COP23: Event will discuss role of indigenous women in territorial governance

Lima/Bonn, November 9, 2017.- Within the framework of the Conference of the Parties (COP23), the National Organization of Andean and Amazonian Indigenous Women of Peru (ONAMIAP) will hold an event "The role of indigenous women in territorial governance ".

This gathering will take place on Friday, November 10 at 17:00 H (Bonn time), in the Pavilion of Indigenous Peoples, in the Bonn Zone.

ONAMIAP will talk about the multiple limitations faced by indigenous women in the Andes and the Amazon regarding access in the decision-taking process regarding the governance of communal territories. A study from the National Agrarian Census (Cenagro 2012), shows that this reality is evidenced by the fact that less than 3% of peasant and native communities are presided by women and only 1% of the irrigation boards have a woman at the presidency..

"In our communities we are half of the population, but in many cases we are still not recognized as qualified comuneras, which prevents our effective participation in territorial governance," said the president of ONAMIAP, Ketty Marcelo López

In spite of these limitations, for centuries indigenous women have been and are the ones who preserve and transmit ancestral knowledges and practices for the care of land and the forests. Also, the resources that are found in these zones and represent more than 80% of existing biodiversity.

Because of this close relationship with Mother Earth, indigenous women are the most vulnerable members of the communities, more likely to be affected by climate change.

"The effective participation of Andean and Amazonian indigenous women in territorial governance must be recognized and incorporated into all national strategies that address climate change," Ketty Marcelo said.

The event will also give an opportunity to the Andean and Amazonian leaders participating in COP 23 to present the work that ONAMIAP has been doing to guarantee the access of Peruvian indigenous women to territorial governance.

ONAMIAP is a national organization of Andean and Amazonian indigenous women that has 29 bases in 15 regions of Peru and fights for the full exercise of the individual and collective rights of women and indigenous peoples. The ONAMIAP leaders participate in different decision spaces promoting proposals to have an impact on public policies that affect women and indigenous peoples. For more information, visit the ONAMIAP website: www.onamiap.org.