Supporting Women Environmental Defenders for Transformative Disaster Risk Reduction in the Philippines

The document highlights how women environmental defenders, Indigenous peoples, and rural communities in the Philippines combat disaster vulnerability by mobilizing against environmental destruction and structural inequalities. It identifies these actors as essential for 'transformative DRR'—an approach that moves beyond traditional hazard mitigation to address the root causes of risk, such as land tenure insecurity and gender inequality. The brief provides recommendations for decision-makers and stakeholders to support these defenders through human rights compliance, accountability for resource extraction, and expanded educational opportunities.

• Gender and social norms in the Philippines create structural inequalities—including limited education, formal employment, and land tenure—that increase the vulnerability of women, Indigenous peoples, and rural communities to disasters.
• Women environmental defenders contribute to disaster risk reduction by mobilizing against environmentally harmful practices and infrastructure projects that increase hazard exposure, such as the Chico River dam project and mining activities in Ucab, Itogon and Nueva Vizcaya.
• Transformative DRR is enabled by the active participation of civil society and intersectional cooperation between marginalized groups, such as the National Federation of Peasant Women (Amihan) and Indigenous women collaborating on land issues.
• Civil society organizations provide essential capacity building and legal education to empower marginalized groups to challenge their vulnerability and hold government and businesses accountable.
• The document recommends that the State and non-State actors ensure accountability through transparent free, prior and informed consent processes when implementing climate mitigation or infrastructure initiatives.
• To achieve transformative DRR, the brief suggests fast-tracking the recognition of Indigenous peoples' tenure rights and addressing legal loopholes in land classification.

APA

Pross, C., Kim, D., & Vigil, S. (2022). Supporting Women Environmental Defenders for Transformative Disaster Risk Reduction in the Philippines. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/brief-wed-philippines-09.09.2022.pdf

Chicago

Pross, Camille, Dayoon Kim, and Sara Vigil. Supporting Women Environmental Defenders for Transformative Disaster Risk Reduction in the Philippines. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2022. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/brief-wed-philippines-09.09.2022.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Pross |first1=Camille |last2=Kim |first2=Dayoon |last3=Vigil |first3=Sara |title=Supporting Women Environmental Defenders for Transformative Disaster Risk Reduction in the Philippines |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=2022 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/brief-wed-philippines-09.09.2022.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{pross2022supporting, author = {Pross, Camille and Kim, Dayoon and Vigil, Sara}, title = {{Supporting Women Environmental Defenders for Transformative Disaster Risk Reduction in the Philippines}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2022}, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/brief-wed-philippines-09.09.2022.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }