Bulletin | 25 November 2021
16 Days of Activism is here!
Each year, from the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on 25 November to Human Rights Day on 10 December, the global community campaigns to end gender-based violence (GBV). 
This year, the UN calls upon the global community to ‘Orange the World’ to raise awareness and drive action. At the GBV-ENV Center, we reflect on a momentous year, marking significant advancements in the integration of, attention, investment and action to address GBV in environmental policymaking, programming and practice. 
A year of impact
While the impacts of COVID-19 and the climate crisis continued to remind us all of urgency to realize gender equality and safeguard our planet, the GBV-ENV Center marks a year of progress:
In 2021 we saw new, revised and strengthened biodiversity and climate policy frameworks; catalytic cooperation to protect women environmental human rights defenders; increased knowledge products and tools to support decision-makers and practitioners; and projects taking action – together, change is not only possible, but well underway. Key steps forward included:
In February, the draft outline of a Post-2020 Gender Plan of Action for the Convention on Biological Diversity calls for attention and action to address GBV in access to and conservation of biodiversity, including to protect women environmental human rights defenders.
From the GBV-ENV Center: A briefing note to support the Global Biodiversity Framework process is available. A Summary for Policymakers is also available.
In July, the Generation Equality Forum catalyzed commitments from around the world to close gender equality gaps through Action Coalitions, including through Feminist Action for Climate Justice. Under this Action Coalition, the GBV-ENV Center committed to address GBV and climate change linkages.
From the GBV-ENV Center: You can read IUCN’s commitment, Ushering a generation of equality for sustainability and gender equality, which includes emphasis on closing knowledge gaps and mobilizing action through GBV-ENV Center activities.
In September, IUCN’s World Conservation Congress convened 9,200 people, holding a first-ever thematic session as well as a training on GBV and environment linkages. A resolution on protecting environmental defenders, including against GBV, marked the first time the Congress integrated GBV-environment linkages within decisions.
From the GBV-ENV Center: New! – Published in the Special Issue on environment defenders of Policy Matters, a peer-review journal of the IUCN Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy (CEESP), a new article The urgency of addressing gender-based violence against women environmental human rights defenders explores the gender-differentiated forms of violence faced by women environmental human rights defenders (WEHRDs).
In November, a new analysis on gender integration in recently revised and updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) was released at the Glasgow COP26 Climate Conference. Among the key findings, the analysis revealed six countries that discuss GBV in relation to their climate change strategies. As noted at a COP26 US Pavilion event, GBV and climate change are linked, with diverse and devastating impacts across communities.
Via the GBV-ENV Center: Brand new! – You can read the full analysis Gender and National Climate Planning: Gender integration in the revised Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

Looking forward in 2022
Key policy milestones continue in 2022, with opportunities to cement and build global attention to GBV-environment linkages as crucial for achieving human rights and environmental sustainability.
The sixty-sixth session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW66)
14 – 25 March 2022
The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women. Instrumental in promoting women’s rights and documenting the reality of women’s lives throughout the world, CSW66 will focus on achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programs.
From the GBV-ENVCenter: Brand new! – See an expert paper, Understanding and addressing gender-based violence as part of the climate emergency, invited to inform the CSW Expert Group meeting on why and how closing gender inequality gaps and addressing GBV is critical for addressing the climate crisis and achieving a sustainable and just future for all.
UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15)
25 April – 8 May 2022
COP15 will resume in April 2022 for Parties to finalise and adopt the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, as well as its post-2020 Gender Plan of Action, which contains an objective on the elimination, prevention and response to gender-based violence, with an emphasis on violence against women environmental human rights defenders. Preparatory meetings will resume in January 2022 to finalise drafts.
From the GBV-ENV Center: Brand new! – Hear from Lola Cabnal, Asociación Ak’ Tenamit, about the intrinsic links Indigenous women have with Mother Earth – and how gender-based violence disrupts dignity, safety and agency at different levels, including in the defense of the environment. 
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) first sessional period
06 – 16 June 2022
Parties to the UNFCCC agreed a new gender decision at COP26 that brings renewed attention to the Enhanced Lima Work Programme on Gender and the Gender Action Plan – the implementation of which will be reviewed by June 2022. Parties and observers are invited to submit information on the progress of implementation, further work to be undertaken, and areas for improvement – as well as new information on differentiated impacts and opportunities to elevate women as agents for change – of gender action plan activities by 31 March 2022.
From the GBV-ENV Center: A summary for policymakers on GBV and environment linkages gathers top considerations and recommendations from IUCN’s expansive study on Gender-based Violence and Environment Linkages: The Violence of Inequality.
RISE spotlight
Worthy of dignity and safety: 
Understanding and turning the tide on GBV and environment linkages
In September at IUCN’s World Conservation Congress, the first-ever thematic session focused on understanding and addressing GBV and environment linkages showcased promising strategies and cross-sector approaches. Grantees of the Resilient, Inclusive, and Sustainable Environments (RISE) Challenge spoke from Flora and Fauna International, Conservation International, the Kenya Wildlife Conservancy Association, and WildAct Vietnam joined Ak'Tenamit, IUCN, and the Nature Conservancy to share insights on why and how understanding and addressing GBV and environment links is urgently important for conservation action. 
Missed the event? 
Read a summary and view video statements here!
New to the library
The GBV-ENV Center curates a library of resources from around the globe to support informed action to address GBV and environment linkages across environmental policy and practitioner spheres
Explore recent additions below and visit the library!
Learn. Act. Create change.
The GBV and Environment Linkages Center is hosted by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) under its Advancing Gender in the Environment (AGENT) partnership with USAID. It works to close the knowledge gap on GBV-environment issues while mobilizing learning and forging collaborative action towards ending GBV and securing environmental sustainability.
Cross-sector partnerships.
Pioneering learning.
USAID’s Resilient, Inclusive, and Sustainable Environments (RISE) Challenge identifies and funds the innovative application of promising or proven interventions that prevent and respond to gender-based violence across programs that address the access, use, control, and management of natural resources.
Filling information gaps.
Making the case.
Tailored technical support.
Advancing Gender in the Environment (AGENT) is a collaboration between the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to increase the effectiveness of environment programming through the robust integration of gender considerations, while improving gender equality and women’s empowerment outcomes.
The information provided in this email is not official U.S. Government information and does not represent the views or positions of the U.S. Agency for International Development or the U.S. Government.