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The UNFCCC 27^th Conference of the Parties (COP27), held in Sharm el-Sheik in November, was a source of great pride for FAO’s WeCaN team, as we saw so many of our members getting the chance to represent civil society and make their voices heard on the international stage. Now that the event is over and we’ve all had a chance to get our bearings, we wanted to bring our representatives together to discuss: what was achieved? And what challenges do we need to push  our agenda? 

That was exactly the aim of FAO’s Forestry Technical Network (FTN) webinar held on 1^st December 2022. We brought together seven of our WeCaN members who had the chance to attend COP 27 in a group discussion, allowing them to share their key takeaways with an audience of 80+ people. This is part of our mission to create a space for women’s voices and mutual learning between the southern countries to strengthen their role in protecting dryland areas – not just at major events like COP, but all the time.   

The event was moderated by Michela Baratelli, Programme Officer and Communication Expert for the South-South and Triangular Cooperation Division, who highlighted the need to listen to women’s analyses and solutions, as providers of specific knowledge on land restoration and climate change resilience.

FAO’s Senior Forestry Officer Amy Duchelle kicked off the event with an excellent overview of COP’s achievements and challenges. Of course, a large focus was on the loss and damage agreement, outlining the positive impact this is likely to have on women in vulnerable communities and landscapes. As important as these steps forward are, Amy also highlighted some of the challenges too, including the slow progress of the Gender Action Plan and the continued weak representation of women, also from indigenous and marginalised groups. 

The main event was a discussion between our WeCaN members, who took the floor to share their experiences. Ikhlass Nimir from the Sudanese Organization for Research and Development, Kenza Benmoussa from the University of Nice, Jane Meriwas from the Samburu Women Trust, Sarah Pima from the Human Dignity and Environmental Care Foundation and Rumaitha Al Busaidi from WomeX, Dunia Baroud El-Khoury from the Women’s Association of Deir El Ahmar and Zainab Yunusa from the Women & Gender Constituency all highlighted some of the achievements and challenges they experienced at COP, giving a first-hand insight into their issues. Key points were the Gender Action Plan’s lack of progress, the positive impact of the Loss and Damage agreement, and ensuring that women felt safe to attend future COPs.  

Discussion also turned to how to get more women from civil societies involved in high-level events. The women cited a lack of resources available, adding that it was difficult getting funding to attend. Until this problem is solved, women’s and civil society representation will remain sub-par. Our panellists took some insightful questions from the audience and really helped us understand the achievements and challenges they took away from COP.  

The event was not just a celebration of our members, but a chance to really highlight the WeCaN initiative’s progress too. In just under two years, WeCaN has expanded across 26 countries and counts 200 women and men in its community, all of whom actively share their knowledge with each other and partake in trainings to strengthen their advocacy work from local to global level, all with the aim of fighting and mitigating climate change in dryland areas. To guarantee that the local demands and the gender-just solutions identified are upscaled, the WeCaN members are co-designing an advocacy strategy for the next four years. 

“We have a great collective advocacy journey ahead of us in 2023 and beyond to foster the women’s voices, agencies and leadership in climate change and land management responses”, said Lucia Gerbaldo, WeCaN Initiative’s coordinator.

As the event drew to a close, Miriam Medel Garcìa, Chief of Global Policy Advocacy and Regional Coordination at the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, took to the floor to comment on the UNCCD’s key messages at COP27. “Our focus is on collaborating with partners, including the WeCaN community of practice, to promote policies and governance that further women’s access and rights to land resources. We need consistency in policy and action within the framework of the three Rio Conventions. It is the only way to move forward and reach conditions for a better future for all.” Her final words were thought-provoking and inspiring, as she personally urged all the WeCaN women not to give up and to seek as many opportunities as possible to have their voices heard.  

The event really captured the WeCaN spirit – a space to bring together women from different cultures, countries and backgrounds and give them a platform to share their voices, opinions and knowledge. The end result? A community united around one goal: improving their opportunities for advocacy and meaningful representation in the dryland contexts and agrosilvopastoral systems.   

(c) Dunia El-Khoury