“The forest represents my existence as a woman”

Sara Omi is a leader of the Emberá people of Panama and the Coordinator of Territorial Women Leaders of Mesoamerica – as an expert in human rights with a special focus on Indigenous peoples, Indigenous women, and youth, she is also a spokesperson for the women of the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities.

Photo by Anthony Marzin, If Not Us Then Who

What does the forest mean to you and your community?

For me, the forest represents my own life, my own existence as a woman. Because there are all the teachings from the elders, my grandparents and my mother, that I keep alive. All our knowledge comes from the forest – through this close relationship, we can today share the knowledge we have acquired as women. It is something very important for us, because if the forest is dying, our identity is also dying. And as women it is important to keep it alive, to always protect it, to take care of it. It represents our daily life, our way of thinking, our way of feeling and relating to each other as women and Indigenous Peoples.

Photo by Lingchor on Unsplash

"If the forest is dying, our identity is also dying." - Sara Omi / Photo by Anthony Marzin, If Not Us Then Who

How is climate change affecting you and your community?

Climate change is affecting us in several ways. Firstly, it is severely impacting our identity: When the forest is dying, our knowledge is dying as well. When it's affecting our food security, it also deteriorates our health, our way of living within our collectivity. It is also disturbing our access to traditional medicine, which is the only method that has kept us alive and resilient throughout time.

Photo by Aljoscha Laschgari on Unsplash

What are you doing to fight climate change in your community and within the organizations you represent?

The women in my organization, both locally and across Panama are proposing various alternatives to combat the effects of climate change and to recover and preserve our traditional knowledge – for instance by creating botanical gardens made by women to promote this knowledge. We are working hard on sustainable economic empowerment through our identity. Where do we want to go? We are proposing our initiatives and our alternatives to be able to continue working with the balance that our Mother Earth needs. We are also working on how families can subsist despite the current and future challenges to food security. We are working with the concept of the Living Forest, with traditional medicine, food security, agricultural production, which are important tools to maintain the balance and protection of our Mother Earth.

woman raising white and red sign with indigenous women will lead us forward text

Photo by Dulcey Lima on Unsplash

group of women walking at the street protesting about woman's right

Photo by Dulcey Lima on Unsplash

Which are the biggest challenges you encounter in your work?

The biggest challenges that we have, especially as women, is our access to full and effective participation in all spaces. We currently lack strategic allies that can help us to promote our positions. We also need compensation for the yearly losses that our communities suffer because of climate change – it impacts us severely and disrupts life in our territories. We need to fight these challenges on the grounds of our own vision, especially the vision we have as women.

person holding there is no planet b poster

Photo by Li-An Lim on Unsplash

What are your biggest fears - and hopes?

My biggest fear as a woman is that we cannot and will not be able to save our Mother Earth. Our Mother Earth is roaring, she's sick and we need to help her. We need to heal her. But this repair and healing effort depends on all of us. It depends on the recognition of our rights as Indigenous peoples, as women, and the realization that we have the good practice solutions to solve it. We Indigenous women are present in all the processes of dialogues, debates, initiatives, and the most important aspect for us is the union and the strength that we have through these large organizations that we represent today as the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities.

Sara Omi (right) at the New York Climate Week, September 2022.

If you could send the message directly to world leaders, what would it be?

My message is that it takes mutual respect to be able to combat the difficulties that we're seeing in the world! Our participation, our good practices and solutions are required to be able to save our planet. Otherwise, we are not going to move forward. This is why we need to be present need in these international dialogues and negotiations. Furthermore, we need comprehensive policies that allow us to respect and to safeguard our rights as Indigenous peoples. Above all, the protection of our Mother Earth is not only crucial for the wellbeing of Indigenous peoples, but for everyone who inhabits this planet!

What would you like to see happen under the UNFCCC?

Our goal is to continue raising our voices in different spaces and to find strategies to make our participation more visible and promoting the inclusion of women and of young people. I wish that the decisions and negotiations taking place during international summits can effectively impact our territories in a positive way, with the balance that our Mother Earth needs, with the love and respect we aspire to. Also, I wish that we can contribute with our knowledge and experiences in all the spaces that allow us this participation and that the result of COP does not only remain in discussions or in a document, but that it becomes more far-reaching – allowing us to keep our identity and humanity to live in balance on this planet.

"I wish that the decisions and negotiations taking place during international summits can effectively impact our territories in a positive way, with the balance that our Mother Earth needs, with the love and respect we aspire to." - Sara Omi / Photo by Tim Lewis, If Not Us Then Who

Footnotes:

This interview was recorded by UNDP Climate & Forests, with support from the UN-REDD Programme, in September 2022 during Climate Week in New York City.

UNDP Climate & Forests assists countries and stakeholders to implement the Paris Agreement by reducing deforestation, forest degradation and promoting sustainable development pathways.

UNDP Climate & Forests systematically promotes social equity, including the rights, knowledge, and inclusion of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, to ensure forest solutions to climate change contribute meaningfully to delivering on the NDCs and advancing the SDGs.

Credits:

Interview: Nina Kantcheva, Senior Policy Advisor, Indigenous Peoples and Local Communty Engagement

Editing, translation, visual layout: Roxana Auhagen, Communications Specialist, Multimedia Storytelling

Animated title visuals: Sila Alici Kavuk, Social Media Analyst

Portrait photos of Sara Omi: Tim Lewis, If Not Us Then Who & Anthony Marzin, If Not Us Then Who (as noted)

Photographer / Videographer for New York Climate Week 2022: Colin Morvan, Independent Consultant

Other photos: as noted.

“The forest represents my existence as a woman”

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