Women in a degraded Amazon: struggles for land, body and nature

How does gender intersect with deforestation, environmental degradation, territorial issues and violence in the Amazon region? Topics like deforestation and environmental degradation in the Amazon have been widely discussed. But what not has been substantially discussed is the different impacts these issues have on women. In a new report, IUCN NL analyses gender dynamics in the Peruvian and Colombian Amazon. ‘Extractive activities and gender-based violence are deeply intertwined: illegal mining and agricultural expansion have turned the Amazon into a high-risk territory for women,’ says Mariel Cabero, Expert Environmental Justice at IUCN NL.

Photo: Woman defender in Madre de Dios. © Diego Perez / SPDA

Report: Women in a degraded Amazon

Applying a gender lens on socio-environmental issues reveals important insights regarding the realities and challenges that women experience in the Amazon region, including gender-based violence. Amplifying women’s voices in policy frameworks contributes to a more just and sustainable future for the Amazon.

Based on studies conducted in the Peruvian and Colombian Amazon, IUCN NL therefore published the report ‘Women in a degraded Amazon: struggles for land, body and nature’, with the support of Sociedad Peruana de Derecho Ambiental (SPDA), Fundacion para la Conservación y Desarrollo Sostenible (FCDS), Federación Nativa del Río Madre de Dios y Afluentes (FENAMAD) and Comité de Gestión de la Reserva Nacional Tambopata (CDG).

The report is bringing forward the lived experiences of women from Madre de Dios in Peru and six departments of the Colombian Amazon, highlighting how extractive economies, weak governance and structural inequalities contribute to environmental and social harm; both of which disproportionately affect women.

‘In the communities that are exposed to mining, women cannot walk freely through their territory, they have to be careful not to expose themselves too much to avoid attacks. I don’t feel free to walk around my territory either, but we still have to do surveillance and check every point to see if outsiders have entered, even though we don’t have geo-referencing,’ shares an Indigenous woman from Madre de Dios (anonymised for safety reasons).

‘In the communities that are exposed to mining, women cannot walk freely through their territory, they have to be careful not to expose themselves too much to avoid attacks.’

• Indigenous woman from Madre de Dios

Key findings

The Amazon regions of Peru and Colombia, while differing in their sociopolitical and environmental context, face similar challenges that highlight the deep interconnections between gender and environmental issues. These parallel studies show how extractive economies, such as mining and cattle ranching, intensify violence with wide-reaching social, economic and ecological impacts. Below we present part of the findings of the studies.

• Women in the Amazon play a crucial role in protecting nature. Women environmental defenders, however, face systemic barriers that threaten their safety and autonomy. Addressing these challenges requires a gender-inclusive approach that strengthens legal protections, improves participation and ensures equitable access to resources.
• The studies in Peru and Colombia reveal that being a woman in the context of deforestation and environmental degradation adds layers of complexity and struggle, as they fuel gender-based violence.
• Extractive economies — driven by illegal mining, land-use change and agribusiness — exacerbate deforestation and disproportionately impact women’s livelihoods.
• In Peru’s Madre de Dios, women defenders confront not only environmental destruction but also human trafficking and violence, particularly Indigenous women who face growing insecurity due to illegal mining.
• In the Colombian Amazon, women are further marginalised by restricted land rights and economic exclusion, as land grabbing, illicit crops and mining drive both social and environmental degradation.
• In both study areas institutional protections remain weak, with corruption and gender-exclusionary policies deepening the vulnerability of women. Leadership opportunities for women are limited, as stereotypes and resource disparities keep women and women’s voices out of decision-making spaces and conservation policies.

‘Extractive activities and gender-based violence are deeply intertwined: illegal mining and agricultural expansion have turned the Amazon into a high-risk territory for women.’

• Mariel Cabero, Expert Environmental Justice at IUCN NL

Recommendations: strengthening capacity and inter-institutional collaboration

The recommendations below are based on findings from the context-specific gender dynamics in the Peruvian and Colombian Amazon, and as such they aim to address the challenges that were found in each region respectively. They may, however, also resonate with the situation in other Amazon countries. More recommendations can be found in the report.

Peruvian Amazon:

• Adopting an integrated approach linking gender-based violence, environmental destruction and the criminalisation of women defenders is essential.
• Mental health services and protection mechanisms for affected communities must be strengthened.
• Indigenous and local women require equal participation in decision-making structures.
• Capacity-building programmes for women defenders need to be expanded — with a focus on leadership, legal literacy and self-protection.
• Access to justice needs improvement by increasing institutional support, resources and anti-corruption measures.

Colombian Amazon:

• It is crucial to integrate a gender perspective into forest conservation policies, recognising women’s role in environmental stewardship.
• Land ownership inequalities need to be addressed by developing inclusive land redistribution schemes and tailored economic programmes.
• Women’s leadership in territorial governance need to be promoted to ensure equitable access to financial resources and decision-making processes.
• Strengthening inter-institutional collaboration will provide comprehensive protection and economic opportunities for women defenders.

About this report

The report ‘Women in a degraded Amazon: struggles for land, body and nature’ is published by IUCN NL and based on two different studies applying an intersectional feminist approach to examine gendered dimensions of environmental degradation in the Peruvian and Colombian Amazon. While Peru and Colombia face similar challenges, their distinct sociopolitical, economic and environmental contexts are examined separately — each with a tailored focus.

Funding sources for these studies are the Agence Francaise De Developpement (AFD) — in the framework of the project PIDDA Rights, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) through Norway’s International Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI) — as part of the project Amazon Rights in Focus.