate justice programs, and system change frameworks. We highlighted the root causes of interconnected crises and advocated for just solutions that foster a healthy and equitable world.


WECAN Advocacy Points at the UN CBD COP16:

  • Durable biodiversity protection

  • Gender-responsive implementation of the GBF in National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs)

  • Denouncing biodiversity credits, carbon offsets, and false solutions

  • Government commitments to biodiversity finance

  • Defending land defenders

  • The nexus of biodiversity and climate justice

  • Indigenous rights and sovereignty

  • Forest protection and restoration 

  • A Just Transition

  • Rights of Nature

  • The Escazú Agreement

  • Holding corporations and financial institutions accountable

  • Uplifting community-led sustainable solutions for systemic change

  • Feminist and beyond growth economics

  • An equitable fair, fast fossil fuel phaseout and the advancement of The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty


Our planet is facing a biodiversity collapse as plant, animal, and insect species are becoming extinct more rapidly than ever in human history. Biodiversity loss is occurring globally ten to hundreds of times faster than it has averaged in the last 10 million years. Studies show that biodiversity collapse is one of the biggest threats to our world, and if it is not addressed effectively and efficiently, it will have catastrophic impacts on our food systems, global economies, human health, and all life on Earth.


Within this context, it is clear that the biodiversity crisis and the climate crisis are interconnected. For example, climate impacts—such as rising temperatures, ocean acidification, and extreme weather— devastate ecosystems, alter species interactions, and spread diseases, further disrupting biodiversity. Simultaneously, biodiversity plays a critical role in maintaining balanced ecosystems that stabilize climates through carbon sequestration, supporting water cycles, and regulating weather patterns. Addressing these twin crises requires examining the drivers leading to the juncture of environmental and climate devastation.


Exploitative economic and governance systems are depleting the world’s genetic diversity and driving the violation of six planetary boundaries, including biosphere integrity. Of the threatened and near-threatened species left in the world, extractive industries endanger nearly 80% of them. Transitioning from incentivized extraction to biodiversity-protective actions and policies is necessary to move away from an irreversible tipping point that threatens the very web of life.


Like the UN Climate Conferences, corporate interests were present during the CBD COP16. Extractive industries representing industrial agriculture, pesticides, biotechnology, oil and gas, and others, were leveraging corporate influence, and seeking to continue “business as usual,” putting at risk the goals of the CBD while threatening the livelihoods of Indigenous and frontline communities, biodiverse ecosystems, and global climate action. 


As part of our advocacy at UN Forums, WECAN was in Colombia to combat these corporate interests and instead present policy interventions, on-the-ground biodiversity protection programs, climate justice projects, and frameworks for long-term systemic change. Along with global allies, we emphasized the root causes of interconnected crises, advocating for just solutions that foster a healthy and equitable world for all generations.


“This is not just a call for policy change. It is a call for systemic transformation. We are out of time and future generations are depending on us! So let’s ensure that COP16 marks a turning point in the global fight to protect biodiversity and the climate with justice right at the heart of the negotiations!”

OSPREY ORIELLE LAKE,

Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) Founder and Executive Director


WECAN was honored to advocate with a distinguished delegation of frontline and Indigenous women demanding world governments take significant and transformative action for biodiversity protection, which is also essential for addressing the worsening climate crisis. 


Additionally, WECAN strongly focused on uplifting the Rights of Nature, and calling for governments to adopt and implement the Rights of Nature in the negotiations. ‘Rights of Nature’ is a framework and legal system based on recognizing and honoring the Earth’s fundamental and inviolable right to exist, live, thrive, evolve, and regenerate. The paradigm shift from treating nature as property to seeing nature as a rights-bearing entity is essential in addressing interlocking environmental and social crises of our time, including biodiversity loss, climate change, ecological degradation, and environmental injustice. 


WECAN UN CBD Delegate, Casey Camp-Horinek (Ponca Nation), Ponca Nation Environmental Ambassador and WECAN Board Member and Project Coordinator, speaking at the WECAN Press Conference, “Rights of Nature: A Systemic Solution to Protect Biodiversity,” at COP16 in Cali, Colombia, 2024. Photo credit: Sophia Lovato / WECAN International


WECAN participated in the Opening Inauguration Ceremony of the 2024 United Nations Biodiversity Conference, which opened and closed with deeply inspiring and impactful prayers, songs, and dances from Indigenous peoples of Colombia and spoke to the beauty of the sacred web of life while delivering an urgent message to stop the destruction of Nature.

Representatives of different Indigenous peoples of Colombia from the Delia Zapata Olivella National School of Arts presented an audio/visual performance for “COP16: Peace with Nature” at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity COP16 Opening Inauguration Ceremony in Cali, Colombia, 2024. Photo Credit: Sophia Lovato / WECAN International

“‘Peace with Nature’ means that there must be a conceptual change in terms of our values. Nature is not a resource. Nature is the fiber of life itself. And we must make it possible.”

SUSANA MUHAMAD

Minister of Environment of Colombia and COP16 President


As part of the opening of COP16, the President of the Republic of Colombia, His Excellency Gustavo Petro, and the COP16 President, Susana Muhamad Gonzalez gave powerful speeches on this year’s conference theme, “Peace with Nature.” The opening ceremony reminded the world why the UN CBD is so critical and highlighted the vital role that Indigenous communities hold in leading solutions and strategies for the protection and defense of Nature. As one of the most biodiverse regions in the world, the presence of Nature at COP16 Colombia was an integral part of the Convention.



In December 2022, during the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) was adopted. With 196 parties committed to the GBF, this framework builds a pathway toward global biodiversity protection and conservation with a series of four goals and 23 targets to further the plan’s mechanisms by 2030 and 2050. 


This year at COP16, parties signed onto the GBF were expected to showcase their revised and updated National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) in accordance with the GBF. There is still much ground to cover in moving governments to not only act with speed and resources but also to ensure implementation within a rights-based framework—including stopping false solutions and uplifting the rights and leadership of Indigenous communities, which are essential to protecting global biodiversity and mitigating the climate crisis. 


Unfortunately, matching the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), governments at CBD COP16 continued to peddle market-based mechanisms like biodiversity credits and offsets that seek to profit from Nature and biodiversity, which civil society has clearly noted would have devastating impacts on communities and biodiversity. 


