Global panelists call for urgent forest conservation, reforestation, and Indigenous leadership in the face of climate and political threats
As the countdown to COP30 in Belém continues, forest protection has emerged as a central pillar of global climate action. On the third day of the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) Global Women’s Assembly for Climate Justice, policy experts, environmental leaders, and Indigenous activists called for urgent action to defend the world’s remaining forests—and placed women-led initiatives at the heart of the solution said a press release today.
The Assembly, themed “Path to COP30 and Beyond,” highlighted the indispensable role of forests in climate stability and community resilience. Panelists stressed that living forests regulate the Earth’s critical air, water, and soil cycles and are among the most effective carbon sinks available. Yet the destruction continues at alarming rates: according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, 10 million hectares of forest are lost annually. In 2024 alone, Brazil accounted for 42% of global tropical primary forest loss.
Women at the frontlines of forest protection
Speakers from around the world underscored the essential and historic role women play in protecting and restoring forests. Among them was forest conservationist Farwiza Farhan, whose work in Sumatra protects one of the last habitats for critically endangered tigers, rhinos, elephants, and orangutans. “These women are an inspiration,” she said, referring to local women forest protectors. “Our movement must become more inclusive than ever before.”
Leila Salazar-López, Executive Director of Amazon Watch, warned of an ecological tipping point in the Amazon. “We’re witnessing increasing oil exploration in the rainforest. The Amazon is in crisis, and Indigenous peoples are leading the fight to prevent its collapse,” she said. “No government should threaten those demanding climate justice.”
Neema Namadamu, Director of Hero Women Rising and WECAN’s Congo Coordinator, emphasized the ecological and cultural importance of the Congo Basin—the second-largest rainforest on Earth. “We’ve planted over half a million trees since 2013,” she said. “These forests hold our identity. The violence against our land is violence against our women and communities.”
Voices from the ground: Indigenous women resist
In Indonesia, Devi Aggriani (Taluk), an Indigenous leader from the Kuantan region and president of PEREMPUAN AMAN, echoed this sentiment. “Indigenous women are leading reforestation and resistance efforts. Our work is inseparable from our culture and survival.”
In the United States, forest protections are facing rollback. On June 23—the first day of the Assembly—the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced plans to dismantle the Roadless Rule, which safeguards over 9 million undeveloped acres in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest. This move drew strong condemnation.
“We are in an ongoing battle to protect our most precious resource—our Mother Earth,” said Yolanda Fulmer, a Native rights activist and WECAN Tongass Hub representative. “This is not a new fight. It’s a continuation of the struggle our ancestors began.”
Call to action ahead of COP30
Across regions, speakers called for global recognition of women-led forest conservation as a foundational climate solution. As preparations for COP30 in Brazil accelerate, WECAN and its allies are urging governments to prioritize forest protection, reforestation, and Indigenous land rights.
“Forests are not just carbon sinks—they are homes, livelihoods, and sacred places,” said panelists collectively. “Protecting them is not just climate action—it is justice.”
