Women park rangers join forces through petition for gender equality in environmental protection

For this reason and considering the needs of the protectors of the country's wildlife areas, on Monday, March 18, 2024, a petition was filed by the women park rangers to the Minister of Environment and Energy; Franz Tattenbach Capra, which explicitly frames:

• The activation of a gender unit in the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) to support the development of the Institutional Gender Equality Policy and to assist women park rangers.

• The development and effective implementation of this policy, with an intersectional and territorial approach, to be included in all institutional planning processes.

• The authorization of an annual meeting of women park rangers for the exchange of experiences and capacity building.

"I mainly represent all the women colleagues who work in the protected areas, but we are not leaving behind the women colleagues who do multiple jobs in the offices and represent this great institution. We are contributing, from many perspectives, to the conservation of biodiversity carried out by women. This proposal does not leave behind colleagues who complement this great work. It is an honor to be able to say that we women park rangers are warriors, but we do not come with weapons, we bring these specific petitions that reflect the experience that each one of us has had and that many others have not been able to tell. We are the voice of all of them," said park ranger Yocelin Ríos.

"I am very grateful to this group of women park rangers for taking a step forward and presenting this initiative, because they have had these concerns for more than 20 years and no attention has been paid to them. From every point of view it is fair to support them and we are going to present the proposal to CONAC, which is the collegial body. We must have this sensitivity", said Franz Tattenbach, the Minister of Environment and Energy, during the filing of the petition.

From agreement to action

The document presented is the result of two face-to-face workshops, supported by SINAC, the National Women's Institute (INAMU), in a process technically supported by the German Development Cooperation (GIZ) in Costa Rica, in order to make visible the contributions of women and girls in the conservation and management of biodiversity in the face of the challenges of the environmental crisis, and to promote their participation in environmental issues, within the framework of Target 23 of the Kunming-Montreal Plan.

Under the slogan "From agreement to action, rebuilding biodiversity from the perspective of women and girls", GIZ Costa Rica's BioFrame and ACCIÓN Clima projects held these working sessions in two strategic points: the Greater Metropolitan Area and Puerto Jiménez, in May and September 2023, respectively.

These workshops, a product of international cooperation between Costa Rica and Germany, focused on the needs of park rangers in the course of their work.

These include the lack of access to a breastfeeding room, uniforms for pregnant park rangers, insecurity, their participation in conservation decision-making, the creation of regulations against gender discrimination, sexual harassment, facilitation of care network mechanisms for the children of female employees, and the elimination of prejudices that discredit women in their role as park rangers.

"I am thrilled that this petition exists. The document is the result of a process of awareness raising in relation to target 23 of the Global Biodiversity Framework. I am pleased that Costa Rica took the lead during the negotiations of the Kunming-Montreal plan and it explicitly mentions that gender roles influence the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity," added Alexandra Herr, representative of the German Embassy.