Pastoralist women play a critical role in sustaining rangelands, livestock systems, biodiversity, and community well-being across the world. Despite their critical contributions to tradition-keeping, innovation and entrepreneurship, food security, climate resilience, and peace-making, their knowledge, labour, and leadership remain largely absent from policy and global decision-making.
The Global Gathering will celebrate pastoralist women, their contributions to pastoralism, and their knowledge, skills and cultures. Pastoralist women will have an opportunity to share their experiences, challenges, innovations, successes and solutions, and to make global connections that endure beyond the event, increasing global solidarity, mutual support, and sense of worth. Participants will collaborate in revising/developing a shared policy agenda and prepare to carry forward.
Objectives:
- Build a global network of pastoralist women , to support ongoing knowledge sharing, mutual support and advocacy, and to ensure their voices are represented in decision-making at local, regional and global scales.
- Shape global agendas for rangeland and pastoralist policy, practice, and research that reflect pastoralist women’s priorities.
- Amplify pastoralist women’s voices by developing a strategy to deliver this agenda in global venues such as the UNCCD COP 17 and others.
- Share and learn knowledge, skills and connections that will advance gender equality, sustainable pastoralism, and resilient rangelands.
In the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP) and the International Year of the Woman Farmer (IYWF), the Global Gathering of Pastoralist Women (Mera +16) will convene pastoralist and ranching women on 26–29 May 2026 at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) Headquarters in Kathmandu, Nepal to strengthen solidarity, identify shared priorities, and amplify women’s voices in global policy spaces, including UNCCD COP 17 and beyond. Mera +16 in the title commemorates the 16th anniversary of the ‘Mera Declaration’, a landmark political document developed by women pastoralists during a global gathering held in Mera, India, from 21–26 November 2010.
Ahead of the Gathering, to support participation, ICIMOD and IYRP Gender Working Group will host an information webinar on 3 February for organisations and networks nominating pastoralist women and supporting applications. This is a key entry point to ensure women’s priorities shape rangeland and pastoralist futures.