Since the start of the 3-year initiative in May 2024, CIER, Salasan Consulting Inc. (Salasan), and partners, have made powerful strides on the Climate Leadership Action for Indigenous Women in Nepal (CLAN) project. This initiative aims to mentor 50 Indigenous Women and Girls (IWGs) in rural Nepal to become climate leaders in their communities.
CLAN Advisory Committee Member Biographies
Kerry-Ann Charles is a member of the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation, a proud mom of 2 young men, and has been a Team member of Cambium Indigenous Professional Services (CIPS) since 2017 as the Environment Partnership Co-ordinator. She was proud to serve her Community as Councillor for a term and has over 20 years’ experience working within her Community in various capacities with her last 8 years of service as the Environment Co-ordinator. During this role she worked with her Community Members and other partner organizations to develop a climate change adaptation framework that would assist her Community as well as others in the development of Community climate change adaptation and implementation plans using Traditional Ecological Knowledge as the foundation for planning.
She has had great success in initiating and building relationships with various environmental organizations, developing partnerships to co-ordinate and carry out various environmental activities, with both Indigenous and non-Indigenous partners, as well as promoting education and involvement in environmental initiatives within her Community and other Indigenous Communities including advocating for urban Indigenous participation. As a result of this work, Kerry-Ann has gained international recognition and has been asked to speak across Canada, in the US as well as Mexico, and as far as Egypt, in the area of Indigenous perspectives on environmental initiatives. Her wide range of career experiences give her a unique perspective that can be very valuable when assisting others wishing to find their balance of operations and carrying out of their environmental responsibility. She is currently transitioning from employee to partner with CIPS as the founder and Executive Director of a new Not-for-Profit named Ne’ikaanigaana which will continue to support and create opportunities for Indigenous and non-Indigenous collaborations and partnerships for the betterment of the collective. She has been grateful to take this work and share it with others through her position as CIPS and will continue to carry this work forward through Ne’ikaanigaana, supporting the Reconciliation Journey that we are ALL on.
Jenn is Métis-settler on her mother’s side and Ukrainian on her father’s side, grounding her work in the teachings and values from both cultures. As the Senior Policy Advisor of Climate Change at the Métis National Council she works to advance Indigenous climate leadership and strengthen partnerships that support community driven solutions. Holding a Master of Science in Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation, and Mitigation from the University of Copenhagen, Jenn brings both technical expertise and an Indigenous lens to her work. She is interested in how climate and environmental change intersect with social, political, and economic systems both locally and globally. Passionate about Indigenous led climate action, Jenn is dedicated to uplifting stories of Métis resilience and innovation across the homeland.
Suni Lama is a prominent Indigenous Women’s rights activist from Nepal, known for her unwavering commitment to social justice, gender equality, and the rights of Indigenous Peoples. With over 30 years of experience in grassroots development and advocacy, she has played a vital role in National movements demanding constitutional recognition and inclusion of Indigenous Communities. A law graduate from Tribhuvan University, Ms. Lama currently serves as the Chairperson of the National Indigenous Women Forum (NIWF). She has also held several key leadership roles, including General Secretary and Advisor of the National Indigenous Women Federation, Executive board member of Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) and Chairperson of the Nepal Tamang Women Ghedung. Her activism extends to regional and international platforms, where she has represented Nepal in high-level dialogues, feminist forums, and Indigenous rights conferences across Asia, Europe and the United States of America. Deeply rooted in her Tamang identity, Ms. Lama continues to champion a more inclusive and equitable society for Indigenous Women and Marginalized communities. She is also part of the Steering Committee of Nepal’s NBSAP.
Yasso Kanti Bhattachan, Vice Chair, National Indigenous Women Forum (NIWF), is an eminent Indigenous women leader, activist, and scholar from Nepal. She belongs to the Thakali Mountain Indigenous Peoples, whose ancestral land is at Thasang in Maitang (Mustang district) in trans-Himalayan region bordering the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China. She holds a Master’s degree in Home Science and a Post graduate Diploma in Women’s Studies from Tribhuvan University. She has dedicated her career to bring visibility and legal recognition to the rights of Indigenous women and girls in Nepal. She brings decades of experience advocating for Indigenous women’s rights and gender justice at the local, national, and international levels. She is one of the founding members and advisors of National Indigenous Women’s Federation (NIWF). She works with Indigenous women to empower them and advocate for the elimination of social, political, cultural, religious and linguistics discrimination. She is a former Regional Council Member of Asia Pacific Women, Law and Development (APWLD) and South Asia sub regional focal person on Asian Indigenous Women’s Network (AIWN). She has been playing a critical role in advocating at the local, national and international levels for the full recognition of the rights of Indigenous women and girls in the Constitution, laws, policies, plans and programs. Her efforts are to address the racial, linguistic, cultural, economic, and political discrimination that Indigenous women and girls face in Nepal.
