Dear Community,
Best greetings as the New Year is underway with the winds of change blowing in many directions.

We hope in this time of continued transformation and the pandemic that you are taking care of yourselves and have the support you need. The world is in a phase of great change as we seek to build a healthy and just future, while we diligently work to dismantle the deep roots of structural patriarchy, capitalism, racism, and colonization that continue to fuel the climate crisis and social injustice.

With astounding diversity and great strength, women and feminists are standing to lead movements to protect and defend all we hold dear, calling for systemic change and justice on the issues that we know are inseparable— from gender justice to workers' rights, from racial justice to Indigenous rights, from climate justice to economic inequality. This moment in time demands that we unite across borders and experiences, and take our collective efforts to the next level.

We thank all of you for standing with the Women's Earth and Climate Action Network as we dive into a new year filled with mobilizations; trainings; advocacy and education for climate justice; divestment and just transition campaigns; forest protection and regeneration; rights of nature and Indigenous rights; climate resilience projects and food sovereignty programs; and strong solidarity and collaboration with frontline women and Earth defenders around the world.

2022 is already off to a fierce start! Please read further for our first update of the new year.
Taking Action in the Tongass Rainforest!
Indigenous women leaders from the WECAN Tongass Hub delivered letters to the U.S. Forest Service in Juneau, Alaska on January 24, 2021. Photo Credit: Jordynn and Yolanda Fulmer/WECAN
On January 24, Indigenous women leaders from the WECAN Tongass Hub delivered letters to the U.S. Forest Service in Juneau, Alaska to highlight the vital role of forest protections and the outpouring of public support to reinstate the National Roadless Rule for the Tongass National Forest. We are working to protect over 9 million acres of ancient forest.

The Tongass Rainforest of Alaska is the traditional homelands of the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian Peoples; the largest national forest in the U.S.; and has been called 'America’s climate forest' due to its unsurpassed ability to sequester carbon and mitigate climate impacts. Maintaining an intact Tongass ecosystem is critical to Indigenous ways of life and for climate solutions in Alaska and internationally. Additionally, keeping the Tongass intact will also protect unique habitat for hundreds of species, like salmon, bears, and deer, all of which, in turn, support local economies based on fishing, hunting, and tourism.

In 2021, the Biden Administration announced plans to restore full Roadless Rule protections that were revoked during the previous Trump Administration. At the end of last year, the U.S. Forest Service announced a 60-day comment period for public input on the decision to re-establish the 2001 National Roadless Rule in the Tongass.

The public comment period closed on January 24th, with more than more than 175,000 comments from throughout Alaska and across the country submitted in support of roadless area protections.

Learn more about ongoing campaigns and projects in the Tongass here: https://www.wecaninternational.org/take-action-tongass
Indigenous women leaders from the WECAN Tongass Hub delivered letters to the U.S. Forest Service in Juneau, Alaska on January 24, 2021. On the left, Wanda Culp (Tlingit) WECAN Tongass Coordinator delivers the letters to a representative from the US Forest Service. On the right, Kari Ames (Tlingit) WECAN Tongass Representative drumming and singing during the action. Photo Credit: Jordynn and Yolanda Fulmer/WECAN
Celebrating Patricia Gualinga
We are celebrating the great news that Patricia Gualinga, a leader of the Kichwa People of Sarayaku in the Ecuadorian Amazon, has been awarded the 2022 Palme Prize for human rights!

She is recognized for her courageous leadership in campaigning for the rights of Indigenous people and of nature, as well as her work to ensure the protection of the Amazon rainforest.

WECAN has been honored to work with Patricia Gualinga for many years. Most currently, Paty sits on the steering committee for the WECAN Escazú Agreement Campaign. We look forward to sharing more news soon on this exciting campaign working to protect biodiverse regions in Latin America and the Caribbean while ensuring powerful women land defenders are safe in their resistance efforts.
Tell the Army Corps to Reject Line 5!
Right now, there is a chance to derail Enbridge’s Line 5 expansion project in Northern Wisconsin, by submitting a comment urging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reject its 404 Clean Water Act permit .

