Meet 16 women leading Earth’s restoration as the world enters last decade for climate action

16 women changemakers

BONN, GERMANY (March 8, 2021) – As the world enters the last decade to prevent irreversible damage from climate change, women are challenging gender norms to secure the future of ecosystems – sometimes at great personal risk. On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2021, the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) highlights 16 female leaders working to protect and restore the global natural capital through science, finance, policymaking, journalism and land rights, among others. 

From the cloud forests of Latin America to Asia’s financial systems to African metropolises, women environmental activists are leading the way into this year’s pivotal UN talks on Biodiversity and Climate Change – daring economic and political powers, citizens and consumers, to play their part in stopping cataclysmic global heating, mass extinction and the loss of livelihoods. If current trends continue, 95 percent of the Earth’s land areas could become degraded by 2050 and 1 million species could disappear in the next few years, further jeopardizing planetary and human health.

The outstanding contributions of these women, aged 13 to 86, are also aligned with the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration starting this year; the UN Decade of Action for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); the climate action pathways outlined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and pledges for a green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Organization
Global Landscapes Forum