During the ongoing 2022 United Nations Biodiversity Conference COP15 at Montréal, Quebec program, NIWF Vice-Chairperson Yasso Kanti Bhattachan speaks up on the practices of Indigenous People’s best practices and traditional knowledge to preserve Biodiversity, in Nepal in the UN Biodiversity Conference discussion including discussion organized by ICIMOD and Co-Organized by NIWF on “Communicating biodiversity: good practices in science, policy, and practice in the Hindu Kush Himalaya”.
Indigenous women are the custodian and guardians of Biodiversity, a tremendous source of strength and resilience, and have helped shape and influence their communities as nurturers, caregivers, providers, teachers, and leaders. However, the ongoing impact of colonialism, systemic discrimination, and racism still continues to perpetuate behaviors that lead to violence and injustice against Indigenous women and girls.
Aggressive development has displaced Indigenous peoples and Indigenous women from their ancestral home land which has rendered Indigenous peoples landless, refugees and subjected communities to bonded labor. These conditions have also forced Indigenous peoples in Nepal detached from Mother Nature while government continues to criminalizing lands, territories and resources from the Indigenous Peoples.
We are proud to have Yasso Kanti Bhattachan ma’am share her testimonies and experiences as an Indigenous Woman in Nepal at a large and heeded platform such as COP15, taking place along with 16-Days against gender-based violence(ending today) and International Human Rights Day. We wish the NIWF Team in Montreal Quebec luck and celebrate their dedication to making a positive impact and voices of the Indigenous Women in Nepal heard worldwide.
