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Gender & Restoration

Recognition of women’s contributions to forest restoration is rising, yet their essential roles in restoring ecosystems like wetlands, mountains, and coastal marine areas remain largely undocumented. Despite provisions in multilateral environmental agreements to mainstream gender, there is still a gap in awareness, access, and support for women leading conservation and restoration.

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A gender-responsive approach to ecosystem restoration recognises and values women’s and men’s distinct roles, knowledge, and needs in environmental management. Actively involving women in restoration initiatives ensures benefits from diverse perspectives and traditional ecological knowledge that can enhance the resilience and sustainability of restoration efforts. Women4biodiversity has supported documentation of communities of practice that have incorporated gender justice. These will inform policy and advocacy at a global level, including the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.

120

Hectares of land and water restored

4

Types of ecosystems

500

Women supported and engaged

6

Different countries across the world

Restore Her Rights: Gender-Responsive Approaches to Ecosystem Restoration – A Global Summary

The Building Resilience and Weaving Gender-Responsive Approaches to Biodiversity Governance project, led by Women4Biodiversity, addressed gaps in gender-responsive restoration beyond forests. Supported by SwedBio, it documented women-led efforts across Asia, Africa, and Latin America, integrating them into policies and commitments.

Restore HER Rights Initiative

Women4Biodiversity has been advancing gender equality in restoration processes globally since 2021. To give this engagement a bigger push, Women4Biodiversity launched the Restore HER Rights Initiative to foster a collaborative space for learning and advocacy around gender-responsive approaches to ecosystem restoration. The Restore HER Rights Initiative aims to empower community-led restoration processes and amplify women’s vital contributions to ecosystem restoration.

In October 2024, during the sixteenth Conference of Parties on the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP16), Women4Biodiversity launched a compendium of Restore HER Rights case studies that reflected community-led and gender-responsive approaches to ecosystem restoration from Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Pacific Islands. These case studies highlighted the impact of women-led restoration initiatives, including improved community health, progress toward food sovereignty, advancing self-determination, and enhanced leadership in decision-making.

Restore HER Rights Initiative is the ‘next step’ in Women4Biodiversity’s work supporting women-led restoration initiatives. We would love for you to be a part of this transformational change!

For more details or questions: [email protected]

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Case Studies

Creative Outputs

Restoration Sites

Events

Technical Training Workshop | 15 May to 20 May 2023 | Chiang Mai, Thailand

Restoration Site Writeshop | 27 July to 3 August 2024 | Nairobi, Kenya

Relevant Publications

Reports

Restoration Site Newsflash