Networks that Transform: Mapping the National Interethnic Women's Network for Environmental Defense | A Participatory Exercise

Available in Spanish

On July 3rd, 4th, and 5th, 2024, the “Training Workshop on Social Network Analysis and Its Application in Territories’ was held at the Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT campus in Palmira, Colombia. This event was conducted within the framework of the CGIAR initiative on National Policies and Strategies and with the support of the CGIAR Gender Platform aligned with the Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT, the Natura Foundation and the Rural Women’s Directorate of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR) in an activity that combined training on social network analysis with its application to the National Interethnic Women’s Network for the Environment Defense. Through this exercise, the role of this network in policy influence territorial issues related to gender and environmental matters was successfully mapped, designed, and understood.

This mapping focused on three main topics that were selected through a prioritization exercise involving the women of the network: (1) Leadership and Defense of Territorial Rights, (2) Environmental Governance and Planning, and (3) Management, Use, and Conservation of Biodiversity. This approach allowed the identification of the women within the network who are involved in each theme and their relationships both inside and outside the network. Additionally, it identified the actors working on these themes with whom the network is not currently engaged.

During the event, the participants agreed to replicate this mapping exercise at the level of their territorial network. They will have 3 weeks to gather information on perceptions and relationships with representatives of the organizations they interact with. 

TESTIMONIALS:

“It is not a network of organizations; it is a network of women. Women with each of our characteristics, each of our expectations, our goals, and our dreams. So, I believe that yes, of course, we have a wealth of initiatives and processes, but I think I would also invite us to take advantage of the system of influence to reflect on what comes next for us as women and, as they say, the activities where we have to fight for a space in the long run, well, we fight for it.” (Sandra Galán) 

“The 35 women who make up a network… Because the weight is the work we, as women, carry out in the territory, which is why I have always said it. We are a network, but the strength of the national network today is that we are women representing different regions in Colombia and we have territorial work.” (Ana Delia) 

Additionally, during the three-day workshop, the women received practical training on financial education facilitated by Maryuri Ocoro Sinisterra, a contractor from the Rural Women’s Directorate of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. They also visited the Seed Bank of the Future germplasm bank and participated in an afternoon of cultural exchange, during which each woman presented her actions in their territories and her contributions to the conservation and protection of biodiversity. 

In total, 19 women leaders (indigenous, farmers, Afro-descendant, Palenqueras, and Raizal) from various regions of the country (Bogotá, La Guajira, Caquetá, Cesar, Antioquia, Nariño, Bolívar, Boyacá, Providencia, Quindío, Vaupés, Cauca, Chocó, Cesar, Valle del Cauca, Putumayo) participated in this workshop. 

With the data collected at the network, national, international, and territorial levels, the aim is to conduct an analysis that visualizes the women’s network, their interactions (among themselves and with other actors), the governance structure (roles within the network), and the types of relationships (information exchange, project collaboration, advocacy, and promotion of rights). The social network analysis will explore (using a range of statistics to draw relational and structural patterns, multilayer networks) how governance operates within different relational structures with social actors at multiple scales to manage an environmental phenomenon. 

In addition, this project, which ends in December 2024, will include both quantitative and qualitative studies. The quantitative component will assess the impact of the network on women and their communities, while the qualitative component will delve into the dynamics and relationships within the network. The combination will provide a deeper understanding of the National Interethnic Women’s Environmental Defense Network.

The following are some of the participants’ voices:

Finally, in the following video you can find an audiovisual recap of what you experienced during these 3 days:

Authors:

• Fanny Cecile Howland, Research Specialist, Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT.  
• Carlos Eduardo Gonzalez, Senior Research Associate, Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT.  
• Diana Katherine Quintero, Research Associate, Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT.  
• Alexander Buritica Casanova, Postdoctoral Fellow, Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT.  
• Daniela Salas, Country communicator, CGIAR NPS initiative, and Analyst, Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT.
• Angélica Urbano, PlaSA Colombia communicator, Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT.  

This work is part of the CGIAR Research Initiative on National Policies and Strategies (NPS). CGIAR launched NPS with national and international partners to build policy coherence, respond to policy demands and crises, and integrate policy tools at national and subnational levels in countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. CGIAR centers participating in NPS are The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (Alliance Bioversity-CIAT), International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), International Water Management Institute (IWMI), International Potato Center (CIP), International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), and WorldFish. We would like to thank all funders who supported this research through their contributions to the CGIAR Trust Fund.  

Photo credit:  Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT.