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Pastoralist women and girls play key roles in caring for our global rangelands and producing food and fiber from livestock. Despite their critical contributions to tradition-keeping, innovation and entrepreneurship, food security, climate resilience, and peacemaking, the work of pastoralist women is largely unrecognized and undervalued. They often lack secure land rights, suffer disproportionate impacts from climate change, and are excluded from key policy decisions that affect them.
The Global Gathering of Pastoralist Women (Mera +16) will bring together pastoralist and ranching women from around the world to celebrate and support their initiatives, strengthen solidarity and networks across regions, identify shared priorities, and amplify pastoralist women’s voices in international discussions about rangelands and pastoralism. The Gathering aims to ensure pastoralist women’s voices and perspectives are included in all decisions that affect them, from the local to the global.
The Global Gathering will celebrate pastoralist women, their contributions to pastoralism, and their knowledge, skills and cultures. Pastoralist women will have an opportunity to share their experiences, challenges, innovations, successes and solutions, and to make global connections that endure beyond the event, increasing global solidarity, mutual support, and sense of worth. Participants will collaborate in revising/developing a shared policy agenda and prepare to carry forward
Pastoralist women and girls make up half of all pastoralists, who collectively steward global rangelands that account for nearly half of Earth’s land surface, two thirds of global biodiversity hotspots, and 16% of the world’s food supply. Pastoralist women’s contributions are critical to the future of pastoralist communities and food systems, which in turn are essential to safeguarding the world’s biodiversity, food security and climate resilience. By supporting pastoralist women and strengthening their networks and voices across the globe, we are helping secure the future of our planet and its cultural and biological diversity.
This gathering is for all who self-identify as pastoralist women (including ranchers) and are interested in contributing to this important dialogue. We seek participants who are passionate about topics such as pastoralist women’s land rights, economic autonomy and development, violence prevention, traditional knowledge, education and well-being, rangeland restoration, biodiversity conservation, and climate justice, among others. We adhere to the following principles of participation:
We encourage applications from women pastoralists of all ages and from all countries, including women from Indigenous or traditional communities, and women who communicate primarily through oral traditions.
We honor the traditions and leadership structures of each community while promoting women's voices.
Participants should be recognized and trusted by their communities.
Participants commit to sharing what they learn at the Gathering with their communities afterward.
Potential participants should submit an application (LINK to form), which includes:
Before completing the application, be sure to review the complete criteria for participation and information for participants
We accept nominations of potential pastoralist women participants from the following:
In all cases, the potential participants should submit individual applications, indicating how they meet the following criteria. Nominating or sponsoring organizations may assist applicants to complete and submit their application.
We seek sponsors to help cover the costs of the Global Gathering of Pastoralist Women. There are several ways to support the gathering financially.
Funds will be pooled and allocated via an open call to eligible pastoralist women, or to candidates identified at the various regional preparatory gatherings that are planned for 2025/6. Donors from within the USA can contribute from the button below.
Nominating partners commit to supporting eligible participants from their networks or regions. For more information on how to sponsor a participants, click the button below.
