Arguably the biggest problem facing humanity—climate change—has a surprising solution: legally recognize and enforce the land rights of rural women in customary tenure systems. This November, it is essential that the world’s nations gathering in Bonn for the United Nations’ annual climate change conference (COP23) do not lose sight of this tremendous opportunity. A Gender Action Plan is slated to be debated and adopted. Twenty thousand attendees are expected, presenting a catalytic opportunity for governments, activists, and funders to collaborate to strengthen women’s land rights to combat climate change. The fate of the planet, rural women’s fate, and our fate will be in the balance….

Read the full blog on the Landesa website, or on the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s Place.