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THE WOMEN’S EARTH AND CLIMATE CAUCUS –
January 2012
By Wyolah Garden, Project Coordinator
Women’s Earth and Climate Caucus
“Apartheid seemed an overwhelming challenge that could not be defeated but we mobilized and defeated it. We need the same passion and determination to defeat climate change ”
Desmond Tutu
From November 28 through December 9, 2011 the Women’s Earth and Climate Caucus (WECC), located in the San Francisco Bay Area, was represented at the United Nations Climate Negotiations in Durban, South Africa by Osprey Orielle Lake, Founder and President of WECC.
In 2010, WECC added Rights of Nature education and advocacy to its agenda of four active initiatives, determining that this is some of the most important work being done to protect ecosystems and the future of the earth. On her departure to Durban, Osprey commented that she is grateful to be learning from many leaders who have been advocating for and establishing legislation for Rights of Nature/Rights of Mother Earth for many years now. Throughout COP17, the Women’s Earth and Climate Caucus, in conjunction with the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature, held meetings, panels and actions. Osprey said that her purpose in Durban regarding a Rights of Nature agenda was, “advocating for a systemic alternative that balances the rights of human communities with the recognition of the rights of ecosystems of which we are part and particle of– it is time that we live within the natural laws of the earth. Truly, this is what should be at the core of the climate negotiations.”
WECC moderated a Rights of Nature panel at the University of KwaZulu-Natal with Shannon Biggs, Tom BK Goldtooth, Natalia Greene, and Cormac Cullinan.