As part of the work of the Meeting of the Parties on the conservation of biological diversity, a number of civil forums are operating, including the Women’s Forum. The Forum works in close collaboration with the Secretariat of the convention, represented by Tanya MacGregor. The main task of the forum is to promote the gender agenda and to incorporate a gender dimension into the work of the Conference of the Parties.
Women and men have different life experiences shaped by differing gender roles, and can contribute differently to its conservation. Additionally, the risks from ecosystem degradation are not evenly distributed among different segments of the population, women, and men. The Women’s Forum adds the social aspect to the agenda of the Meeting, without which the conservation of biological diversity is impossible. Currently, within the framework of the convention, a Gender Action Plan has been developed, which includes commitments to take gender aspects into account in all work of the CBD. Unfortunately, the Declaration of Ministers adopted on December 3 completely ignores the gender aspect of biodiversity conservation, and the draft resolution includes only a minor number of provisions on these issues.
At the next morning meeting of the Forum, decisions were made regarding network work, both within the framework of this meeting and in further activities. Currently, the Forum faces tasks such as: integrating the gender component into national strategies and plans for conserving biological diversity, representation of women, especially indigenous peoples, in international forums and all structures of the convention’s work. Anyone interested in joining the Women’s Forum within the framework of the Biodiversity Conservation Convention can send me an email – Anna Kirilenko, and participate in the discussion on the page https://titanpad.com/o8lU5wiknD
