Women4Biodiversity has announced its official online side event at the 6th United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6), held in Nairobi, Kenya on Wednesday 28 February 2024.
The side event has its title: “Inclusive Pathways: Advancing Gender and Indigenous Perspectives in Multilateral Environmental Cooperation for a Sustainable Future”.
It is being organised along with the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP), Cultural Survival, International Fund for Indigenous Peoples (IFIP), Soka Gakkai International, SwedBio at Stockholm Resilience Centre, UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and International Fund for Indigenous Peoples (IFIP).
This 1 hour 15 minutes side event will focus on the critical role of the human rights-based approach (HRBA), gender perspective and the work with Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPs and LCs) in environmental efforts.
A human rights-based approach, gender perspective, the importance of sustainability, multilateral environmental cooperation, the critical role of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in environmental efforts, UN Decade of Action, building collective action for a sustainable future, and the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
The Keynote Speaker: Olivier Rukundo, Senior Programme Management Officer and Head of Unit at the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity
The panel of speakers:
● Maya Berci, Stockholm Convention COP President and Executive Director of the
Chemicals Management Division of Environment and Climate Change Canada
● Benjamin Schachter, Human Rights Officer and Environment team leader at the Office of
the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
● John Samorai, from the Ogiek Peoples’ Development Program (OPDP) and Kenya
National Trialogue
● Sarojeni V. Rengem, Executive Director, Pesticide Action Network Asia Pacific (PANAP)
● Sherika Ballingsingh Poison Information Coordinator, Caribbean Poison Information
Network, International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN)
● Mirna Ines Fernandez, Third World Network (TWN)
● Ashanapuri Hertz, Program Officer, SwedBio (Closing remarks)
Moderator: Mrinalini Rai, Director, Women4Biodiversity.
Women4Biodiversity is a global women’s network that promotes and advocates for the recognition and protection of women’s and girls’ rights to a healthy environment. The mission is to support and amplify the initiatives and practices in conservation that are rooted in ensuring women’s empowerment, and gender equity and where we envision paying the path for collective actions of women and girls to thrive and realise their full potential with dignity, love and respect.
Its work involves building synergies around the work of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), and other international arenas to provide direction for more coherent and inclusive processes while ensuring their proper implementation.
