From drylands to global decisions: Women bringing local knowledge to UNCCD COP17

For Lucia Gerbaldo, Gender and Social Inclusion Expert and WeCaN Coordinator at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the project addresses two interconnected priorities: documenting successful land management practices in dryland regions and strengthening women’s ability to advocate for gender-responsive EbA across the Rio Conventions.

Through training provided by the Kaschak Institute, WeCaN members have developed skills in negotiation, advocacy and understanding the formal processes of international conventions. WOCAT has complemented this work with training on its gender-responsive sustainable land management (SLM) tool, helping trained facilitators document successful practices and gather evidence that can inform policymakers.

For Lucia, however, the value of these activities extends beyond technical skills. WeCaN provides a space where women can share experiences, learn from one another, build confidence and develop collective advocacy messages.

She emphasises the importance of connecting women’s local expertise with international policy processes, noting that many women are already active in their communities but lack opportunities to bring their knowledge and priorities to global discussions.

The project helps bridge this gap, supporting women to move from local action to national and international engagement. Its longer-term approach also recognises that meaningful participation cannot begin and end with a single COP. Sustained mentoring, opportunities for exchange and continued investment in women-led organisations are essential to building lasting capacity and influence.

Sarah Pima: Bringing community voices into negotiations

For Sarah Pima, Executive Director of the Human Dignity and Environmental Care Foundation (HUDEFO) in Tanzania and a WeCaN member, attending UNCCD COP17 was an important opportunity to put her training into practice. Sarah was one of the women negotiators that were supported to participate in the UNFCCC COP30 in Belém, Brazil.

Working on ecosystem restoration, conservation, gender and climate change, Sarah has long been engaged in community-level action. Through the project, she received training in negotiation, advocacy and communication, alongside the opportunity to participate in international climate discussions.

She describes how this preparation helped her contribute to negotiations and coordinate with other African women, working towards a more unified voice on shared priorities.

Her experience at COP17 built on her earlier engagement at COP30, where she followed discussions on the Gender Action Plan and other issues relevant to women and climate action. At COP17, she was able to draw on her training to engage more confidently in negotiation spaces and contribute to discussions on gender equality.

For Sarah, one of the most important outcomes was the opportunity to represent the concerns of the communities she serves. She highlights the importance of ensuring that women are not only present in policy discussions but that their recommendations are reflected in decisions.

Her experience demonstrates how investment in negotiation skills and access to decision-making spaces can help community leaders become more active contributors to international policy processes. It also underscores the importance of bringing the knowledge and experience gained at global events back to local organisations and communities.

Alima Sagito: Connecting local solutions with national and global action

Alima Sagito, Executive Director of the Savannah Women Integrated Development Agency (SWIDA) and a WeCaN member in Ghana, works with women farmers and rural communities facing drought, erratic rainfall and declining agricultural productivity.

Through her organisation and the Savannah Women Farmers Association, which has more than 100,000 members, Alima supports women in dryland areas to strengthen their livelihoods and adopt sustainable land management practices.

The project has helped her and other WeCaN members build their capacities in negotiation, advocacy and ecosystem-based approaches. Alima and her colleagues have been able to bring this knowledge directly to their communities through agroforestry, agroecology, mentorship and training for women leaders.

For Alima, restoring ecosystems and sustaining livelihoods must go hand in hand. Women already have considerable knowledge of their local environments and are applying nature-based approaches in their daily lives. The challenge is to recognise this expertise, strengthen it and provide the support needed to expand its impact.

Her participation at COP17 marked a significant step in this process. Following her training, Alima was included in Ghana’s national delegation, giving her the opportunity to participate directly in international negotiations. She also contributed to discussions on gender equality, bringing grassroots perspectives into wider policy conversations.

She describes the experience as an important opportunity to understand how negotiations work and how positions are developed and incorporated into formal decisions.

Alima’s story illustrates how sustained capacity-building can open pathways from community-level action to national representation and international advocacy. It also highlights the importance of ensuring that women’s participation translates into tangible outcomes for the communities they represent.

Grace Scorey: Restoring land and bringing hope to pastoralist communities

For Grace Scorey, a member of Tanzania’s Pastoral Women Council (PWC) and WeCaN, COP17 was an opportunity to represent pastoralist and Indigenous women whose voices are often missing from global discussions.

