In June, Cord hosted a regional webinar spotlighting the realities and reflections of women environmental defenders (WEDs) across the Mekong region. Drawing on insights from the EMPOWER project—which supported over 300 women in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam—the discussion explored how climate change, gender inequality, and conflict intersect, and what support WEDs say they need most.
Across the Mekong region, civic space is shrinking and access to land, forests, and water is becoming increasingly contested. Meanwhile, climate-related shocks — including droughts, floods, and erratic rainfall — are disrupting livelihoods, driving food insecurity, and compounding poverty. In this context, climate change acts as a threat multiplier by intensifying pre-existing inequalities and exacerbating vulnerability to conflict.
During the webinar, we heard how Women Environmental Defenders (WEDs) are already responding. Despite systemic barriers, including traditional gender norms, they are successfully mitigating environmental disputes, managing natural resources sustainably, and building resilience in their communities.
Understanding the Climate-Gender-Conflict Nexus
Carlos Gallardo, Cord’s Southeast Asia Regional Representative, opened with a stark image: a Cambodian WED standing in an abandoned mining test pit — a reminder of how poorly regulated resource extraction can damage both land and livelihoods.
Carlos described how climate change amplifies pre-existing inequalities and drives conflict, with impacts that are deeply gendered: from economic loss to increased exposure to violence and exclusion from decision-making. Women are often the first to feel the consequences, yet the last to be consulted. Gender, he noted, is a critical lens through which both climate and conflict are experienced—and the entry point for addressing their root causes.
Carlos described how climate change amplifies pre-existing inequalities and drives conflict, with impacts that are deeply gendered: from economic loss to increased exposure to violence – both online and offline – and exclusion from decision-making. Women are often the first to feel the consequences, yet the last to be consulted. Gender, he noted, is a critical lens through which both climate and conflict are experienced – and the entry point for addressing their root causes.
Carlos further elaborated on how the EMPOWER project in the Mekong region was implemented through an integrated approach grounded in the climate, gender, and conflict nexus. The initiative was guided by the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, particularly its pillars of participation, protection, and prevention. He emphasized that recognizing and applying this nexus is essential to ensuring the long-term sustainability of any climate and environmental initiative.
From Empowerment to Action: Indigenous Women Advocating for the Ethnic Way of Life Bill in Thailand
Nittaya Earkanna (Mee), Executive Director of IMPECT, discussed the challenges facing Indigenous women in Thailand. Over 3,800 Indigenous communities live in the country’s forest areas—roughly 32% of national territory—yet most still lack legal recognition. Despite targets to expand forest cover, unsustainable extraction continues. Recent changes to the ‘Ethnic Way of Life’ bill, including the removal of key language, further weaken protections for Indigenous identity and rights.
Mee highlighted that women are routinely excluded from land and resource management decisions—even though they hold detailed knowledge of customary use:
“Women are the ones who know where we collect the mushrooms, the bamboo shoots, where we collect the herbal medicine.”
MEE
Cultural barriers, limited education, and gendered expectations further constrain their participation.
She called for formal recognition of Indigenous women’s knowledge and leadership, including guaranteed seats in decision-making spaces to ensure policies reflect their experience and priorities.
Gender, Conflict, and Corporate Accountability: WEDs Shaping Responsible Investment in Cambodia
Voucheng Chuy, Advocacy Officer at DPA in Cambodia, shared stories of WEDs’ successful grassroots action utilising peacebuilding approaches: Non-Violent Communication, evidence-based advocacy, and crucial safe spaces for dialogue. In the same case as Carlos mentioned, women confronted the mining company about the dangerous, unfilled pits left in their village. After gathering evidence and initiating peaceful dialogue, the company agreed to fill the pits, hiring local workers to do so. In another case, WEDs successfully advocated for the recovery of farmland encroached upon by a rubber company.
Voucheng stressed that training, complemented by ongoing coaching to build WEDs’ confidence, leadership skills, and legal literacy—along with sufficient financial support—is critical to enabling women’s sustained advocacy.
Sustaining Women’s Leadership
Jude Thompson Black, Cord’s Head of Programme Development and Peacebuilding, presented findings from a regional needs assessment confirming that women experience environmental conflict differently from men—and that their activism is often constrained by traditional norms and economic insecurity. While there have been notable successes at the local level, WEDs face significant barriers when trying to influence policy and achieve systemic change.
Jude highlighted the need for targeted support: not only to strengthen WEDs’ advocacy skills, but to engage authorities and companies in dialogue and accountability. She recommended combining livelihood support with climate adaptation strategies and developing collective livelihood models to provide sustainable funding for community-led natural resource management.
She also reinforced the importance of conflict-sensitive, gender-responsive programming, including the active involvement of men in gender and conflict training to build broader support for women’s leadership.
This conversation made clear that women, especially Indigenous and rural women, are not only among those most affected by the climate-gender-conflict nexus, but are also best positioned to drive transformative solutions at the grassroots level. But they cannot do it alone.
WEDs face persistent challenges and unique vulnerabilities: from gender-based violence and digital surveillance to economic instability and exclusion from formal governance.
As civic space shrinks and environmental risks intensify, it is critical to protect WEDs’ rights, amplify their leadership, and ensure that gender-responsive climate policies are shaped by those with lived experience—by supporting their grassroots activism and creating space for them to influence decision-making.
As we continue to build on the EMPOWER project’s work, the message from the region is clear: when women shape responses at the intersection of climate and conflict, they help build not just environmental resilience, but more peaceful and equitable societies.
Lucy Godfrey, July 2025
