As we celebrate National Love a Tree Day, it’s a perfect opportunity to reflect on the vital role that trees play in our lives and the environment. From providing oxygen and shade to supporting biodiversity and combating climate change, trees are truly the unsung heroes of our planet. At Women for Conservation (W4C), we’re […]

Community Engagement in Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta In the vibrant heart of the Santa Marta region, Women for Conservation is sparking a revolution of empowerment and change within local communities like never before. Our tireless dedication to community work is not just about preserving wildlife; it’s about uniting rural women to become guardians of […]

In collaboration with our partners World Vasectomy Day and ProAves, Women for Conservation carried out its fourth vasectomy day in Medellín, Colombia over two days. For this event, 17 men with and without children chose to undergo simple and safe vasectomies, an important step for family planning in the region and the conservation of our […]

From right to left: Sara Inés Lara, Founder of Women For Conservation and Executive Director of ProAves; Luis Gilberto Murillo Urrutia, Ambassador of Colombia to the United States; Paloma Carrillo, Operational Director and Accountant of ProAves Colombia; Juan Diego Villa, Director of Legal Affairs at ProAves.  Protecting the environment and promoting women’s leadership are highly […]

From left to right: Sara Inés Lara and Isabella Cortes Lara co-founders of Women for Conservation and Martín Tapias, Director Caracol Radio Barranquilla Caracol Radio Interview For International Women’s Day, Caracol Radio, one of Colombia’s top radio networks, interviewed Executive Director Isabella Cortes Lara and co-founder Sara Inés Lara, two remarkable women leading the charge […]

This year for International Women’s Rights Day, women artisans, piangueras (shellfish collectors), vicheras (Afro-Colombian Viche distillers), barequeras (artisanal gold miners), green business managers, and tourism operators from the municipalities of Medio Atrato, Nuquí, Bahía Solano, Tadó, Condoto, and El Carmen de Atrato in the department of Chocó commemorated their strength, resilience, and contributions to nature […]

  As the sun rises over the misty mountains of Palmor, a picturesque city nestled in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, one is greeted by the sight of lush hilly rainforests and sprawling coffee farms. Here, life moves at a different pace, where the streets are filled with people riding donkeys, and the air […]

In the heart of Colombia’s biodiverse landscapes, Women for Conservation (W4C) proudly celebrates a significant stride in empowering women in amphibian research. Partnering with ProAves, our mission to break barriers for Colombian women scientists has found a remarkable success in the recently concluded course “Techniques for the Study of Colombian Amphibians”. Held for 4 days […]

Environmental education stands as a cornerstone for Women for Conservation and our Colombian partner ProAves. With this commitment in mind, the mobile classroom known as Rana Chiva made its mark at the 12th World Congress on Environmental Education (WEEC) held from January 29 to February 2 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The congress serves […]

Guest article by Maria José Diniz da Costa, PhD Maria José Minhoto Diniz da Costa, PhD is a reproductive biologist dedicated to women’s health research. After completing her PhD at Warwick University in Recurrent Pregnancy Loss, Maria worked as a Postdoctoral Associate at Duke University in Fetal-Maternal medicine research. Maria’s passion for community health led […]

Women Reforesting Sierra Leone: A Climate Justice Success Story A Beacon of Hope in a Vulnerable Land Nestled along the Atlantic coast of Africa, Sierra Leone emerges as a jewel of biodiversity, yet it stands among the 10% of countries most vulnerable to the ravages of climate change. While the African continent unfairly bears the […]

Empowering Women, Saving the Rainforest We’re beyond excited to unveil a captivating episode of the Lookfar Podcast titled Empowering Women, Saving the Rainforest featuring our very own Sara Lara and Isabella Cortes. Dive deep with us into a transformative conversation that underscores our grassroots efforts in Colombia and sheds light on our mission at Women for […]

Women Scientists Saving Wildlife In the heart of the Amazon, where the vibrant tapestry of biodiversity is woven, a groundbreaking initiative is taking shape, transforming dreams into reality for Colombian women scientists. Thanks to the unwavering support of individuals like you and the visionary initiative of Daughters for Earth, Women for Conservation proudly presents the […]

This Indigenous Amazon Conservation mural project combined Women for Conservation’s mission to conserve critical biodiversity while uplifting women and youth in surrounding communities.   For Indigenous People’s Day this October, we take a look back at one of our most significant environmental education field projects in collaboration with the Jiw Indigenous community this past March. […]

