The people who’ve contributed the least to the current climate crisis are suffering the most from the adverse impacts of global warming. Biologist and conservationist Rebecca Kormos highlights the predicament of women, particularly those living in the Global South: Excluded from critical conversations about biodiversity and climate change, they also experience the worst effects of environmental degradation. To explain this tragic facet of the climate crisis, Kormos explores the interconnections between power structures, history, gender, and nature. She spotlights the powerful role women could play in the restoration of both ecosystems and social justice, were they granted the power to do so.
Women, nature, and climate justice have an intertwined relationship.
Complex, multifaceted relationships exist between women and their concerns, the appreciation and protection of nature, and the creation of a sustainable future for humanity. For example, ecological crises and natural disasters affect women more severely than men, for a variety of reasons, and women have often led seminal ecological movements. As a result of these interconnections, society can’t solve the issues of gender inequality and the protection of nature separately.
And many women understand this. Bringing to bear women’s special understanding of and insight into nature and biodiversity, they’re working passionately on behalf of nature — to clean up the environment, protect plants and animals, defend and restore the Earth’s oceans and rainforests, and more. A movement is building around the world in which women join hands to advocate for both women’s rights and environmental protection simultaneously, seeking to empower women to apply their leadership and knowledge to the crises afflicting humanity.
Women and girls are especially vulnerable to the adverse impacts of the warming planet...
Rebecca Kormos cofounded the Women in Nature Network, which connects women working in fields related to the environment, biodiversity, and sustainability. She’s also a wildlife biologist, primatologist, filmmaker, and National Geographic Explorer.
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