{"id":262948,"date":"2025-03-06T11:45:18","date_gmt":"2025-03-06T10:45:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.iucn.nl\/?p=262948"},"modified":"2026-01-16T14:38:33","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T13:38:33","slug":"women-in-a-degraded-amazon-struggles-for-land-body-and-nature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.iucn.nl\/en\/publication\/women-in-a-degraded-amazon-struggles-for-land-body-and-nature\/","title":{"rendered":"Women in a degraded Amazon: struggles for land, body and nature"},"content":{"rendered":"
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How does gender intersect with deforestation, environmental degradation, territorial issues and violence in the Amazon region? Topics like deforestation and environmental degradation in the Amazon have been widely discussed. But what not has been substantially discussed is the different impacts these issues have on women. In a new report, available in English<\/a> and Spanish<\/a>, IUCN NL analyses gender dynamics in the Peruvian and Colombian Amazon. \u2018Extractive activities and gender-based violence are deeply intertwined: illegal mining and agricultural expansion have turned the Amazon into a high-risk territory for women,\u2019 says Mariel Cabero, Expert Environmental Justice at IUCN NL.<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Photo: Woman defender in Madre de Dios. \u00a9 Diego Perez \/ SPDA<\/mark><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Report: Women in a degraded Amazon<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Applying a gender lens on socio-environmental issues reveals important insights regarding the realities and challenges that women experience in the Amazon region, including gender-based violence. Amplifying women\u2019s voices in policy frameworks contributes to a more just and sustainable future for the Amazon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Based on studies conducted in the Peruvian and Colombian Amazon, IUCN NL therefore published the report \u2018Women in a degraded Amazon: struggles for land, body and nature\u2019, with the support of Sociedad Peruana de Derecho Ambiental<\/a> (SPDA), Fundacion para la Conservaci\u00f3n y Desarrollo Sostenible<\/a> (FCDS), Federaci\u00f3n Nativa del R\u00edo Madre de Dios y Afluentes<\/a> (FENAMAD) and Comit\u00e9 de Gesti\u00f3n de la Reserva Nacional Tambopata<\/a> (CDG).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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The report is bringing forward the lived experiences of women from Madre de Dios in Peru and six departments of the Colombian Amazon, highlighting how extractive economies, weak governance and structural inequalities contribute to environmental and social harm; both of which disproportionately affect women.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\u2018In the communities that are exposed to mining, women cannot walk freely through their territory, they have to be careful not to expose themselves too much to avoid attacks. I don’t feel free to walk around my territory either, but we still have to do surveillance and check every point to see if outsiders have entered, even though we don’t have geo-referencing,\u2019 shares an Indigenous woman from Madre de Dios (anonymised for safety reasons).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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\u2018In the communities that are exposed to mining, women cannot walk freely through their territory, they have to be careful not to expose themselves too much to avoid attacks.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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