As the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) ended, WECAN celebrated historical wins and recognized and condemned shortcomings that significantly harm the global response to biodiversity protection and climate justice. 


COP16 marks momentous victories in recognizing Indigenous Peoples and local communities as essential partners in strengthening the implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) with the establishment of the Permanent Subsidiary Body on Article 8(j) (SB8J). This historic achievement will provide a high-level platform for highlighting the vital contributions of Traditional Knowledge in biodiversity protection. Within Article 8(j), the contributions of people of African descent in protecting biodiversity were also acknowledged, with a call for Parties to recognize and protect their knowledge, ensure their participation in biodiversity conservation efforts, include their contributions in national biodiversity reports, and provide financial support and capacity-building.


Another historical outcome of COP16 was the proposal to more closely align biodiversity and climate change agendas as they are recognized as interdependent and need to be addressed urgently and coherently to meet the goals and targets of the GBF, the Paris Agreement, and other related international agreements. COP16 also reinforced the dangers of geoengineering and reaffirmed the call for a global moratorium on geoengineering. However, despite this recognition, false solutions and fossil fuels continue to influence the negotiations. Fossil fuel extraction, namely oil, gas, and coal, remains one of the most significant threats to both biodiversity and climate. The failure to confront and call for an urgent fossil fuel phase-out in the final text is a missed opportunity to protect the Earth, the web of life, and safeguard humanity's future. 


Other critical issues regarding biodiversity financing were also left unresolved. Developed nations, including the EU, UK, and Japan, failed to fulfill their financial promises, leaving a massive gap in biodiversity protection funding and threatening direct financing channels to Indigenous Peoples and local communities. Integrating gender-responsive language and approaches also faced resistance from some parties, leaving gender equality unfulfilled at COP16 and in GBF implementation. 


As we look ahead to COP29 in Azerbaijan, the urgency to act on the biodiversity and climate crises has never been more pressing. While we applaud the Colombian COP16 Presidency for its historic decisions, the failure to tackle the fossil fuel industry head-on undermines the integrity of the biodiversity framework. As we move toward the climate summit in Baku, it is clear that we must focus on systemic solutions that address the root causes of environmental degradation and ensure a just, resilient, and healthy future for all generations. Without addressing the fossil fuel industry's role in driving climate and biodiversity destruction, true progress remains out of reach.


As the biodiversity crisis accelerates, the 2024 UN Convention on Biological Diversity in Colombia marks a turning point. Governments must reject false solutions that commodify nature and violate Indigenous rights and instead champion solutions that prioritize non-market mechanisms. WECAN advocated for a rights-based and effective implementation of the GBF that prioritizes human rights, Indigenous rights, gender-responsive policies, Rights of Nature, and community-led solutions instead of further commodification of Nature. Our Earth and the web of life are not for sale!


Please continue reading for report backs on WECAN’s advocacy, delegation, events, actions, and more at CBD COP16!

 

WECAN ANALYSIS, ADVOCACY, AND EVENTS AT THE CBD COP16

Biodiversity Offsets: A Harmful and False Approach to Biodiversity Protection


Civil Society demands an end to biodiversity offsets and biodiversity market-mechanisms at UN CBD  COP16 in Cali, Colombia. They are false solutions that increase human rights violations and the commodification of nature. 2024. Photo Credit: Sophia Lovato / WECAN International.


At COP16, WECAN, alongside many global organizations, spotlighted studies and testimonies regarding the ineffective deployment and dangers of biodiversity credits, a primary topic of the negotiations this year to address financing biodiversity protection. 


Biodiversity credits and offsets are market-based mechanisms that function similarly to carbon credit schemes, commodifying and placing a financial value on nature conservation or biodiversity protection initiatives, which in turn, allow industries to “offset” pollution, extractive projects, or damage being done elsewhere by their activities.  


In a recent report by the Global Forest Coalition, studies found that at least two-thirds of restoration offsets fail globally with many offset locations actually having depleted biodiversity levels compared to the areas they were intending to replace.


Another report by IPES-Food discusses that land transfers for biofuels, green energy, and conservation schemes now dominate large-scale acquisitions, making up about 20% of deals in the Land Matrix database. This expansion of carbon and biodiversity offset markets raises significant concerns about land tenure security, human rights abuses, forced removal, and inadequate consultation with affected communities.

“They tell you that biodiversity credits are going to help. This is the same extractive industry that is killing life on Earth. Including our own mother. Our own mother who has sustained life for millenniums. How can we stand for them to say, “I’ll pay you over here, and then go kill over there.” Doesn’t the same wind blow around the globe? Doesn’t the same water flow up into the thunders and rain down here? Doesn’t the Earth cry? How many of us have touched a tree and felt the pain? How many of us have seen the steps that the colonizers leave behind?”

CASEY CAMP-HORINEK (PONCA NATION)

Ponca Nation Environmental Ambassador and WECAN Board Member and

Project Coordinator, Turtle Island/USA


Moreover, biodiversity credits and offsets do not address the root cause of biodiversity loss.  At COP16, WECAN joined many groups to highlight the dangers of biodiversity credits and call for financial institutions and governments to reject these approaches and instead adopt transformative, rights-based strategies that protect ecosystems and uphold Indigenous rights. Nature cannot continue with ‘business as usual’ and infinite resource extraction.   


The financialization and commodification of Nature are not solutions and perpetuate the current systems that are at the core of our pollution crisis.

Sustainable and long-term change and financing will come through holistic, systemic policies as well as investments and grants that prioritize a Just Transition, Indigenous sovereignty, and feminist principles.

Osprey Orielle Lake, WECAN Executive Director, and representatives of partner organizations hold a banner reading, “Bioenergy Destroys Biodiversity,” on International Day of Action on Big Biomass at the UN CBD  COP16 in Cali, Colombia, 2024.

Photo Credit: Sophia Lovato / WECAN International.

 

Managing Biodiversity Impacts in a

Biodiversity Crisis: Strengthening Risk Management, Indigenous Peoples Rights, and Affected Community Participation

Frontline Speakers, WECAN, and allies at the bank engagement session “Roundtable Engagement with Impacted Communities and Financial Institutions” hosted by WECAN at the UN CBD  COP16, 2024. Photo Credit: Sophia Lovato / WECAN International.


On October 22 and 23, WECAN and Friends of the Earth U.S. convened two high-level engagements between civil society leaders and representatives from financial institutions to discuss how best to address the biodiversity crisis and bolster biodiversity protection through strengthening risk management, adherence to Indigenous rights, effective due diligence processes, developing grievance mechanisms, and financing a Just Transition.


The roundtable sessions provided participants with an opportunity to share and learn best practices in halting and reversing biodiversity loss and protecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples, as well as featuring speakers from Indigenous and affected communities. It is vital that we continue to conduct direct engagements with financial institutions, which is central to the work at WECAN.


Olivia Bisa Tirko (Chapra Nation), President of the Autonomous Territorial Government of the Chapra Nation, speaking at the second bank engagement session “Roundtable Engagement with Impacted Communities and Financial Institutions” hosted by WECAN at the UN CBD COP16 in Cali, Colombia, 2024. Photo credit: Sophia Lovato / WECAN International

 

Speaking Out Against the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD)


On October 24, WECAN joined a global group of NGOs and rights holders, including Rainforest Action Network, Third World Network, the Forest & Finance Coalition, Indigenous Environmental Network, Bank Track, Global Forest Coalition, Friends of the Earth International, and other NGOs, in filing a complaint with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) over its support of the controversial Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD). The complaint follows years of warnings about the TNFD. It has been described as a ‘new frontier for corporate greenwashing’ and as undermining the real solutions to the nature crisis.


In further detail, “the complaint alleges that UNEP breached its own policies on environmental defenders, gender and access to information. UNEP is a co-founder and ongoing promoter of the TNFD. The TNFD is a voluntary initiative on business self-reporting on biodiversity. Its decision-making body is a task force composed entirely of corporations. This includes many with extensive links to environmental and human rights abuses. It includes no government officials, scientists, victims of corporate harms, environmental defenders, Indigenous Peoples nor even small business.”


For example, during CBD COP16, the mining company Anglo American, and the multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company Bayer, both had speaking roles at TNFD events, despite the fact that both companies are facing formal complaints through the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Further examples can be found in the filed complaint here


WECAN CBD Delegate, Shirley Krenak (Krenak), Founder of the Shirley Djukurna Krenak Institute, Co-founder of the National Articulation of Indigenous Women Warriors of Ancestrality (ANMIGA), Brazil, delivered a powerful intervention at the “TNFD Adoption Announcement” on October 25, 2024. BankTrack reports that after ordering everyone in the room to stand up, she told the conference participants that Vale has killed the flesh of her people, but it can’t kill their spirits. That their water and soils are polluted, and so are their bodies. But so are the bodies of the business people in the room, as they also depend on water and earth. Shirley stated that, “We Indigenous peoples are not against progress, but against progress that kills.”

(On the left) WECAN CBD Delegate, Shirley Krenak (Krenak), Founder of the Shirley Djukurna Krenak Institute, Co-founder of the National Articulation of Indigenous Women Warriors of Ancestrality (ANMIGA), Brazil and (on the right) Leila Salazar-López, Amazon Watch Executive Director at a protest outside of TNFD Adoption Announcement calling for an end to false solutions at UN CBD COP16, Cali, Colombia, 2024. Photo Credit: BankTrack


Governments and financial institutions must stop using, promoting, and developing these false solutions and implement bold and transformative policies immediately. It is time for systemic solutions that address root causes. The change we need is also a transformation of who we are as human beings—we need to have a very different relationship with the Earth, one that is respectful and reciprocal.


As WECAN prepares for the UNFCCC COP29 in Azerbaijan, we are well aware that the same government representatives, businesses, and financial institutions perpetuating biodiversity credits will also be pushing for carbon markets and false solutions. We will continue to advocate alongside many others to stop the commodification of biodiversity, Nature, and our global climate.

 

Indigenous Women Leading

Biodiversity Protection

Indigenous women from the WECAN delegation and the Amazon Women Defenders of the Jungle delegation join in a chant, “Long Live the Amazonian Women!” at UN CBD COP16 in Cali, Colombia, 2024. Photo Credit: Sophia Lovato / WECAN International


Indigenous peoples face additional barriers, both directly and indirectly, with extractive industries, discriminatory policies, and policy violations disproportionately displacing Indigenous communities from their original territories and lands. With extractive industries being a leading cause of biodiversity loss and climate change, these industries are indirectly displacing Indigenous peoples at seven times the rate of the global population. 


The increase in biodiversity extinction rates, climate chaos, environmental degradation, pollution, and food system disruption are symptoms of neo-liberal capitalism, extractive industries, and the lack of government protections, which in turn is causing mass displacement, primarily of Indigenous communities. This not only causes irreparable damage to their language, cultural practices, and livelihoods, but it also furthers the biodiversity crisis as many Indigenous peoples, specifically Indigenous women, have been leading environmental stewardship and defense since the expansion of colonialism globally. 


Indigenous women play a quintessential role in leading environmental stewardship and protection, not just because they are among the first to experience the impacts of biodiversity collapse, but because they are often the ones who are actively restoring and defending the lands that others are harming. Studies have found that lands managed under Indigenous stewardship have equal to higher amounts of biodiversity than their countries’ protected areas, as well as safeguarding 36% of the world’s remaining intact forests. With Indigenous peoples representing a mere five percent of the world’s population, they safeguard 81% of Earth’s remaining biodiversity and protect at least 21% of the planet’s lands, whereas government-protected terrestrial areas only account for 14%


In Colombia, WECAN had the opportunity to meet with Indigenous partners and colleagues to discuss Indigenous-led programs and advocacy efforts for climate action and biodiversity protection. 

Patricia Gualinga, (Kichwa), Spokeswoman for Amazon Women in Defense of the Jungle, and WECAN Coordinator in Ecuador, speaks to WECAN Executive Director, Osprey Orielle Lake, about the Indigenous Women of the Ecuadorian Amazon Reforestation and Forest Protection Project led in partnership with the Women’s Association of Sarayaku and WECAN, 2024.