Women for Conservation is thrilled to welcome Isabella Cortes Lara, our dynamic new Executive Director! In her inaugural letter, Isabella shares her vision for empowering women as leaders in conservation, highlighting the transformative journey that lies ahead. Dear Supporters, Partners, and Champions of Conservation,  Your generous support has been pivotal in driving our mission to […]

Guest article by Maria José Diniz da Costa, PhD Maria José Minhoto Diniz-da-Costa, PhD is a reproductive biologist dedicated to women’s health research. After completing her PhD degree at Warwick University in the field of Recurrent Pregnancy loss, Maria worked as a Postdoctoral Associate at Duke University in Fetal-Maternal medicine research. Maria’s passion for community […]

(From left): Marline, Justine, Huguette, Lucienne, Celine, Fenosoa. The six new women forest rangers are helping Fanamby Organization preserve Madagascar’s biodiversity. Thanks to your support, six women have been trained and employed by Fanamby Organization to carry out essential community patrols. The women are part of the Committee called KMMFA which stands for Komity Miaro […]

Women for Conservation is proud to partner with the ProAves Foundation and the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund to promote the Rana Chiva Bus, a community-based mobile environmental awareness project. This real-life Magic School Bus of environmental education brings endangered wildlife conservation inititives to school children and community members throughout Colombia. The project’s objective […]

As the co-founder of Women for Conservation, I am filled with pride to share some truly inspiring news with our valued W4C family. Today, I have the honor and pleasure to announce that one of our incredible partner ProAves rangers, Cristian Andrés Vásquez Bermúdez, has been awarded the prestigious 2023 IUCN WCPA International Ranger Award. […]

      Mapiripán: Small Town in the Colombian Amazon On April 19th, 89 women from our waiting list received access to free contraception in Mapiripán, Meta, a municipality in the Colombian Amazon. This was the largest number of women that have participated in Women for Conservation’s family planning initiatives so far during a single […]

Date: June 28th, 2023 Women for Conservation celebrated World Rainforest Day 2023 by presenting for our global partner, Population Connection about W4C’s grassroots projects empowering rural women saving Colombian rainforests and endangered wildlife. In this presentation, we delved into Women for Conservation’s community-based programs in conservation training, sustainable livelihoods, and family planning— all aimed at […]

Tolima, Colombia, June 30, 2023 It is with great pride and excitement that we announce an extraordinary triumph for ProAves and Women for Conservation (W4C), organizations that have long been at the forefront of championing environmental stewardship and empowering women in conservation. On June 30th, Sara Inés Lara, Women for Conservation’s founder and Executive Director […]

Jhojanna is a woman forest ranger in love with conservation. Eight months ago she courageously and enthusiastically started working as a forest ranger in the ProAves Hormiguero de Torcoroma Nature Reserve in Colombia’s eastern Andes. Jhojanna is a mother of two daughters – 19 and 9 years old– and as a professional in forestry engineering […]

Women for Conservation’s Isabella Cortes Lara celebrated International Biodiversity Day 2023 by presenting alongside Gen Z for the Trees’ Roshan Khan, in a virtual event hosted by our partner, Planet Women.  These women are in their 20s and leading international projects to protect rainforests, wildlife and human rights. Tune into the video below to watch […]

In the heart of Colombia, the preservation of endangered species and their habitats has become a critical concern. However, amid the challenges, a beacon of hope shines through the efforts of Women for Conservation, an organization dedicated to empowering rural women and implementing grassroots movements to protect the rainforest and its endangered wildlife. Recently, a […]

We are excited to announce the success of our first accessible Family Planning campaign in Puerto Pinzon, a rural Colombian community buffering our ProAves El Paujil Reserve. Women for Conservation and ProAves partnered with Profamilia to provide women with free and voluntary access to family planning and information about their reproductive rights. From March 29-31st, […]

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has highlighted our Executive Director, Sara Inés Lara, as one of the women making history in bird conservation in the Americas. Sara is the Executive director of both ProAves and Women for Conservation,  which have participated in several projects supported by the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (NMBCA) program. […]

We are thrilled to announce that our first Women for Conservation project in Sierra Leone is off to an incredible start!   We have teamed up with local grassroots leader Roseline Isata Mansaray and Fridays for Future Sierra Leone to provide reforestation training for 100 women and children in the Waterloo community, empowering them to take […]

Women for Conservation is proud to be featured in a new article on the positive environmental impact of empowering and educating girls by UC Berkeley Professor Matthew Parker. Read the full article “Educating Girls: An Earth-Saving Enterprise” on Vox Populisphere. >>>  This article highlights the importance of girls’ education in promoting sustainable development and protecting […]

In celebration of International Women’s Rights Day, Women for Conservation held our second annual Entrepreneurship Fair “La Sierra es Mujer” on March 5, in the village of Vista Nieves in the municipality of Minca, in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, in the department of Magdalena. This second annual fair was attended by more than […]

Thanks to donors like you, Women for Conservation reached our fundraising goal of $3,600 to employ 6 female forest rangers who will spend the next year protecting baobab trees and establishing a permanent tree nursery in Madagascar! Women for Conservation’s global partnership is supporting Fanamby’s incredible workpreserving 800-year-old Baobab Trees and reforesting degraded land. Baobab […]

Listen to podcast on the PGAP website: https://pgap.fireside.fm/w4c We are excited to announce that W4C Vice President, Isabella Cortes Lara, sat down with Post-Growth Australia for a podcast episode about her experiences facilitating access to family planning resources and conservation training to women in rural Colombia. In this podcast, Isabella highlights her personal experience organizing […]

The Population Connection Global Partners Program: We are thrilled to be a part of the Population Connection Global Partners program. Population Connection has supported smaller global partner organizations since 2016. They focus on funding local and community-based organizations that include programming related to sustainable global population growth. In Population Connections’ words, they “support a growing […]

Community Organizing Protects Wildlife We are excited to announce that Las Tangaras ProAves Reserve will be officially recognized as a Colombian Regional Park! In addition to this new government-protected status, the reserve will also expand its area by 3,500 hectares (8,649 acres).This new federal status will make Las Tangaras Reserve part of the National System […]

Women for Conservation has expanded our programs to a new location, in the municipality of Almaguer, Cauca in the Colombian highlands. This is an area of incredible biodiversity, as well as the site of the most important aquifer table in Colombia. W4C has already begun working in the municipality to facilitate voluntary access to family […]

World Vasectomy Day 2022: Family planning for men: Vasectomies are a commitment by men to conserve the planet and to share the responsibility of family planning with their partners.> On December 13th, Women for Conservation, in collaboration with ProAves and Profamilia, completed their third vasectomy campaign with 14 participants from the municipality of El Carmen […]

We are thrilled to announce that Women for Conservation has been chosen as a grant recipient by Daughters for Earth! This new partnership will empower us to move forward with the next steps of our  Amazon Rainforest Women’s Research station along the Guaviare River. This grant will support expansion of a biological research and conservation […]

Women for Conservation has always strived to create a lasting impact—not just on the lives of women, but also on the health of our planet. As the climate crisis worsens, we are stepping up our efforts to protect and preserve the world’s most extraordinary habitats. We believe in the power of grassroots, community-led conservation and […]

Project Overview: Women for Conservation is excited to announce our first women-led conservation partnership with Fanamby Organization in Madagascar! Our incredible supporters helped W4C raise $3,600 to fully fund this project to support 6 new women forest rangers, who help to protect and restore degraded land for the benefit of both wildlife and rural communities. […]

We are incredibly proud to announce that Women for Conservation has been chosen as an official member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)! The IUCN is the world’s oldest and largest environmental network, uniting more than 1,400 government and non-governmental organizations and more than 18,000 experts in over 170 countries. This membership […]

Celebrating World Vasectomy Day Earlier this week, global population hit 8 billion. Human population growth is projected to continue growing exponentially over the coming decades – threatening the existence of earth’s incredible ecosystems and the hundreds of thousands of species with whom we share the planet. The fist step to curbing unsustainable population growth is […]

Women for Conservation Serves Over 1,300 Women Caring for Nature Reserves This article was originally published September 5th, 2022 in Spanish by the Colombian news Outlet Semana. To see the original version of this article in Spanish, click here >>>  Women for Conservation empowers women and children to lead eco-friendly projects to protect critical ecosystems […]

Women for Conservation is celebrating our first family planning brigade success in the Amazon Rainforest! From March 15th – 17th, 2022, Women for Conservation partnered with Profamilia to provide seventy-two women with family planning medical procedures in the municipality of Mapiripán, in the Amazon Rainforest. Women for Conservation and Profamilia have been collaborating with the […]

Women for Conservation and ProAves have worked since 2004 to protect the Critically Endangered Blue-billed Curassow and its unique habitat by raising awareness and empowering local women’s groups to save this spectacular species. Location: Magdalena Valley, Colombia Key Species: Blue-billed Curassow (CR), Magdalena Spider Monkey (CR), Magdalena Lowland Tapir (VU), Spectacled Bear (VU), Jaguar (NT) […]

Guest Report by Benjamin Skolnik, Conservation Projects Specialist, American Bird Conservancy It takes people to achieve on-the-ground conservation. This simple observation is actually quite complex given the variety of threatened ecosystems and our enormous and diverse human population, particularly in Latin America. Earlier this year, I found myself racing to keep up with a group […]

We are thrilled to announce our latest podcast interview! Women for Conservation’s executive director, Sara Inés Lara, discussed the organization’s conservation efforts through female empowerment on Brevard Zoo’s podcast, Paws for a Moment. Listen on Spotify >>> Listen on Apple Podcasts >>> After leaving Colombia to pursue a civil engineering career in England, Sara was […]

Celebrating Conservation Project Coordinator Kelly Julio Donado Happy Birthday to Kelly Julio Donado, our Women for Conservation Project Coordinator in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta! Kelly is the force who organizes and facilitates Women for Conservation’s community groups in multiple villages across the municipality of Santa Marta.  We are committed to listening to local […]

Educational Safari Inspires 5th graders in Nepal September 20, 2022 Earlier this week, Birds Nepal, with financial support from Women for Conservation, organized a conservation awareness safari for students from Green Valley School and Sunshine Secondary Boarding School, both in the buffer-zone of the mega-diverse Chitwan National Park. Women for Conservation and Birds Nepal understand […]

The feminist band Pussy Riot’s brave activism and performance art has inspired women all over the world to use their voices to stand up to oppression. Even after a two-year prison sentence, band co-founder Maria Alyokhina continued to speak out against injustice. W4C Director of Conservation, Isabella Cortes Lara, reflects upon meeting the incredible Maria […]

Birds Nepal & Women for Conservation Celebrate International Vulture Awareness Day The first Saturday in September each year is International Vulture Awareness Day (IVAD). Of nine species of Vultures found in Nepal, eight of these are globally Threatened and three species are categorized as Critically Endangered in IUCN Red list. IVAD originated from Vulture Awareness […]

Project Overview: While our family planning efforts are usually focused on providing women and girls with access to contraception, we have recently received significant interest from men in Carmen de Atrato who wish to have access to vasectomies. Our first ever vasectomy campaign took place in February 2022, when we provided access to vasectomies to […]

Flash Flood Relief: Help Us Support the People of Puerto Pinzón Boyacá, Colombia June 8th Devastating floods forced the community of Puerto Pinzón to evacuate their homes as the Ermitaño River flooded their town last week. National media reports that 700 families in Puerto Pinzón have been affected, and many inhabitants have lost their homes, livestock, […]

W4C’s Latest Vasectomy Campaign Shatters Stigmas to Set New Records Women for Conservation’s latest vasectomy campaign on September 2nd provided 24 men with reproductive healthcare in the rural community of Carmen de Atrato. Families in this remote town lack access to adequate health clinics, and must travel 4 hours by bus to the city of […]

26 August, 2022 Women from the towns surrounding Minca, including La Tagua, Tigrera, and Vista Nieves, gathered for an educational day to raise awareness about preventing gender violence. The event was organized by multiple government bodies, including the Mayor’s Office of Santa Marta, the Attorney General’s Office, the Metropolitan Police, and the Colombian Institute of […]

El Dorado Successes: Updates from the Field July 2022 The megadiverse ProAves El Dorado Reserve is located in the incredible Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta which is considered “Most Irreplaceable Site on Earth” by the journal Science. Women for Conservation supports the reserve by engaging local communities in workshops and campaigns which mutually benefit biodiversity […]

Project Overview: Women for Conservation is excited to announce our development plans for a biological research and conservation station in the Colombian Amazon! This Amazon Rainforest Research Station will be located in the ProAves El Jaguar Natural Reserve, a site of extraordinary biodiversity in Colombia’s Orinoco River basin. This project will prevent poaching by allowing […]

After two years of running programs in Nepal, the Women for Conservation leadership team was finally able to visit and see our projects in person. This April, WFC Founder & Executive Director, Sara Inés Lara, along with Co-founder & Director of Conservation, Isabella Cortes, spent three weeks visiting Women for Conservation’s Nepal projects with Birds […]

