Photo credit: Global Environment Facility
Throughout the 16th Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP16) in Cali, Colombia, there was focused attention on gender-responsive and inclusive biodiversity action. This was more than talk. Representatives of governments and civil society were specific about their challenges and asks, and they also offered concrete recommendations about how to move forward the “gender target” adopted two years prior at COP15 in Montreal.
Target 23 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework compels countries to: Ensure gender equality in the implementation of the framework … including by recognizing their [women’s] equal rights and access to land and natural resources and their full, equitable, meaningful and informed participation and leadership at all levels of action. This was accompanied by the adoption in Montreal of a Convention on Biological Diversity Gender Plan of Action, which states that gender equality should be promoted throughout to ensure women and girls have meaningful roles in decision-making and benefit from action on the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.
Building on this momentum, there were a series of events and announcements at the Cali COP that sought to chart a path towards gender-responsive implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, with a focus on tangible and urgent action.
One example was the Gender and Biodiversity Champions platform established by the CBD Women’s Caucus. “We were inspired by the very active and sustained engagement of governments, women’s organizations, the UN and other international organizations, and we believe that having a platform to commit will encourage more engagement from all stakeholders to implement the CBD Gender Plan of Action,” said Amelia Arreguin, Coordinator of the CBD Women’s Caucus.
Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Coordinator of the Peul Indigenous Women and Peoples Association of Chad, described the Champions platform as a platform to champion the voices of the women, including her grandmother, who are conserving biodiversity as a way of life. She challenged donors to “put finances on the hand of women. Women manage families and their communities effectively. They can handle billions of dollars and able to scale up actions on the ground.”
In the run-up to COP16, the government of the United Kingdom convened meetings with international and community partners to draft Principles for inclusive, locally-led, gender responsive biodiversity action. Launching these principles in Cali, representatives stressed the need to take into account the gender equality barriers that could prevent sustained progress towards biodiversity and nature goals. Groups including the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Wildlife Conservation Society noted the importance of doing more to elevate the voices of women, and in particular Indigenous and coastal community leaders, in support of conserving biodiversity and protecting rights.
Jamie Wen-Besson and Jackie Siles, IUCN’s gender leads, shared that IUCN raised $2.1 million in grants for 2025 programming from partners including the US Agency for International Development and Norad, for work to address gender-based violence. Global Affairs Canada will also work with IUCN on Indigenous women's intergenerational leadership reflecting the government of Canada’s recognition that women and girls are disproportionately affected by biodiversity loss and can play a vital role to address it. WCS 30x30 Marine Director Pamela Castillo said that elevating the Women Ocean Guardians and their Call to Action in Cali was a “dream come true,” adding: “The commitments to action shared by these inspiring women to inclusive marine conservation show what’s possible when vision meets action.”
In Cali, several partners also launched knowledge products including a policy brief Placing gender equality at the heart of the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework produced with several partners which provided recommendations around capacity building, data, financing, and other tools to support women’s leadership in the implementation of Global Biodiversity Framework. The UN Environment Programme Conservation Monitoring Centre also led work to co-develop indicators on national implementation of the Gender Plan of Action to track progress towards Target 23 of framework and the gender-responsive implementation of the biodiversity targets and goals overall.
Gender equality and social inclusion is a major priority for the Global Environment Facility, and a focus of the GEF Gender Partnership it convenes to support progress towards the Global Biodiversity Framework.
Adriana Moreira, head of the GEF’s Partnerships Division, speaking to gender champions in Cali, described the organization’s commitment to scaling up support to women, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, as allies on the ground, through creating incentives for financing women-led initiatives and programs and direct financing to women-led institutions and enterprises. “We are breaking barriers through simplifying our language, procedures, and processes”, she told the packed event as she encouraged greater collaboration through the champions platform.
