HYDERABAD, INDIA (October 6, 2012)—From October 8th to October 19th 2012, WEDO is thrilled to bring together an international team of advocates at the eleventh meeting of the Conferences of Parties to  the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in Hyderabad, India.

With support from the CBD Secretariat, thirteen women experts in biodiversity, conservation and gender equality from 10 countries – India, Nepal, Nigeria, Kenya, Colombia, Costa Rica, Suriname, the Philippines, and the U.S. – form WEDO’s delegation to the COP, working together to host a daily women’s caucus, deliver interventions on women’s rights and gender equality, and push for enhanced implementation on the many policy commitments made in recent years.

Especially leading up to Rio+20 in June, efforts have been made across each of the three Rio Conventions, UNCBD, UNFCCC, and UNCCD, to harmonize policies and practices, particularly those aimed at promoting gender equality. Active in each of these spaces, WEDO continues to engage and build partnerships across sectors, Member States and gender equality allies, ultimately seeking to turn policy commitments into real action – improving the lives of women and men around the world and securing a sustainable environment.

About the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

In every region of the world, women and men have unique relationships with, dependencies upon, and expertise regarding their environments. The 1993 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is the international framework for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and the equitable sharing of its benefits. The Preamble of the Convention shows a  commitment to gender equality by, “Recognizing also: the vital role that women play in the conservation and  sustainable use of biological diversity and affirming the need for the full participation of women at all levels of  policy-making and implementation for biological diversity conservation.”

The Parties to the CBD, agreeing gender text in their decisions as early as 1996, at the third Conference of Parties in Argentina, are in a trail-blazing position. Committing to gender mainstreaming in CBD’s 2010 decision X/19 and integrating gender equality into its Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, Parties are in a unique position to pursue transformative implementation, including by meeting the Aichi Biodiversity Targets.