Meet these 16 women restoring the Earth   

The Global Landscapes Forum announces its fourth annual list of climate leaders from around the world for International Women’s Day

As humanity lurches from one crisis to another, women worldwide are building solutions to one of the gravest threats of all: climate change. To mark the United Nations’ International Women’s Day (IWD), observed on 8 March, the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) is honoring 16 women on the frontline of the climate and biodiversity crises. 

These outstanding women are the faces of innovation in science, technology, art, public policy, sustainable business, environmental activism, journalism, litigation, climate finance, international climate treaty negotiations, and grassroots ecosystem restoration across the globe. 

“Working as an African woman scientist was a shock: in the late 1990s and early 2000s, I saw no one who looked like me at my level of leadership or above,” says Éliane Ubalijoro, Executive Director at Sustainability in the Digital Age, incoming CEO of CIFOR-ICRAF and one of the ‘16 Women Restoring the Earth’.  

“Indigenous women play a key role in transmitting the traditional knowledge, values and practices that allow our communities to protect, and sustainably use, natural resources. We definitely need more of those women in international climate and environmental forums,” expresses Pasang Dolma Sherpa, Executive director of the Center for Indigenous Peoples’ Research & Development (CIPRED) and another of the ‘16 Women Restoring the Earth’. 

Through unique bios, quotes, photos, and stories, this year’s campaign tells why these are the GLF’s ‘16 Women Restoring the Earth’ 2023: 

• The Strategist: ANDREA MEZA MURILLO, UNCCD’s Deputy Executive Secretary and former Minister of Energy and Environment for the Government of Costa Rica  
• The Connector: ANNETTE PENSEL, Executive Director, Global Coffee Platform (Germany) 
• The Investor: AYESHA KHAN, Regional Director, Acumen Pakistan –expert in sustainable finance for climate 
• The Steward: CAMILLE RIVERA, Co-founder and Director of Oceanus Conservation, GLFx Mindanao chapter Coordinator, and Restoration Steward 2021 (Philippines) 
• The Investigator: EDILMA PRADA, investigative journalist, Pulitzer fellow and founder and director of the independent media organization Agenda Propia (Colombia) 
• The Leader: ÉLIANE UBALIJORO, Incoming CEO, CIFOR-ICRAF and Executive Director, Sustainability in the Digital Age (Rwanda)  
• The Educator: EVA MAKANDI, Founder, Light On A Hill (LOAH), and Forest Restoration Steward 2022 (Kenya)  
• The Activist: INEZA GRACE, Coordinator, Loss and Damage Youth Coalition (Rwanda)  
• The Artist: INNA MODJA, visual artist, musician, UNCCD Land Ambassador, and CEO and Co-Founder of Code Green (Mali)  
• The Policymaker: IRYNA STAVCHUK, Ukraine Program Manager at the European Climate Foundation and former Deputy Minister for the Ukrainian government.  
• The Philanthropist: MARIA AMALIA SOUZA, Co-Founder and Strategic Development Director, Casa Socio-Environmental Fund (Brazil) 
• The Storyteller: MOKY MAKURA, TV presenter, producer, author and Executive Director of Africa No Filter (Nigeria)  
• The Defender: PASANG DOLMA SHERPA, Executive Director, Center for Indigenous Peoples‘ Research & Development (CIPRED) (Nepal)  
• The Advocate: SYEDA RIZWANA HASAN, environmental lawyer, Chief Executive of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA)  
• The Entrepreneur: VIOLET AMOABENG, Founder and CEO, Skin Gourmet (Ghana) 
• The Financier: YURIKO BACKES, Minister of Finance, Luxembourg 

The fourth annual ‘16 Women Restoring the Earth’ campaign will launch a day after the 6th GLF Investment Case Symposium, titled GLF–Luxembourg Finance for Nature: What Comes Next?, a conference to be attended by thousands in Luxembourg and online that will examine the key role of sustainable finance as a climate change solution.