As we reflect on the amazing women we met at New York Climate Week who are leading the global fight against climate change and biodiversity loss, I want to thank you for making our work possible. Women for Conservation would not exist without your support and our wonderful community, who have been with us every step of the way. It was an honor and a privilege to be able to bring our message to Climate Week; the message that you have helped to create.
Sitting at The Earth Has a Song event beside Sylvia Earle, Farwiza Farhan, Juma Xipaia, Paula Caballero, and many other inspiring women who are fighting to advance planetary health and protect the earth’s most biodiverse places, we felt inspired and rejuvenated. In spaces where women are leading the conversation, we saw the most impactful action being taken —motivated by a love for our planet and for one another, and by the recognition that climate change is touching all of us and showing up now in very real ways.
“Women do not need to be invited to conserve; they do not need to be invited to protect. They know about all the challenges, such as climate change. They know it already because they live it every single day” (Sara Lara).
We heard from Juma Xipaia, the first woman chief of the Middle Xingu region in the Brazilian Amazon. She fights against illegal gold mining and land exploitation and is a leading voice against the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam project on the Amazon River. Her resilience has inspired people worldwide through the documentary she co-produced with Leonardo DiCaprio, YANUNI.
Paula Caballero, managing director of The Nature Conservancy in South America, spoke of the phoenix allegory. Right now, we are hanging on the edge of a precipice. We are facing a worldwide biodiversity and climate crisis. But for Paula, this crisis is an opportunity to rise from the ashes. “This is a call to action, because time is very, very short… What we need to destroy is our complacency… Question how you are perpetuating where we are right now, and dare to disrupt”.
Bhavreen Kandhari, co-founder of the Delhi-based advocacy organization Warrior Moms, highlighted the importance of recognizing the part that women are already playing: “Individuals..mothers and women who are working quietly somewhere. Nobody knows them because there is no name of an organization, there are no funds, there is no CSR, but they are doing so much work; that’s what should be [stressed]”.
Women for Conservation founder & president Sara Lara asked us to picture a world where all women are free to chase their dreams, have control over their own bodies, and earn a living wage:
“Imagine if we give more women opportunities to thrive and to lead. Imagine a world where women have opportunities to advance in their own life and protect the environment. We would be tapping into an incredible force, and we are only just understanding that”
We are bringing this energy with us as we move toward the end of 2026—continuing to raise up the voices of rural women leading conservation efforts in their communities. We need this work now more than ever, as weather patterns change and temperatures skew further and further from the norm. We have the answer: we need to do everything we can to help the Earth heal. When we do, the Earth will work with us to heal the ecosystems we are an integral part of.
You can watch The Earth Has A Song by clicking the link below. It is not a panel to miss.