Working with pastoral communities, PWC supports women and girls to participate in decision-making and strengthen their livelihoods. Grace highlights the close relationship between people and nature, particularly in pastoralist communities where women play essential roles in managing natural resources, collecting water and protecting the environment.

As she explains, climate resilience cannot be achieved by separating people from the ecosystems on which they depend. Women possess valuable knowledge about their environments and the solutions needed to protect them, yet they are frequently treated as beneficiaries rather than decision-makers.

At COP17, Grace had the opportunity to share the perspectives of Maasai and other pastoralist communities, learn from women in different countries and observe how international negotiations translate discussions into formal decisions.

She also emphasises the importance of ensuring that women’s participation continues beyond international events. Policies and programmes must be developed and implemented with Indigenous women and local organisations, while investment should reach the communities most affected by climate change.

This approach is reflected in PWC’s work in Tanzania, including community-led grass seed banks. Women collectively manage land, cultivate and harvest grass seeds, and generate income while contributing to land restoration. The initiative demonstrates how ecosystem restoration and economic empowerment can reinforce one another.

For Grace, removing barriers to women’s participation is essential to scaling up such initiatives. Access to water, land, information and economic opportunities all influence whether women can engage in community decision-making and climate action.

Her message is clear: restoring land can also restore hope, particularly when women and their communities have the resources and opportunities to shape their own futures.

Keitumetse Ketlhoilwe: From participation to accountability

Keitumetse Ketlhoilwe, Director of Yummy Farms and a youth and women pastoralist champion from Botswana, brings the perspective of a young entrepreneur working across livestock production and horticulture.

As a WeCaN member, she values the opportunity to connect with pastoralists, women and other practitioners from different countries, exchange experiences and strengthen knowledge of sustainable rangeland management.

At COP17, Keitumetse participated in side events and engaged with discussions on international policy. The experience gave her an opportunity to learn from others and reflect on the role of pastoralist women in shaping decisions that affect their communities.

However, she also raised an important question about what happens after global discussions conclude: how can commitments and recommendations translate into meaningful action on the ground?

For Keitumetse, participation must be accompanied by accountability. Pastoralist communities should be involved not only in discussions but also in the design, implementation and review of policies and programmes that affect their livelihoods.

She stresses that women’s knowledge and experience should be recognised and that their recommendations should lead to practical outcomes. This requires continued engagement between policymakers and the communities affected by their decisions.

Keitumetse also sees mentorship and knowledge-sharing as essential to sustaining progress. Through her work at Yummy Farms, she supports young people to develop skills in farming, entrepreneurship and leadership. She hopes to continue sharing what she has learned through the project with other women and young people.

Her experience highlights the importance of connecting international commitments with local accountability, ensuring that the voices heard at COP17 remain part of the decisions and actions that follow.

From global participation to lasting local impact

Together, the five interviews demonstrate how sustained investment in women’s capacities can strengthen their participation in climate and environmental governance.

Their experiences also reveal that meaningful engagement in global policy processes is not simply about providing access to international events. It involves building negotiation and advocacy skills, creating opportunities for peer learning and mentorship, supporting women-led organisations and ensuring that local knowledge informs decisions.

Just as importantly, participation must be a continuous process. Women need opportunities to bring knowledge from their communities into global discussions and to return home with stronger networks, skills and resources that can support local action.

The project’s approach connects these priorities by combining practical training, knowledge documentation, South-South exchanges and direct engagement with international institutions. It also recognises the importance of supporting collective advocacy, enabling individual experiences to contribute to a broader voice for women in dryland regions.

As climate impacts intensify, scaling EbA will depend not only on effective technical solutions but also on inclusive governance and sustained support for the people managing and restoring ecosystems.

The experiences of Lucia, Sarah, Alima, Grace and Keitumetse show what becomes possible when women’s expertise is recognised and they are given opportunities to shape the policies that affect their lives and livelihoods.

From local knowledge to global decisions, investing in women’s leadership is an essential part of building resilient drylands and advancing gender-transformative EbA.

Watch all the interviews here.