The Line 5 pipeline is long past its lifespan, currently pumping tar sands oil under expired permits. The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa’s has requested that Enbridge remove Line 5 and not expand into their local watershed. However, Enbridge is moving forward with its reroute and putting at risk local ecosystems, waterways, communities, and our global climate while violating treaty rights and Indigenous Sovereignty. To learn more or find additional resources, visit tinyurl.com/rejectline5

Please join us in taking action in solidarity with local water protectors by submitting a comment to reject Line 5. Every comment submitted shows decision makers that we won’t stand for more fossil fuel infrastructure!

The Army Corps is accepting public comments through March 7. Comments can be submitted in the following ways:
Take Action for the Ecuadorian Amazon!
On February 1st, Ecuador will host its Annual Conference for Oil and Energy. The Conference is aimed at bringing more global investment for oil and gas plans, many of which are proposed to be constructed in the Amazon rainforest.

Our friends at Amazon Watch are calling for solidarity to take action online during the oil and gas conference. Indigenous partners oppose any extraction and expansion of oil and gas on their territories and are calling for our solidarity.

Financing Amazon crude is a bad bet. Indigenous peoples have successfully stopped oil expansion plans in Ecuador’s southern Amazon for over a decade, turning oil fields there into stranded assets. U.S. banks and financial institutions are some of the largest financiers of Amazon crude, and we want them to know we stand with Indigenous communities and demand an end to financing of oil and gas plans in the Amazon.

More information is available at the button below.
Sadly, already in 2022, there has been a devastating oil spill in the Ecuadorian Amazon, contaminating nearly two hectares (five acres) of a protected area of the Cayambe-Coca National Park, as well as the Coca River, which provides water to several local Indigenous communities. We must stand with Indigenous communities and stop extraction at the source, please take action with us on February 1st!
Great News!
U.S. Federal Court Cancels Oil and Gas Leases
On January 27, The D.C. District court canceled oil and gas leases of over 80 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico! The judge ruled that the Interior Department must conduct a sufficient environment analysis that considers the climate effects of oil drilling before awarding any new leases. Huge thanks to everyone who worked very hard on this victory!

This is a pivotal win, and offers a path for real accountability for the Biden Administration, as movements continue to call for government action on the climate crisis and an end of the era of fossil fuels. We will continue to rise in the streets and the courtrooms to ensure a thriving and just future.

The lawsuit was filed by our colleagues at Earthjustice on behalf of Healthy Gulf, Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club, and Friends of the Earth. You can read their press release here.

WECAN has been honored to work in coalition with our partners to continue advocating for the protection of the Gulf.
March 24 - Save the Date!
Building System Change:
Frontline Women-led Solutions for Climate Justice
On March 24th, please join us for "Building System Change: Frontline Women-Led Solutions for Climate Justice,” held virtually and in parallel to the sixty-sixth session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). We are participating in this year's session to uplift the experiences and solutions of frontline women who are not only disproportionately impacted by climate change, but are vital leaders in a climate just future.

Update:
Rights of Nature Tribunal Verdicts
The 5th International Rights of Nature Tribunal took place on Wednesday, November 3rd, and Thursday, November 4th in Glasgow, alongside the COP26, and heard two fundamental ecological cases facing the world today: the false solutions to the climate crisis and the Amazon, a threatened living entity.

The cases were presented by frontline, impacted communities and experts from around the world, and were heard by a panel of globally recognized judges, who examined and ruled on the cases from a Rights of Nature perspective. These verdicts will become modern jurisprudence.

WECAN was honored to help organize the Tribunal with the Global Alliance for Rights of Nature, and for Osprey Orielle Lake, WECAN Executive Director to be a judge for the tribunal for the Climate Case.

Access the full Tribunal verdict for the “Amazon, a threatened living entity” case here.

Access the full Tribunal verdict for the “False solutions to the climate crisis” case here.
Please stay tuned as we continue to uplift the leadership and solutions of women and feminists worldwide fighting for climate justice and the defense of the planet for current and future generations.
For the Earth and All Generations,

Women's Earth and Climate Action Network
(WECAN) International Team
S T A Y C O N N E C T E D