The 2nd Encuentro Latinoamericano de Defensoras Ambientales para la Acción Climática took place from 16 to 18 August in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. Organised by Plurales, Colectivo CASA and Tierra Viva, it brought together more than 40 women from 30 organisations from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico and El Salvador.

This space contributes to strengthening and promoting alliances between organisations of environmental, peasant, indigenous, Afro-descendant and marginalised urban defenders in Latin America, to carry out collective actions in defence of territories, share advocacy strategies, make visible and strengthen the initiatives they carry out for gender and climate justice.

Marisol Angulo, a member of the Red Ecuatoriana de Forestería Análoga (REFA), participated in the meeting and says that “we found it very energizing to share experiences, to listen to colleagues who have the same problem. We may have limits in the territories where we live in each country, but there are no limits in our spaces as women where we work, because the needs are the same, they are identical. Here we have already found the tools to continue the feminist struggle against climate change in our spaces”.

Why the Encuentro?

At present, the structural inequalities suffered by rural, indigenous, Afro-descendant and impoverished urban women are being exacerbated by the climate crisis, the global economic crisis, the adjustment policies of Latin American states, the growing concentration of power of financial capital and the advance of extractivism on natural resources, elements that only continue to sustain, perpetuate and deepen the current capitalist system.

Extractive industries, mining, oil, agribusiness, among others, seriously damage natural resources and have serious consequences for the health, food security, productive activities and permanence in the territories of women, girls and young people. Floods, droughts and the frequency of other natural disasters make the climate crisis a reality today more than ever, with serious and differentiated impacts on the lives of peasant and indigenous communities, but especially on women and girls, who have historically taken on the tasks of care, reproduction and maintenance of life.

Added to this is the imbalance of power in which communities, and women in particular, defend their lands, territories and common goods, putting their own lives at risk, in addition to providing for them on a daily basis. Physical, psychological, political, patrimonial, sexual and environmental violence multiply within this patriarchy with multiple faces: religious, institutional, state, extractive and even humanitarian.

Even in this adverse scenario, rural, indigenous, Afro-descendant and marginalised urban women maintain the will to promote articulations to develop joint actions of advocacy, visibility and communication of the problems and their initiatives to address them. Women in the territories are building horizons of climate justice from the worldview of their people and in accordance with their way of life. In this context, the 2nd Latin American Meeting of Environmental Defenders for Climate Action continues to promote feminist climate agendas for the defence of territories.

As in the 1st EFAC Encuentro, a statement was produced collectively, carrying the voices of all these women and their territories, and will soon be shared publicly. In the meantime, we invite you to see the declaration of the 1st meeting.

Clara Merino Serrano, of the Luna Creciente collective from Ecuador, explains that “it seems to me that this is a step, but we must continue to create units of women from the territories in very serious times, when we are experiencing great setbacks of the capitalist, patriarchal and colonial against our people and especially against us women”.

For the members of the Escuela feminista para la Acción Climática (EFAC), this meeting was an important step in continuing the process of training, strengthening and exchange that began with the creation of the school in 2021.

Mariela Melgar Ibáñez, representative of the Colectivo de Mujeres del Chaco Americano, concludes that “the challenge is great to continue this struggle, this resistance, but accompanied. Together with all the women who have come to this meeting and with all those who could not come”.

*Photos: Angirü Bolivia