From June 17-20, we had the privilege of hosting a week-long knowledge exchange in Guatemala City, marking the conclusion of phase 1 of our pilot project in collaboration with the Coordinadora de Mujeres Líderes Territoriales de Mesoamérica (CMLT).

This year, I’ve had the privilege of traveling to Mexico twice. The first visit was a two-week-trip to three different Departments in Mexico (Puebla, Veracruz, and Oaxaca) to get to know our new potential partner Red Mocaf, visit their communities, meet their community leaders, and get to know the realities of each region.

TWP had the privilege to host 13 of our partners and community leaders from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador at the first Mesoamerican Indigenous People and Local Communities Climate Week.

International Women’s Day gave us the opportunity to recognize and admire all the incredible women that have been part of our TWP family, and the new women leaders that have emerged through our work on the ground in Central America. This past February, our TWP team had the privilege to travel to Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, where we were inspired by courageous women who continue to advocate, organize, and fight for more inclusive and equitable opportunities for their communities and future generations.

Regina Lopez-Whiteskunk is a rockstar for Indigenous sovereignty, environmental justice, and gender equity and inclusion. She has been at the forefront of these initiatives in the southwest and has represented her Tribe as an everyday leader and previous member of the Tribal Council. A member of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Regina grew up in southwest Colorado.

In 2023, Trees, Water & People (TWP) will celebrate 25 years of creating environmental, social, and economic impact for frontline communities most affected by climate change.

Conventional conservation often portrays stewards and land managers working together to conserve, protect and/or restore critical landscapes for the survival of our planet. But underneath the macroscopic lens of conservation, women, more specifically Native American women, are rarely recognized for their achievements and dedication in the world of conservation.

The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated the inequalities and vulnerabilities experienced by indigenous, rural and “campesino” communities. Girls and women are the populations that have faced most of the challenges. The confinement and the economic crisis impacted the worsening violence, greater care work responsibilities and a decrease in women's income, which was already precarious and unequal before the pandemic.

January is a time of gratitude and focus for us at Trees, Water & People. We’re bowled over daily by the generosity of our supporters, and January allows us to take stock of progress we made last year, challenges we’ll need to rise to in 2022, and the resources we’ve been entrusted to do our work.