Women Defend the Commons

Since 2014, a valuable developing set of local women led work in Fiji and the Pacific called Women Defend the Commons, Communities Defend the Commons including DIVA for Equality, Pacific Partnerships on Gender, Climate Change and Sustainable Development (PPGCCSD), PICAN, the Urgent Action Hub, Soqosoqo Vakamarama, Catholic Women’s League and many others coming onboard every month.

This set of work is focused on making clearer the links between urgent action on ocean, air and land as the Commons, and with feminists, women and girls of diversities and all ages in urban poor, rural and remote areas of Fiji and the Pacific, as activists and advocates for change.

 

We work directly with women from urban poor, rural and remote locations to ask what are their core concerns, analysis and strategies for social, economic and ecological justice, including related to protection and restoration of ocean health, and on oceans governance.

We have already worked as women from Suva, Lami, Western side of Viti Levu, Levuka, Savusavu, Taveuni in Fiji, with women in Solomon islands and Tuvalu as part of longer work as PPGCCSD, and soon with women in Republic of Marshall Islands through the RMI Women’s Conference, and WUTMI. More women are coming onboard every week to share their views, in consultations, and online.

We are just about to start our fully fledged campaign that links the Ocean Conference with COP23 and COP24, and hope to ensure this link is clearer for all stakeholders over time.

We call, for instance, to keep all coal in the ground now, and to make urgent and just transitions to a low carbon economy as stated already in the Suva Declaration on Climate Change, and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

We affirm that the defence of the Commons, of our air, oceans and land, is for our survival as Pacific peoples, and indeed all humans.Many of the memes and videos from this campaign are already circulating at the Oceans Conference, but will be increasing online as we head into COP23 and beyond from July 2017. Please affirm, amplify and join as you can.

The hashtags for this programme are #WomenDefendCommons and #CommunitiesDefendCommons

Clearly, we cannot have a healthy ocean and global Commons without gender equality, universal human rights and social, economic and environmental justice.

#StandWithThePacific #SaveOurOcean #COP23 #WomenDefendCommons #Women4ClimateJustice

DIVA for Equality Contact:
noelenen@gmail.com (To contact DIVA and PPGCCSD)