Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government this week announced it has allocated $62 million taxpayer dollars to fight for gender equity in countries in Asia and South America. Minister of International Development Ahmed Hussen at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP16) announced multiple “projects” funding female roles and raising awareness on gender equality in conservation and biodiversity fields. .Foreign affairs says some countries ‘using’ UN to detract from ‘human rights, gender equality’.A Government of Canada press release breaks down the funding and partners for each project. The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, in partnership with Conservation International, will be used for the “conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity” in Brazil, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bangladesh and others.“Canada’s contribution will advance gender equality by strengthening leadership skills among women conservationists and enhance locally driven conservation in key biodiversity areas through financial and technical support,” states the press release.The Biodiversity Ecosystem Restoration for Community Resilience in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh fund, in partnership with the UN Development Program, will go to “climate-vulnerable and marginalized communities” in Bangladesh and will “increase women’s role in decision making and in implementing inclusive biodiversity ecosystem restoration plans with local government agencies.”.WATCH: Trudeau recommits to Agenda 2030 targets at UN General Assembly.The Supporting the Protection of Marine Biodiversity Within the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean Through Dark Vessel Detection Technologies fund, in partnership with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, goes to Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama and Peru to protect “unique marine biodiversity and support coastal communities, specifically women, indigenous people and Afro-descendants.”The Strengthening Marine Law Enforcement in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean fund, in partnership with WildAid, will “improve the protection and sustainable use of marine ecosystems in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama and Peru” by helping “national marine authorities and government-endorsed community organizations to reduce the threats posed by illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.”.'I'M WILDLY EMOTIONAL': NDP MP tearfully claims 'climate change is not gender neutral'.The Enhancing Indigenous Peoples’ Resilience to Climate Change in Colombia, in partnership with the World Food Program, will go towards “increasing the resilience of indigenous communities in the Amazon” and will “focus on climate adaptation, sustainable agriculture … promote sustainable agri-food value chains to improve food security and enhance the role of women in climate governance.”The Podong Indigenous Peoples Initiative fund, in partnership with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, “will help Indigenous people build their capacity to implement gender-responsive biodiversity conservation actions” in Guatemala, Nepal, Panama and Tanzania.Finally, the Accelerating Systemic Change for Gender Equality and Biodiversity Conservation Through the National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans Accelerator, in partnership with the UN Environment Program and launched in Montreal at COP15, will go to Antigua and Barbuda, Comoros, Costa Rica, Eswatini, Tajikistan, Thailand and Togo to “develop and update their NBSAPs (National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans) and ensure that they are gender-responsive and inclusive.”
