This year, for the first time, the central theme of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) was linked to the climate crisis, its impact and gender-sensitive solutions. The CSW is the largest United Nations (UN) meeting about gender equality.

For FMS, it meant an opportunity to listen to women environmental defenders and put their strategies at the centre of the solutions.

As part of the panel called The Resistance of Women Environmental Defenders in South America and the Keys to Feminist Funding, activists from Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay, representatives of associated organisations and the Executive Director of FMS spoke. They shared the realities faced in their territories, analysed false climate solutions, the effects of extractivism, and the need to adopt solutions focused on defending life. We share insights and dialogues that came up during the panel.