Breaking barriers and stigmas, 26 women join the conservation movement through family planning July 20, 2022 Thanks to your support, 26 more women have been provided with family planning procedures in the mega-diverse Chocó Rainforest region! Women for Conservation organized the logistics for these women to travel 5 hours from rural Carmen De Atrato to […]

Women for Conservation is excited to announce the addition of two new female forest guards in our training program! These women have been involved with Women for Conservation’s community group in the village of Puerto Pinzón, Puerto Boyacá, Boyacá which has been active since 2013. “I believe this is a special opportunity for us, especially […]

Record Breaking Campaign Empowers 93 with Family Planning Procedures in Single Day Women for Conservation is celebrating a new record, with 93 family planning procedures delivered in two Colombian communities within a single day. In the first two months of 2022 we have already delivered more procedures for family planning in Colombia than any year […]

Women for Conservation is celebrating another family planning brigade success! From January 26-28th, 2022, Women for Conservation and Profamilia were able to provide a total of 63 women with family planning medical procedures in the rural municipality of Carmen de Atrato, in the Chocó Rainforest. Women for Conservation is proud to have empowered these 63 […]

Women for Conservation is absolutely honored to have been chosen as an ongoing partner of Melbourne Florida’s Brevard Zoo. April 8, 2022 In only the first quarter of 2022, we have already blown past previous annual impact records, demonstrating the rapid growth of our programs in the field. This incredible 3+ year partnership will provide […]

Conservation through Education and Family Planning: Population Matters’ Guest Report 1 APRIL 2022 Between July 2021 and February 2022, Empower to Plan supported Women for Conservation in the provision of environmental education workshops and family planning clinics in biodiversity hotspots of Colombia. Our Empower to Plan Project Coordinator, Catriona Spaven-Donn, visited Women for Conservation over […]

Sara Inés Lara featured as Female Hero of Bird Conservation January 25, 2022 We are proud to announce that Women for Conservation’s founder and President, Sara Inés Lara, has been honored with a chapter in the new book Female Heroes of Bird Conservation by Rosemary Low. The book shines a spotlight on over 30 female […]

November 21, 2021 Since 2020, Women for Conservation has been partnering with Birds Nepal in a community conservation initiative centered around promoting environmental education, eco-job training, and supporting a sustainable ecotourism economy. This project  provides resources to support wildlife conservation in Nepal, focusing on rural areas suffering from high illiteracy and poverty rates and communities […]

Sara Inés Lara Recognized as One of 100 Great Latin American Women November 2019 Colombian conservationist Sara Inés Lara was recognized by the oldest children’s magazine in Latin America, Billiken, in a special publication that celebrates the magazine’s centennial and honors women of the continent. Presented on November 21, 2019, before the Honorable Chamber of […]

Women for Conservation’s latest sustainable livelihoods success has been empowering women owned microbusinesses in El Dorado. December 29, 2021 Women for Conservation seeks to promote women’s economic empowerment in ways that mutually benefit rural communities and biodiversity conservation. Earlier this month, we celebrated the graduation of 15 women from our new intensive program in culinary […]

We are thrilled to announce that we have raised the funds to protect a unique Magdalena Rainforest habitat from destruction! Along with our partner organization ProAves Colombia, we were able to acquire 183 acres of strategic land, which will block a proposed road from cutting through the heart of our Pauxi Pauxi Reserve. Rainforests are […]

Ninfa Honored with IUCN International Ranger Award June 2021 With great pride we congratulate Ninfa Carianil Damaso, Proaves’ & Women for Conservation’s first female forest ranger, who currently works Fundación ProAves Aguila Arpia Reserve. She is one of the winners of the important International Park Rangers Award of the International Union for Conservation of Nature […]

With the conviction that the world needs science and science needs women, the L’Oréal Foundation and UNESCO held the first edition of the For Women In Science festival, where they invited 40 brilliant female researchers from different parts of the world, including our executive director, Sara Inés Lara. These innovators were part of last Tuesday’s […]

Ninfa Estella Carianil now serves as the first female forest ranger for Fundación ProAves. Women for Conservation supports her in this groundbreaking role. Ninfa’s life changed abruptly with the loss of her son, and then later her husband, José Rufino Mora, in April 2020. Their family lived together in the ProAves Águila Arpía Reserve in […]