Abidah Setyowati of WOCAN was one of the panelists in REDD+ Hot Gender Debate held on Sept 7th, 2012, during the World Conservation Congress in Jeju Island, the Republic of Korea. The event was opened by Minister of Gender and Development of Liberia and IUCN representative. Other panelists include representatives from Uganda, Malawi, UNREDD and indigenous women leader from Latin America. During the debates, the panelists discussed about implications that REDD+ could bring for women and men and how the initiative could bring implications to gender equality and women empowerment.
Most of the panelists agreed that if women’s rights are fully recognized in the process, REDD+ could bring benefit not only for reducing carbon emissions but also protecting women’s rights over forest resources and ensuring gender equality. However, without proper gender safeguard, REDD+ could bring risks to women and other marginalized communities. As the Minister of Gender and Development suggested, women play a significant role in forest thereby they need to be closely engaged in the whole REDD+ decision making processes. Setyowati of WOCAN also suggested that involving women in REDD+ not only meant engaging half of the population and but also ensured its successful implementation and long term impact to sustainable forest management, food security and broader development goals.