Photo Credit: Sophia Lovato / WECAN International


Recognizing the urgent need to protect the Amazon Rainforest from deforestation and extractive industries, Indigenous women in Sarayaku, Ecuador are taking proactive measures to defend their homelands, supported by the vision of the Kawsak Sacha (Living Forest) Declaration, which emphasizes the importance of maintaining a relationship based on respect and reciprocity between human beings and beings of the forest. 


WECAN was honored to hold several meetings with Patricia Gualinga who is the WECAN Coordinator for Ecuador. Patricia Gualinga is a Kichwa Indigenous leader and spokeswoman for Mujeres Amazónicas Defensoras de la Selva (Amazonian Women Defenders of the Jungle). She advocates for the protection of her homelands in Sarayaku from extractive industries. This year, working with the Women’s Association of Sarayaku, WECAN launched the Indigenous Women of the Ecuadorian Amazon Reforestation and Forest Protection Project, which aims to safeguard the Ecuadorian Amazon’s endemic tree species within the 135,000 hectares of Sarayaku territory to ensure vital ecological integrity. The reforestation project focuses on trees that are in danger of extinction.


WECAN was also glad to meet with Sabine Bouchat and Andrea Cuji who are both leaders in the WECAN Forest project in Ecuador along with Patricia. To learn more about WECAN’s Women for Forest program, please see our website here.

WECAN UN CBD Delegates, Andrea Cuji Mancilla (Kichwa), member of Amazonian Women Defenders of the Jungle collective, and Sabine Bouchat, Kawsak Sacha-Selva Viviente conservation program lead, both leaders in the WECAN Indigenous Women of the Ecuadorian Amazon Reforestation and Forest Protection Project, 2024.

Photo Credit: Sophia Lovato / WECAN International

WECAN UN CBD Delegates and partners from the National Articulation of Indigenous Women Warriors of Ancestrality (ANMIGA), Brazil, and allied groups together in solidarity at the UN CBD COP16 in Cali, Colombia, 2024. Photo Credit: Sophia Lovato / WECAN International


WECAN was honored to support partner representatives from the National Articulation of Indigenous Women Warriors of Ancestry (ANMIGA) and Mujeres Amazonicas on the CBD COP16 Delegation. These powerful groups are organizing women leaders to take action and advocate for their territories, Indigenous rights, and gender justice on the international stage. During COP16, we deepened our ongoing relationships and strategized for upcoming international forums including the UNFCCC COP29 in Baku and COP30 in Belem.




WECAN also participated in negotiation sessions on Article 8(j) of the CBD to urge parties to respect, preserve, and maintain traditional knowledge, innovations, and practices of Indigenous communities and environmental human rights defenders. 



WECAN attended UN negotiation sessions on Article 8(j) titled, “Contact Group

(WG-I) on Article 8J” at the UN CBD COP16 in Cali, Colombia, 2024.

Photo Credit: Sophia Lovato / WECAN International


Local and Indigenous women hold critical leadership in protecting natural resources while simultaneously facing disproportionate social and health costs compared to their male counterparts. Thus, highlighting the need for intersectional gender-responsiveness in biodiversity and climate crises responses. 


For the health of people and planet, it is crucial that Indigenous women are included in and leading biodiversity protection and land stewardship discussions at local and national levels across the globe. Women are already leading the way in environmental protection through extractive industry resistance, forest protection and restoration, establishing food sovereignty networks, and advocating for human and ecological rights. 


For the health of people and planet, it is crucial that Indigenous women are included in and leading biodiversity protection and land stewardship discussions at local and national levels across the globe. Women are already leading the way in environmental protection through extractive industry resistance, forest protection and restoration, establishing food sovereignty networks, and advocating for human and ecological rights. 

 

Advocating for the Rights of Nature and Defending the Web of Life

Osprey Orielle Lake, WECAN Executive Director, announces a new Rights of Nature initiative, “A Global Initiative for a Universal Declaration on the Rights of Nature: Pathways to Establish for Endorsement and Adoption by World Governments,” at the WECAN Press Conference, “Rights of Nature: A Systemic Solution to Protect Biodiversity,” in Cali, Colombia for the UN CBD COP16, 2024.

Photo Credit: Sophia Lovato / WECAN International


The Rights of Nature movement made waves at COP16 in Colombia, and WECAN, with colleagues at the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature (GARN), advocated for worldwide recognition of the Rights of Nature! WECAN is honored to serve on the Executive Committee for the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature (GARN). 


Rights of Nature is a framework and legal system based on the recognition and honoring of the Earth’s fundamental and inviolable right to exist, live, thrive, evolve and regenerate. The majority of the world’s legal frameworks treat nature as property, meaning that life-giving rivers, forests and mountains are seen as objects to be sold and consumed. Legal systems built on the premise of Rights of Nature challenge the idea that natural communities and ecosystems are property to be exploited endlessly by humans, and instead recognize the Earth as a living, rights-bearing entity.

 

Press Conference: Rights of Nature: A Systemic Solution to Protect Biodiversity

Patricia Gualinga (Kichwa), Spokeswoman for Mujeres Amazónicas Defensoras de la Selva (Amazon Women in Defense of the Jungle), speaks out during the WECAN Press Conference, “Rights of Nature: A Systemic Solution to Protect Biodiversity,” at CBD COP16 in Cali, Colombia, 2024. Photo credit: Sophia Lovato / WECAN International

“Without biodiversity and without nature, we cannot be alive. We are part of nature. We benefit from the energy of nature. Our body becomes the earth. If we are not aware of that, we won’t really be able to transform.”

PATRICIA GUALINGA (KICHWA)

Spokeswoman for Mujeres Amazónicas Defensoras de la Selva (Amazon Women in Defense of the Jungle), and WECAN Coordinator in Ecuador, Ecuador


On Tuesday, October 22, WECAN held a press conference, “Rights of Nature: A Systemic Solution to Protect Biodiversity,” where we heard from powerful speakers on the need for the Rights of Nature as a systemic solution to protect biodiversity globally. During the press conference, presenters shared successes from the Rights of Nature movement and how it offers a path forward for defending biodiversity, communities, and our climate. 


During the event, WECAN Executive Director Osprey Orielle Lake shared a new initiative, “A Global Initiative for a Universal Declaration on the Rights of Nature: Pathways to Establish a Mechanism for Endorsement and Adoption by World Governments.” The initiative outlines a strategy for national and subnational governments to have a mechanism for countries to adopt a Universal Declaration on the Rights of Nature, which would draw upon a foundational document, the Universal Declaration on the Rights of Mother Earth, drafted in 2010. Read about the initiative here: https://www.wecaninternational.org/ron-declaration


Speakers included: Patricia Gualinga (Kichwa), Spokeswoman for Mujeres Amazónicas Defensoras de la Selva (Amazon Women in Defense of the Jungle), and WECAN Coordinator in Ecuador, Ecuador; Natalia Greene, Global Director of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature (GARN), Member of GARN’s Executive Committee, and Secretary of the International Rights of Nature Tribunal, Ecuador; Casey Camp-Horinek (Ponca Nation), Ponca Nation Environmental Ambassador and WECAN Board Member and Project Coordinator, Turtle Island/USA; and Osprey Orielle Lake, Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) Founder and Executive Director, Turtle Island/USA.

 

GARN Partner Event: Regional Dialogue on Amazon Rights: Launch of the Amazon

Rights Declaration


During the first week of COP16, GARN, Indigenous leaders, and Amazon defenders launched the Declaración de los Derechos de la Amazonía (Amazon Rights Declaration). The declaration seeks to enshrine the rights of the Amazon Rainforest, which is essential for its protection and restoration. 


The Declaration was presented to Colombia’s Minister of Environment and COP16 President, Susana Muhamad. Together, we are calling for the inclusion of the Rights of the Amazon in high-level COP16 discussions. View the declaration here: https://www.garn.org/derechos-de-la-amazonia-2


Susana Muhamad, Colombia’s Minister of Environment and CBD COP16 President (center) joined panelists at the Global Alliance for Rights of Nature (GARN) event, “Regional Dialogue on Amazon Rights: Launch of the Amazon Rights Declaration with support from Colombia’s Ministry of Environment,” at UN CBD COP16 in Cali, Colombia, 2024. Photo Credit: GARN Global

 

GARN Partner Event: Exploring the Rights of Nature for Antarctica

Osprey Orielle Lake, WECAN Founder and Executive Director, speaking at the GARN event, “Ecosystems as Legal Entities: Exploring the Rights of Nature for Antarctica,”  in Cali, Colombia for the UN CBD  COP16, 2024. Photo Credit: Sophia Lovato / WECAN International.


Osprey Orielle Lake, WECAN Executive Director, joined the GARN event, “Ecosystems as Legal Entities: Exploring the Rights of Nature for Antarctica,” during CBD COP16 in Colombia. 


WECAN is engaged in the Antarctic Rights working group of GARN and during the session panelists explored the necessity of implementing the Rights of Nature in Antarctica as a systemic solution to protect the Antarctic.


 

GARN Partner Event: Nature Rights Tribunal: Book Launch 

A panel of judges from Rights of Nature tribunals were invited to speak at the book launch of, “Nature Does Have Rights,” at Fundación Casa De Mono Cultural Center for UN CBD COP16, Cali, Colombia, 2024. Photo Credit: Sophia Lovato / WECAN International


On Friday, October 25, WECAN participated in the GARN book launch event of “Naturaleza SÍ tiene Derechos (Nature DOES have Rights)” by Enrique Viale and Alberto Acosta, judges of the International Court of Nature's Rights. 


WECAN CBD COP16 Delegate Casey Camp-Horinek (Ponca Nation) is the Chair of the GARN Indigenous Council and spoke during the event about the council's activities and the connections between Indigenous Sovereignty and Rights of Nature. 


Osprey Orielle Lake, WECAN Executive Director, also spoke along with other judges from previous Rights of Nature Tribunals on the importance of the tribunals as critical spaces for holding corporations accountable for violations of human rights, Indigenous rights, and the Rights of Nature. 


WECAN is honored to be a member of GARN's steering committee and to support the ongoing efforts of the Rights of Nature tribunals. 



WECAN UN CBD Delegate and Chairwoman of the Indigenous Council of the Global Alliance of the Rights of Nature,

Casey Camp-Horinek (Ponca Nation), Ponca Nation Environmental Ambassador and WECAN Board Member and Project Coordinator, at the book launch of “Nature Does Have Rights,” at Fundación Casa De Mono Cultural Center for UN CBD COP16, Cali, Colombia, 2024.

Photo Credit: Sophia Lovato / WECAN International

 

Press Conference: Indigenous Women from Brazil: Calls for Action to Protect Biodiversity, Indigenous Rights, and Climate


Panelists at the WECAN Press Conference, “Indigenous Women from Brazil: Calls for Action to Protect Biodiversity, Indigenous Rights, and Climate” at UN CBD COP16 in Cali, Colombia, 2024. Photo Credit: Sophia Lovato / WECAN International. 


On October 24, WECAN organized the press conference, “Indigenous Women from Brazil: Calls for Action to Protect Biodiversity, Indigenous Rights, and Climate,” where Indigenous women leaders from the Amazon and diverse biomes of Brazil shared their calls for biodiversity and climate action at COP16, the UNFCCC COP29 in Baku, and COP30 in Belem.


In addition to the calls of action, WECAN announced toolkits for the Escazú Agreement emphasizing protecting women land defenders in Brazil. Learn more about the Escazú toolkits here. WECAN also shared a new initiative in Brazil with Indigenous partners from the Tembé and Guajajara communities to protect their territories and ecosystems from further deforestation while reforesting damaged lands. More information on this project will be announced in 2025.

Panelists at the WECAN Press Conference, “Indigenous Women from Brazil: Calls for Action to Protect Biodiversity, Indigenous Rights, and Climate” at UN CBD COP16 in Cali, Colombia, 2024. Photo Credit: Sophia Lovato / WECAN International


Speakers included Deputy Célia Xakriabá (Xakriabá), Federal Deputy in the Brazilian Congress in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, and co-founder of the National Articulation of Indigenous Women Warriors of Ancestrality (ANMIGA), Brazil; Concita Sõpré, Co-founder, National Association of Indigenous Women's Warriors of Ancestry (ANMIGA), and Co-founder of the Federation of Indigenous Peoples of the State of Pará (FEPIPA), Brazil; Jozileia Kaingang (Kaingang), Executive Director, National Association of Indigenous Women's Warriors of Ancestry (ANMIGA), Brazil; with moderation and comments by Osprey Orielle Lake, Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) Founder and Executive Director, Turtle Island/USA.

