For Women Environmental Defenders in Colombia, Standing down is Not an Option

Oct 16, 2024 | UN Women
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As temperatures reach new highs and climate change impacts intensify, women who are defending their land, water and ecosystems are paying a high price.

“I have suffered three attempts on my life because of my work as an environmental defender,” said Yuli Velázquez, who works with the fishing communities of Santander, in northern Colombia. 

“We protested against irregularities in a contract to clean up the San Silvestre swamp, for which a hydrocarbon company gave 5 billion pesos,” explained Velázquez, who is the president of the Federation of Artisanal, Environmental and Tourist Fisherfolk of the Department of Santander (FEDEPESAN).

Velázquez lives in Barrancabermeja, less than a kilometer from the San Silvestre swamp, where she grew up fishing. She and others in the community fish in the marshes and the rivers nearby. They want the local authorities to test the water and sludge for contamination.