LocationsMarianne Kristine Delgado, Gender Analyst of UNDP Philippines
From Shared Learning to Collective Strengthening: Convening Women Environmental Human Rights Defenders to Advance Capacities and Foster Solidarity
July 14, 2026
Across the Philippines, women environmental human rights defenders (WEHRDs) stand at the forefront of protecting ecosystems, defending communities, and advancing climate and environmental justice. From forests and coastlines to uplands, ancestral domains, and urban communities, they continue to advocate for the protection of both people and planet—often while navigating significant risks, limited resources, and increasingly complex challenges.
Yet opportunities for women defenders to come together, reflect on shared experiences, and learn from one another remain rare.
Through the Strengthening Women’s Civil Society and Women Environmental Human Rights Defenders’ Political Participation and Influence for a Just, Green Future Project, at least fifty environmental human rights defenders—most of them women—participated in a series of capacity development workshops organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Manila Observatory–Klima Center.
More than a training initiative, the process created a space for shared learning, collective reflection, and solidarity among women defenders from across the country.
Starting with Listening and Co-Creation
From the outset, the workshops were designed to be participatory and grounded in lived realities.
Rather than developing a predefined set of training modules, UNDP Philippines and the Manila Observatory–Klima Center began with a capacity assessment conducted alongside women-led civil society organizations. This helped surface the actual needs, priorities, and challenges that defenders navigate in their day-to-day work.
The process continued through co-design sessions, where participants helped shape the workshop modules themselves by identifying key topics, refining approaches, and contributing to the design of exercises and discussions.
By the time the workshops began, the sessions already reflected the realities, experiences, and aspirations of the participants themselves.
This approach reinforced an important principle: development initiatives are most effective when communities are not only consulted, but meaningfully involved in shaping the process.
Creating Space for Learning and Connection
Across the workshops, learning extended beyond traditional lectures and presentations.
Participants mapped the risks they regularly face—from red-tagging, surveillance, and land-grabbing to environmental threats and limited organizational resources. They documented experiences of human rights violations, assessed organizational readiness, and developed project proposals that they later presented before a panel.
Participants also engaged in discussions on sustaining advocacy efforts while navigating uncertainty and safeguarding personal and community well-being.
But just as important as the formal sessions were the moments of reflection and connection in between.
During the Pagdadala Session, participants shared the burdens they carry—not only as defenders, but also as individuals balancing responsibilities within their organizations, communities, and families. Listening to one another created moments of recognition, empathy, and solidarity.
For many participants, the workshops became more than venues for learning. They became spaces where experiences were acknowledged, validated, and understood.
In this context, capacity development took on a broader meaning—one that went beyond strengthening technical skills to also fostering trust, connection, and collective care.
Grounded in Everyday Realities
Throughout the workshops, conversations consistently returned to the realities that women environmental human rights defenders continue to navigate every day:
- Sustaining advocacy efforts in contexts marked by risk and uncertainty
- Strengthening organizational capacities despite limited resources
- Documenting and responding to human rights violations
- Continuing advocacy while safeguarding personal and community well-being
- Managing financial constraints that affect the sustainability of their work
These were not abstract discussions. They reflected immediate and lived realities faced by defenders across different communities in the Philippines.
By centering these realities, the workshops remained responsive to the contexts in which women defenders operate and the challenges they continue to confront.
Redefining Development on Their Own Terms
For women environmental human rights defenders, development is not defined solely by externally driven outputs or technical frameworks. It is reflected in their ability to continue their work with dignity, agency, and safety.
In this sense, development goes beyond material progress or enhanced technical capacity. It is also about creating the conditions that allow defenders and communities to sustain their advocacy, protect their environments, and continue organizing for collective well-being.
Supporting women environmental defenders is therefore not only about protecting civic space—it is also about strengthening the communities and ecosystems at the center of climate resilience and sustainable development.
Beyond the Workshop Space
As the workshops concluded, what remained extended beyond presentations, outputs, or completed exercises.
Participants left with strengthened capacities, but also with new relationships and networks of support. One participant shared that despite the long sessions, she felt energized by the opportunity to exchange ideas and learn from fellow defenders from different parts of the country.
The opportunity to connect with other WEHRDs fostered a stronger sense of shared community and solidarity. Relationships formed during the sessions opened pathways for continued collaboration, exchange, and mutual support beyond the workshop space.
This network—built through shared learning and shared experiences—will continue to grow over time.
Because for women environmental human rights defenders, the work does not end when the workshops conclude. It continues in their organizations, communities, and everyday efforts to advocate for people and the environment despite ongoing challenges.
And in that sense, collective strengthening continues—shaped by shared knowledge, sustained by solidarity, and grounded in the ongoing work of women who remain at the forefront of protecting communities, ecosystems, and the future of sustainable development in the Philippines.
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