 

Escazú Agreement Toolkit Release for Brazil


During CBD COP16, WECAN launched the newest Escazú Agreement toolkit for Brazil, which provides resources for women land defenders to navigate their country's laws and achieve the protections of the Escazú Agreement. 


The toolkit was released during the press conference “Indigenous Women from Brazil: Calls for Action to Protect Biodiversity, Indigenous Rights, and Climate.” You can watch the toolkit announcement and full press conference here.


The Escazú Agreement, formally known as the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation, and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean, represents a landmark achievement in the pursuit of environmental justice, transparency, and sustainable development across the region. However, the journey to accessing these rights can be fraught with legal complexities and barriers, particularly for women who are at the forefront of defending their land and communities. 


According to Global Witness, 1,910 environmental defenders have been killed around the world since 2012. With 85% of cases in 2023, Latin America consistently holds the most documented murders of land and environmental defenders. This violence has a significant impact on local communities and the safeguarding of vital ecosystems. Combined with entrenched colonial and patriarchal policies, individuals threatened are frequently Indigenous peoples and Women Environmental and Human Rights Defenders (WEHRD) fighting for the protection of their communities and territories. Frontline and Indigenous women are often the backbones of their communities, knowledge keepers of the forest, and lead resistance efforts to defend their lands. 


Indigenous women, in particular, risk their lives to secure protection for their communities and Mother Earth. Despite the extreme dangers and violence these women face, they continue to fight for the rights of their communities and nature from extractive industry exploits and discriminatory policies.  


These toolkits aim to support the transformative potential of this historic Agreement to build a thriving and equitable future for all, including those courageous individuals defending land and ecosystems. The Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) developed the toolkit with support from the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice. Learn more about all the toolkits: https://www.wecaninternational.org/escazu

 

Co-hosted Event: We Are Guardians: Special Premiere and events at CBD COP16

Tye Parakana, Parakanã community leader (Brazil) at “We Are Guardians: Special Premiere and events at CBD COP16” in Cali, Colombia, 2024. Photo Credit: Global Witness.


On October 27, WECAN was honored to co-host a special premiere and panel for the “We Are Guardians” film alongside FICAMAZONIA, Global Witness, and We Are Guardians.


The first event was a short version of the film and panel to illustrate the linkages between large financial centers and the experiences of communities on the ground. Through first-hand accounts and opportunities to discuss recent research and other investigations, the panel offered a platform to highlight an under-examined driver of biodiversity loss: the lack of regulations on global financial flows, as well as the experience and efforts of leaders working to protect the Amazon.






















Tye Parakana, Parakanã community leader (Brazil) at “We Are

Guardians: Special Premiere and events at CBD COP16”

in Cali, Colombia, 2024. Photo Credit: Global Witness.


Osprey Orielle Lake, WECAN  Executive Director, joins panelists

at “We Are Guardians: Special Premiere and events at CBD

COP16” in Cali, Colombia, 2024. Photo Credit: Global Witness. 



Speakers on the panel included Tye Parakana, Parakanã community leader (Brazil); Claudelice dos Santos, a human rights and environmental activist from the forests of the Brazilian Amazon. Osprey Orielle Lake, Founder and Executive Director of Women's Earth and Climate Action Network, joined the panel to share WECAN’s Reforestation and Forest Protection Program in partnership with Puyr Tembé, first Secretary of State for Indigenous Peoples of Pará in the Brazilian Amazon and co-founder of Ancestral Indigenous Women Warriors (ANMIGA), and ANMIGA.  The event was moderated by Elisângela Mendonça, Sr Forests Investigator at Global Witness.

 

Gender Responsive Climate Policies and

Women-led Solutions



(From Right to Left) Sophia Lovato, WECAN Forest and Food Sovereignty Program Associate; Osprey Orielle Lake, WECAN Founder and Executive Director; and WECAN UN CBD Delegates Casey Camp-Horinek (Ponca Nation), Ponca Nation Environmental Ambassador and WECAN Board Member and Project Coordinator, Turtle Island/USA; and Julie Horinek (Ponca Nation), Plains Organizer for Movement Rights and WECAN Coordinator, Turtle Island/USA  at UN CBD COP16 in Cali, Colombia, 2024. Photo Credit: WECAN International


“Gender justice is not a peripheral issue; it is a cross-cutting priority that must be at the heart of all decisions taken at this COP16 to ensure a present and future where we can build peace with nature.” 

CBD Women’s Caucus Opening Statement at the UN CBD COP16


At the core of WECAN’s advocacy at CBD COP16 is the call for governments to implement gender-responsive and inclusive climate policies and the advancement of women-led solutions for biodiversity protection. 


WECAN participated in the UN CBD Women’s Caucus, a coalition of global groups and advocates calling for and contributing to the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity in a gender-responsive manner. At the CBD COP16, the Women’s Caucus put forward six proposals for negotiations:


1. Immediately and effectively protect the lives of environmental defenders. These are not just numbers; they are human lives that deserve urgent protection.

2. Fully implement the Gender Action Plan as the most effective way to meet Target 23, hence the entire Framework.

3. All monitoring mechanisms must include gender-responsive indicators that reflect the diverse contributions of women and girls.

4. Ensure direct mechanisms to access funding so that women can fully participate in conservation efforts without bureaucratic barriers or intermediaries.

5. Establish and enforce mandatory environmental and social safeguards that fully comply with human rights legal obligations, notably on issues such as nature-based solutions or innovative financing schemes.

6. Ensure that monetary and non-monetary benefit-sharing mechanisms and benefit flows arising from the use of genetic resources are inclusive, equitable and Gender-responsive.

 

Press Conference: Women Leading Solutions on the Frontlines of Biodiversity and Climate Crises


Panelists at the WECAN Press Conference, “Women Leading Solutions on the Frontlines of Biodiversity and Climate Crises,” for the UN CBD COP16 in Cali, Colombia, 2024. Photo Credit: Sophia Lovato / WECAN International


On October 25, WECAN hosted the press conference “Women Leading Solutions on the Frontlines of Biodiversity and Climate Crises.” Frontline and Indigenous women leaders and global advocates presented solutions and strategies to tackle the interlinked biodiversity and climate crises, emphasizing the importance of gender equity, food sovereignty, forest protection and reforestation, traditional ecological knowledge, Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), protection of environmental human rights defenders, and financing genuine solutions in the Global Biodiversity Framework.


