I learned about the importance of women in small communities from my mother. She was a peasant woman – a campesina as we say in Colombia – in the mountains near Cali, where I grew up. She searched the forest for food and cultivated the earth to grow vegetables to feed me and my four siblings. It is women like her that I try to empower with my work supporting the collective rights of Indigenous and Afro-descendant women in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
In an era of environmental crises, people from such communities have an outsized role in preventing the destruction of nature and slowing the climate crisis. Colombia, where the biodiversity Cop16 was held last week, is home to 10% of all life on Earth, stretching from thick mangrove forest of the Pacific coast to the Amazon rainforest. Many of the communities I work with live alongside this rich nature and have made its survival part of their culture, something increasingly recognised in conservation. This is true from the Arctic Circle to the Indonesian forest. My job is to make sure women in these places receive practical support and a fair share of growing financial assistance.
There are two main barriers to women in the places I work. First, women in Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities have often not been able to organise themselves as a legal entity. This means they often do not qualify when funding becomes available, such as the $1.7bn (£1.3bn) of direct support that was announced at Cop26 in Glasgow in 2021. When they are established as legal groups, I help them navigate the lengthy applications and confusing network of funding organisations.
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Next is the discrimination within their own communities. Organisations that represent Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities are almost always led by men. If they have women’s sections, they can be criticised by their own movement. They are seen as competition for limited resources. There can be tensions when others see women organising with their own voice and agenda, perceived as being separate from the priorities of male leaders.
There is so much to be gained by ensuring that women get their fair share. At a recent event, a colleague said that when you invest in a man, you invest in a man. But when you invest in a woman, you invest in a community. Women make sure their children have opportunities with education and better lives, and, of course, look after their partners. With Indigenous and Afro-descendant groups, there is also a huge benefit for nature as they are the holders of ancestral knowledge and ensure it is passed down from generation to generation, protecting ecosystems and their families.
During the Covid pandemic, women played a vital role within Indigenous and Afro-descendant groups when the world stopped, often becoming the main actors in finding food and identifying the means to support themselves and others.
Examples of what is at stake were everywhere at Cop16. The conflict in Colombia forced me to leave for the US for my safety. But I am back in my home city and am proud that the world was here.
One of the main achievements of the meeting was to formally recognise Afro-descendant groups as part of the UN biodiversity process, so they are guaranteed a voice during negotiations. The role of Indigenous communities was elevated, too. We must start putting this into action and it must include women.
As told to Patrick Greenfield
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Omaira Bolaños is director of the Latin America and gender justice programmes at the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI)