Elsa Cerda and a group of Indigenous Kichwa women from the Serena community are at the forefront of defending their land against extractive industries in the Ecuadorian Amazon. As part of the all-female patrol group Yuturi Warmi, they keep a close eye on their area for indications of mining activities. Their strong spiritual ties to the land, which are fundamental to their culture and identity, motivate them to work to preserve the pristine waters of the Jatunyacu River and the nearby forests. These women are not just fighting environmental destruction: They are defending their sovereignty and challenging the extractivist economic model imposed on their lands. They are standing up for the rights of future generations and protecting their way of life.
Katy Wiese and Robin Roels wrote this piece.
Their resistance, however, is part of a broader, global pattern. Women, especially Indigenous women, are disproportionately affected by the social, environmental, and climate effects of extractivism worldwide. They are spearheading the fight to shield their communities from the damaging effects of mining, oil extraction, and deforestation, much like they are in the fight against the climate crisis and ecological destruction.
Gendered Impacts of Extractivism
Mining and oil extraction are examples of extractive industries that have profoundly gendered effects. In regions like Ecuador and Peru, women are disproportionately impacted by the environmental damage these industries cause. For instance, women in these communities frequently lose their land, face health risks, are evicted from traditional agricultural and drug-related jobs, and have essential aspects of their identity that are connected to the land eroded. It’s also primarily men who are benefiting from employment in extractive areas, further perpetuating women’s economic dependence on men.
There are structural reasons: women across the world continue to bear the majority of the (unpaid) caregiving responsibilities for their homes and communities, earn less money, are under-represented in leadership and decision-making roles, and experience higher rates of gender-based violence as a result of socially constructed gender roles and power disparities. Although the mining sector did not create these inequalities, it reinforces and perpetuates them when gender perspectives are overlooked—further sidelining women and other marginalised groups.
For example, women are the primary caregivers in many Indigenous communities, responsible for tasks like gathering water, preparing food, and protecting family health. When extractive activities pollute their environment, these daily tasks become not only more difficult but also dangerous. Indigenous women’s connection to the land is spiritual as much as it is practical, which makes the environmental impacts of extractivism even more devastating. Land loss or resource contamination causes a profound cultural wound in addition to financial loss. Additionally, studies reveal that instances of gender-based violence at home and at work have surged in regions with mining operations. These areas often use gender-based violence as a tool to control and discipline women and feminised bodies. This leads to the erosion of their physical and emotional safety and the loss of vital spaces needed for community, political engagement, and care-related activities. Women who resist extractive projects and defend their communities, territories, and ecosystems also often face gender-specific violence, intimidation, and threats.
The EU Mining Boom
Globally, large-scale extractivism as an economic model prioritises economic growth and profits over the rights and consent of local communities, including women, as well as social and environmental impacts. The EU adopts a similar strategy: The Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), a spin-off of the European Union’s Green Deal, aims to “secure raw materials essential for the transition to renewable energy”. While this is framed as necessary for achieving climate goals, the CRMA’s focus on securing raw materials risks sustaining environmental injustices and gendered inequality, especially for Indigenous women. Through so-called “Strategic Projects“, which are expedited for approval and receive financial and political backing, the Act encourages the quick growth of mining projects.
The issue is made worse by the CRMA’s neglect of demand reduction. The overconsumption of raw materials by the EU causes increased extraction and social and environmental harm, especially in the Global South. Despite making up only 6% of the global population, the EU consumes 25% of global resources. This figure even rises to 35% for elements like cobalt and lithium. The CRMA’s lack of focus on sustainable consumption and circular economy practices means that the harmful effects of resource extraction will keep happening, hitting hardest those communities that are already struggling.
Women Leading Resistance Movements
Indigenous women are often at the forefront of resistance movements against extractivism. In Ecuador, Yuturi Warmi monitors their land for illegal mining and uses social media, legal advocacy, and evidence gathering to spread the word about environmental damage. They’ve even taken legal action, such as in the case of the Manati Operation, to expose illegal mining and its impacts. These women combine traditional knowledge with modern tools, such as drones and cameras, to protect their environment and demand accountability from both local authorities and corporations.
Their activism goes beyond stopping harmful mining activities and environmental protection. They challenge the dominant economic model of infinite economic growth that perpetuates inequalities and environmental harm by advocating for alternative economic ideas. One of them is Buen Vivir, an Indigenous concept that prioritises community well-being over resource extraction. In this way, the leadership of women like Elsa and Luisa provides a vision for a just and sustainable future that strikes a balance between the rights of Indigenous communities and the environment and the necessity for a sustainable use of raw materials.
However, to achieve this goal, EU policies like the CRMA must be updated and rethought to prioritise the welfare of people and the planet, including gender justice, rather than profit maximisation. The EU must prioritise binding resource reduction targets, demand-side measures (like material efficiency standards and luxury consumption caps), circular economy and sufficiency practices, and meaningful consultation with impacted communities to ensure that the EU’s energy transition does not come at the expense of the environment or human rights.
Corporations must also be held accountable through strong due diligence obligations, including the identification, prevention, and remediation of environmental harms and human rights violations throughout their entire value chain. This includes the UN Binding Treaty on Business and Human Rights and other legally binding international environmental and human rights standards incorporating gender equality. Policies that uphold women’s rights, especially those of Indigenous communities, and guarantee their active involvement in mining-related decision-making at all levels of consultation, planning, and governance are required. This involves acknowledging the importance of unpaid caregiving and investing in public service infrastructure (like health and education) in impacted communities. The EU should also support legal frameworks that protect women environmental defenders from gender-based violence and criminalisation, establish safe reporting mechanisms, and provide support services for survivors of violence in mining regions.
The activism of women in communities like La Curva and Serena serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of empowering women to lead the fight for environmental justice. A truly just energy transition must integrate their leadership, protect their rights, support and fund their organisations and networks and ensure their participation at every level of policymaking.
In the end, the fight for environmental justice is about gender justice.