Speakers included Cicilia Wangari Githaiga, Advocate for the High Court of Kenya, CEO and Founder of Wangari Githaiga & Co Advocates, Director and Consultant at Veridis Environment and Natural Resource Solutions, Kenya; Shirley Krenak (Krenak), Founder of the Shirley Djukurna Krenak Institute, Co-founder of the National Articulation of Indigenous Women Warriors of Ancestrality (ANMIGA), Brazil; Casey Camp-Horinek (Ponca Nation), Ponca Nation Environmental Ambassador and WECAN Board Member and Project Coordinator, Turtle Island/USA; and Osprey Orielle Lake, Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) Founder and Executive Director, Turtle Island/USA.

 

Women’s Hub Pavilion Event: Women on the Frontlines of the Biodiversity and Climate Crises: Challenges and Solutions

Panelists at the WECAN event held at the CBD Women’s Caucus Pavilion, “Women on the Frontlines of the Biodiversity and Climate Crises: Challenges and Solutions,” for the UN CBD COP16 in Cali, Colombia, 2024. Photo Credit: Sophia Lovato / WECAN International


“Women on the Frontlines of the Biodiversity and Climate Crises: Challenges and Solutions” was held at the Women’s Pavilion on Saturday, October 26. Frontline and Indigenous women leaders, policy advocates, and international environmental activists came together to discuss the root causes of the interlocking biodiversity and climate crises, and uplift women-led solutions, approaches, and strategies to protect Indigenous and human rights and defend biodiversity and our global climate to ensure a livable planet for all generations. 


Speakers included Julia Catalina Chumbi Tzetzema, Pastaza Shuar Center, FENASH (Federación de la Nacionalidad Shuar de Pastaza), and a Member of Mujeres Amazónicas Defensoras de la Selva, Ecuador; Deputy Célia Xakriabá (Xakriabá), Federal Deputy in Brazilian Congress in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, and co-founder of the National Articulation of Indigenous Women Warriors of Ancestrality (ANMIGA), Brazil; Casey Camp-Horinek (Ponca Nation), Ponca Nation Environmental Ambassador, and WECAN Board Member and Project Coordinator, Turtle Island/USA; with moderation and comments by Osprey Orielle Lake, Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) Founder and Executive Director, Turtle Island/USA.

 

Protecting Nature, Defending Rights:

Women’s Bold Leadership for Peace with Nature

Indigenous women from Brazil, Ecuador, and Turtle Island (USA) and WECAN at the event, “Protecting Nature, Defending Rights: Women’s Bold Leadership for Peace with Nature,” at Fundación Casa de Mono Cultural Center in Cali, Colombia for UN CBD COP16, 2024. Photo Credit: Sophia Lovato / WECAN International. 


On Saturday, October 26, WECAN partnered with If Not Us Then Who for a special evening event, “Protecting Nature, Defending Rights: Women’s Bold Leadership for Peace with Nature,” co-moderated by Nina Gualinga (Kichwa), an Indigenous rights defender, and member of Mujeres Amazónicas Defensoras de la Selva from Sarayaku, Ecuador.


Throughout the evening event, frontline and Indigenous women leaders and global advocates shared the many frameworks, approaches, and solutions taking place worldwide regarding the significance of living in reciprocity and peace with Nature. Speakers addressed the root causes of the interlocking biodiversity and climate crises while creating space for deep reflection, understanding, and connection by weaving together the wisdom of cultural traditions with urgent political calls to action. 


Josefina Tunki (Shuar Arutam), Vice President of ICCA Consortium and member of Amazonian Women Defenders of the Jungle Collective, sings a traditional song to open the WECAN event, “Protecting Nature, Defending Rights: Women’s Bold Leadership for Peace with Nature,” for the UN CBD COP16 in Cali, Colombia, 2024. Photo Credit: Sophia Lovato / WECAN International 


Speakers included Nina Gualinga (Kichwa), Indigenous Rights Defender, Mujeres Amazónicas Defensoras de la Selva, Sarayaku, Ecuador; Josefina Tunki (Shuar Arutam), Vice President of ICCA Consortium and member of Amazonian Women Defenders of the Jungle Collective; Shirley Krenak (Krenak), Founder of the Shirley Djukurna Krenak Institute, Co-founder of the National Articulation of Indigenous Women Warriors of Ancestrality (ANMIGA), Brazil; Michelle Sisa Villamil Gualinga (Shiwiar and Kichwa), Shiwiars spokesperson, and a Member of Mujeres Amazónicas Defensoras de la Selva, Ecuador; Rosa Aranda (Kichwa), Kuraka of the Morete Cocha Piwiri community, and member of the Collective of Amazonian Women Defenders of the Jungle, Ecuador; Fanny Kaekat (Shuar), Shuar leader and member of the Collective of Amazonian Women Defenders of the Jungle, Ecuador; Deputy Célia Xakriabá (Xakriabá), Federal Deputy in Brazilian Congress in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, and Co-Founder of the National Articulation of Indigenous Women Warriors of Ancestrality (ANMIGA), Brazil; Casey Camp-Horinek (Ponca Nation), Ponca Nation Environmental Ambassador, and WECAN Board Member and Project Coordinator, Turtle Island/USA; with comments by Osprey Orielle Lake, Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) Founder and Executive Director, Turtle Island/USA. Many thanks to Fernanda Soraggi Silva, International Technical Advisor with ANMIGA, for her support with interpretation in multiple WECAN events. 


In the collective struggle for gender justice and community-led solutions, it is essential to listen to the strategies, solutions, and expertise of leaders from the Global South who are defenders of biodiversity and are simultaneously disproportionately impacted by biodiversity loss and extractive industries.


Gender-responsive policies are crucial to ensuring that biodiversity strategies do not exacerbate inequalities but instead prompt equity and justice. Recognizing and addressing gender-specific roles, knowledge, and vulnerabilities in biodiversity conservation can enhance the effectiveness of conservation strategies. Governments are not reaching their goals on gender-responsive climate policies or supporting gender justice throughout the negotiations, and we need to continue to hold them accountable for action and investment in women's leadership across all arenas.

