Across the globe, we are facing multiple, interrelated environmental, political, social, and economic crises, driven by a capitalist, patriarchal, and extractive economic model. Environmental disasters and climate change further exacerbate these crises, already impacting historically and socially excluded communities, such as women, children, rural and Indigenous communities and people with disabilities. 

IAFN is committed to contributing, supporting and amplifying transformative actions for socio-ecologically just realities for all people and our planet. It is our responsibility to contribute to, advocate for, and actively engage in cycles that foster the regeneration, restoration, and natural resilience of our environment, rather than seeking to control, appropriate, or exploit nature. We highly esteem local wisdom and recognize the enduring insights of ancestral inhabitants, synergizing them with scientific knowledge. Together, we aim to collaboratively shape new paradigms that redefine our relationship with the territories we inhabit, addressing the hows and whys of our coexistence.

IAFN acknowledges that to effectively address the underlying factors of the environmental and climate crises, we need to place gender and social justice at the forefront of our efforts. For IAFN this means:

1. Securing access and tenure for rural women, youth, and Indigenous communities to their main source of livelihoods: land, water, forests; 
2. Valuing the work of rural and Indigenous women, and pushing for an equitable distribution across gender groups to avoid placing a disproportionate burden on women’s shoulders;
3. Ensuring effective participation and engagement by rural women, youth, and Indigenous communities in decision-making processes linked to their territories and ecosystems at local, national, and international levels, centering their knowledge, practices, and leadership;
4. Increasing support and accompaniment to continue strengthening the knowledge, capacities, and networks of rural women, youth, and Indigenous communities for territorial and ecosystem restoration and management. 

Since its establishment, IAFN has been collaborating with rural women youth, and Indigenous peoples across the Global South, supporting them to become advocates and practitioners of AF within their communities. In many cases, they are already at the forefront of collective efforts to champion environmental, social, and gender justice for their communities and territories, driving initiatives for ecosystem restoration and enhancing their communities’ resilience in the face of the ongoing and ever-deepening climate crisis. 

Over the years we have built strong networks with women AF promoters in Asia and Latin America, becoming a convening force for these women to build connections and solidarity, in addition to providing practical tools and resources for AF implementation, monitoring, and reporting.