The side event titled "Women’s Land and Water Tenure Rights and Equitable Biodiversity Governance: From Global Commitments to Local Actions" aims to highlight  the key  role women have in territorial governance and the need to recognize it to enable peace with nature and the achievement of the GBF. Secure land rights for women are often correlated with better outcomes for them and their families, including greater bargaining power at household and community levels, better child nutrition and lower levels of gender-based violence Considering gender dimensions and ensuring women’s full and effective participation in biodiversity-related decision-making can lead to positive outcomes for biodiversity and gender equality.  

Both target 23 of the GBF and the GPA (Outcome 1.1.), adopted at COP15, clearly refer to the centrality of women' s land rights and access to resources for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use. Now it is the time to ensure that the global commitments are  translated into tangible actions at national and local levels.

Moreover, land and water and women’s rights are at the interface and at the centre of all three Rio Conventions and managing land and biodiversity sustainably and equitably is the only way we can mitigate and adapt to climate change, halt the loss of biodiversity, and achieve land degradation neutrality.

The panellists will discuss the crucial link between women's land rights and effective biodiversity conservation, emphasising the importance of securing these rights for sustainable biodiversity governance. They will address the current status and challenges of women's land and water tenure and their implications for biodiversity governance, including the role of women in achieving sustainable biodiversity goals and the necessary synergy between the Rio Conventions. The discussion will also cover the realities of the 30% conservation targets, focusing on displacement issues and women's land, coastal and water rights. Insights from the Gender Plan of Action and Gender Day will be leveraged to enhance gender-responsive biodiversity policies, with a presentation on gender segregated data on women's land tenure and biodiversity governance. Finally, strategies to translate the Biodiversity Plan into national actions with a gender focus will be explored, along with mobilising and strengthening resources to achieve the 23 targets set for 2030, highlighting the contributions of women.

Intended audience:

Parties, observers and constituencies, including rights-holders, experts, policy-makers, practitioners and advocates interested in the intersection of gender justice and biodiversity conservation.

Format

• Live moderated session 

• Dedicated QnA segment at the end of the session

• In-person and virtual event.

• Live Interpretation provided via Zoom (FR/ESP/ENG) 

• Sessions are to be supported with Presentations slides including the introductory slides of housekeeping rules