WECAN met with UN Special Rapporteur, Dr. Marcos Orellana, to discuss WECAN’s latest report, “Gendered and Racial Impacts of the Fossil Fuel Industry in North America and Complicit Fossil Fuel Institutions,” at the UN CBD COP16 in Cali, Colombia, 2024. Photo Credit: Sophia Lovato / WECAN International


WECAN also met with UN Special Rapporteur Dr. Marcos Orellana to discuss our latest report, “Gendered and Racial Impacts of the Fossil Fuel Industry in North America and Complicit Financial Institutions.”


 

CELEBRATING THE WECAN CBD COP16 DELEGATION


WECAN International was honored to help facilitate, accompany, fund, and uplift the presence of an incredible group of frontline and Indigenous women leaders at the CBD COP16 in Colombia, who advocated for climate justice and led and participated in powerful actions, announcements, advocacy interventions, press conferences, high-level engagements, and events.


CASEY CAMP-HORINEK

Ponca Nation, Turtle Island, USA


Casey Camp-Horinek of the Ponca Nation is a community leader, long-time Native rights activist, environmentalist and actress. She is the Ponca Environmental Ambassador and a WECAN Board member and Project Coordinator. She has been at the forefront of grassroots community efforts to educate and empower both Native and non-Native community members on environmental and civil rights issues.  Casey is the Chair of GARN’s Indigenous Council.

 

PATRICIA GUALINGA

Kichwa Pueblo, Sarayaku, Ecuador


Patricia Gualinga is an Indigenous woman leader from the Kichwa Pueblo of Sarayaku, Ecuador, and spokeswoman for Mujeres Amazónicas Defensoras de la Selva where she advocates for the rights of women, Indigenous peoples, and land defenders to protect their homelands, the forest, and the global climate. To further her advocacy for land defenders' protections, Patricia sits on the WECAN steering committee for the Escazú Agreement campaign. Patricia is also an advocate for the Rights of Nature and the Kawsak Sacha (Living Forest) Declaration, and is the WECAN Coordinator in Ecuador, where she leads endemic species recovery and reforestation work.

 

NINA GUALINGA

Kichwa Pueblo, Sarayaku, Ecuador


Nina Sicha Siren Gualinga is an Indigenous woman leader from the Kichwa community of Sarayaku in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Since she was eight years old, she has been actively involved in local, national and global advocacy efforts in defense of Indigenous rights and territories in the Amazon and for climate justice. Nina is also an advocate for the Rights of Nature and the Kawsak Sacha (Living Forest) Declaration. She is also a co-founder of HAKU Amazon Design, working to support efforts of Shiwiar, Kichwa and Waorani women to defend their territories, through sustainable, hand-made designs.


 

JULIE HORINEK

Ponca Nation, Turtle Island, USA


Julie Horinek is an Indigenous woman from Ponca Nation of Oklahoma. She has a history of grassroots, environmental activism. As a WECAN Coordinator, she helps lead climate resiliency solutions and food sovereignty. She is also a Plains Organizer for Movement Rights and activist for the Rights of Nature movement.


 

SHIRLEY KRENAK

Krenak, Minas Gerais, Brazil


Shirley Krenak is an Indigenous woman leader of the Krenak people from Brazil. With an extensive history in activism, she advocates for the rights of Indigenous peoples and the land. She is a co-founder of the National Articulation of Indigenous Women Warriors of Ancestry (ANMIGA) and Coordinator for the Shirley Djukurnã Krenak Institute which promotes Indigenous culture through education. 


 

NYG KUITÁ KAINGANG 

Kaingang, Apucaraninha Indigenous Land, Brazil


Nyg Kuita is an Indigenous woman leader and researcher of the Kaingang people from Paraná, Brazil. She is a co-founder of the National Articulation of Indigenous Women Warriors of Ancestry (ANMIGA) and a collaborator with Brazil’s Indigenous People Articulation (APIB).

 

SABINE BOUCHAT

Sarayaku, Ecuador


Sabine Bouchat, originally from Belgium, has lived in Sarayaku, Ecuador for over 35 years. She has worked extensively with the Indigenous peoples of Pastaza, supporting bilingual education, community governance, and environmental conservation efforts. Currently, Sabine leads the Kawsak Sacha-Selva Viviente conservation program and is WECAN’s Ecuador Reforestation Program Lead Monitor. Her work strengthens local governance and promotes the protection of Sarayaku’s territories and cultural heritage.

 

ANDREA CUJI MANCILLA

Kichwa, Sarayaku, Ecuador 


Andrea Cuji Mancilla has been involved in advocating for children’s and Indigenous peoples’ rights from a young age, focusing on the protection of territory. She is a student of social communication and serves as the secretary for the Kichwa Native people of Sarayaku, coordinating efforts to defend rights and promote the well-being of her community. Andrea also provides organizational support for the Jallinga Foundation and the Amazonian Women Defenders of the Jungle collective and is a leader in the WECAN Reforestation and Forest Protection program.

 

OSPREY ORIELLE LAKE

USA


Osprey Orielle Lake is the Founder and Executive Director of the Women's Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) International. She works nationally and internationally with grassroots and Indigenous leaders, policy-makers and scientists to promote climate justice, resilient communities, and a just transition to a clean energy future.


 

SOPHIA LOVATO

Osage Nation, Turtle Island, USA


Sophia Lovato is the Forest and Food Sovereignty Program Associate for the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN). She was born and raised in Colorado and is a citizen of the Osage Nation. With her dedication to environmental justice, Sophia focuses on forest protection and food sovereignty as key solutions in building climate, biodiversity, and communal resiliency.


 

CBD COP16 MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

Media requests for the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network regarding our events and advocacy at the UN CBD COP16 in Colombia can be directed to: katherine@wecaninternational.org


Below is a selection of the media highlights for the WECAN CBD COP16 Delegation, and advocacy efforts:



UN CBD COP16 sign outside of the Blue Zone, Centro de Eventos Valle del Pacifico in Cali, Colombia, 2024.

Photo Credit: Sophia Lovato / WECAN International

 



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