PBI COP26 webinar to feature Kenyan environmental defender Nelly Madegwa

Kenyan environmental rights defender Nelly Madegwa will be speaking on the PBI ‘COP26 and land defenders’ webinar on November 6.

To register to hear her speak, click here.

Nelly advocates for women’s voices in community committees that deal with land disputes and the conservation of forests and rivers in the county of Kakamega.

She also works on cases that involve violations of women rights to land ownership and leads community cafes on the importance of women’s right to own land being respected and how it connects to them contributing to food security for the country.

The BBC has reported: “Women are more likely than men to be affected by climate change, studies show. United Nations figures indicate that 80% of people displaced by climate change are women. The UN has highlighted the need for gender-sensitive responses to the impacts of climate change.”

Climate Change News adds: “Owning land [in Kenya] is key to helping women cope with the impacts of climate change, such as drought, and enables them to feed their families. Women head about 32% of households, but individually hold only 1% of land titles.”

IPS has also reported: “Climate change [in Kenya] is worsening droughts and erratic rainfall, leading to desertification and soil erosion, deforestation and unsustainable agricultural practices are also driving up emissions at the same time.”

And Reuters has noted: “Kenya is highly vulnerable to climate change. Rainfall will become more intense and less predictable. Even the slightest increase in droughts will present major challenges for food security and water availability.”

Overall, Africans make up 17 percent of the world’s population but have generated just 4 percent of global carbon emissions. The UN has cautioned that climate change on the African continent is “hitting the most vulnerable hardest, and contributing to food insecurity, population displacement and stress on water resources.”

PBI webinar, November 6

Peace Brigades International will be holding a webinar on COP26 and land defenders that will take place on Saturday, November 6 at 1 pm EST, 7 pm CEST (European time) and 8 pm in Kenya.

The webinar will have simultaneous translations in English and Spanish.

It will feature Nelly along with land and environmental rights defenders from Colombia, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Mexico.

The webinar will also include an introduction by the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment David R. Boyd.

To register for this webinar, please click here.

Our speakers will include Danilo Rueda (Colombia), Juana Ramona Zuñiga (Honduras), Amaru Ruiz (Nicaragua), Nelly Madegwa (Kenya).