Women for Conservation

Women for Conservation helps protect the unique biodiversity of rural Colombia by empowering women through family planning services, conservation education, and sustainable livelihoods training. The organization was founded in 2019 by Sara Inés Lara to involve rural communities in habitat conservation around critically endangered wildlife reserves.

Colombia is one of the most biodiverse countries on Earth but its vital rainforest ecosystems are increasingly under threat from deforestation. Women living in Colombia’s remote rural areas often lack access to reproductive health services, while also facing early marriage and childbirth, as well as high rates of gender-based violence.

Women for Conservation draws the critical links between the two issues, recognizing that thriving communities are better able to protect their natural environment, and that empowering women in particular brings deep and long-lasting benefits.

Women for Conservation works in partnership with bird conservation organization Fundación ProAves and family planning organization Profamilia to deliver workshops on natural resource management, habitat restoration, sustainable agriculture, waste reduction, renewable energy, sexual and reproductive health, and cancer screening. Women for Conservation also covers the cost of contraceptive methods and travel to family planning clinics, and helps women gain the necessary skills and tools to gain income from eco-tourism and conservation work.

By empowering women to take charge of their fertility and sexual health and to get involved in conservation efforts, the organization helps reduce pressure on Colombia’s biodiversity hotspots while also improving the lives of local communities.

To read more about the projects and accomplishments of Women for Conservation, read this update sent to us in April 2023 from Sara Lara and her team!