She contributes to ensuring Indigenous women are trained and have the resources to adapt their farming techniques to preserve and promote Indigenous practices that protect Mother Earth from harmful chemicals. She has carried out research on the issues of Indigenous Women, gender, Dalits and Kamlari (Tharu women bonded laborer) published a number of articles on Indigenous Women’s issues and done consultancy research works for ILO, DANIDA-HUGO, UNDP, Helvetas, IIDS, JEP-NEFIN/DFID. Her recent publication is Indigenous Women’s Land Rights in the Community Forest published by WOMANKIND and NIWF in March 2021. Her publication includes “Indigenous Women’s Land Rights in the Community Forests” published by the National Indigenous Women’s Federation (NIWF).
Chhing is Advisor of NIWF (National Indigenous Women’s Federation), Immediate Past Chair of Tewa (women’s philanthropy organization) and Founding Member of Mountain Spirit, Nepal Participatory Action Network (NEPAN), SAGUN-NGO (search for harmony) and Just Nepal Foundation. Just Nepal Foundation promotes education, social justice, and human rights by working within the rural mountain communities of Nepal. Chhing has been working to empower women and extremely marginalized groups in Nepal for the past 30 years.
Since participating in HRAP in 2016, Chhing has been Participating and promoting human rights, conservation and rights of Indigenous Women and enhancing Inter-Generational Feminist Forum (IGFF) for joint voices country’s issues and raise issue of older people. Chhing is also facilitating an internship program between ISHR and Mountain Spirit since 2017. She participated in a summer course of Columbia University on Indigenous Peoples Policy in 2023 and is now preparing an Indigenous Peoples’ policy for an Indigenous Peoples Led organization.She is one of the founding members, chair, and current advisor of Mountain Spirit, another indigenous people’s organization. She has been active in relief efforts after the earthquake in Nepal. Chhing earned a bachelor’s degree in economics, Culture and Literature from Padma Kanya University in 1988, a Post Graduate Diploma in Rural Extension & Women from University of Reading in 1991, and a master’s degree in Rural Development in 2016.
Born in Olangchung Gola of Taplejung district of Nepal, Ms. Yankila Sherpa is a prominent figure in Nepal’s tourism, entrepreneurship, and politics.
She is the founder and Managing Director of Snow Leopard Trek Pvt. Ltd. and has served as the President of the Trekking Agents Association of Nepal (TAAN), the founder and President of the Federation of Women Entrepreneurs Association of Nepal (FWEAN) as well as current member and former chief advisor of Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA).
Her political journey includes roles as a Member of Parliament, Assistant Minister, and State Minister for Tourism, Culture, and Civil Aviation. Currently, she serves in the Provincial Assembly of Bagmati Pradesh, representing the Nepali Congress.
A passionate advocate for women’s empowerment and sustainable tourism, Ms. Sherpa has presented at numerous global forums and conferences. She is a recipient of prestigious awards such as the Priyadarshani Award awarded by the Federation of International Women Entrepreneurs and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF’s) Abraham Conservation Award, recognizing her leadership in eco-tourism and entrepreneurship.
Ms. Sherpa holds a Master’s degree in Sociology and a Post Graduate Diploma in education from Tribhuvan University, Nepal.
Ms Kanchan Lama, a Master in Political Science, BA Hons, Diploma in PDM, along with special courses in Gender and Development, impact evaluation, participatory research, and training, possesses strong theoretical and practical experience in intersectional GEDSI analysis, research, mainstreaming, training, review and monitoring and evaluation. She has worked for more than twenty-nine years with the major INGOs, bi lateral and multilateral agencies, in Nepal, South and Central Asian régions. She represented UN-Women Major Group from WOCAN (www.wocan.org) at global policy debates, mainly on indigenous Peoples’ and rural women’s rights in benefit sharing systems in natural resource management systems, by participating in several UN global forums, e.g., UNFF, CSD, UNFCCC, SDG, and COP.
Her landmark contributions recognized for designing the first ever national gender equality policy for Ministry of Women, Children and Elderly in Nepal (2016-2018), National Gender Policy for the Ministry of Agriculture, Forest and Fishery(MAFF) in Timor Leste (2008), the gender responsive pedagogy course for University of Central Asia-Kazakhstan, Country Gender Action Plans for UNICEF -Afghanistan -2014-2017 and UNICEF-India 2016-2019, the GESI strategies for Ministry of Forest and Environment-GoN (2009), GESI strategy -Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperative-GoN, Master Plan-Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, GoN. She participated in COP 27, Egypt andCOP28, in Dubai as invited panel speaker in the Canadian, Namibian and Senagal pavillons to share on an intersectional feminist approach in climate adaptation and mitigation programs based on Forest Action Nepal’s action research project on women’s economic empowerment for resilience in Nepal.
She is an author of gender/PSEAH/GBV training manuals, gender responsive budget and gender climate change related articles, mainly as a consultant to the UN organisations and INGOs in the Asia region. Kanchan is extensively expereinced in forward looking impact evaluation and GESI assessment of sectoral programmes by applying OECD/DAC criteria, integrating gender and inclusion evaluation frameworks embracing a participatory, feminist, interesctional methodology aiming at documenting the voice of the IPs, IPLCs and rural women considering the structural barriers marginalizing these people from development mainstreams.
Currently she has been providing pragmatic recommandations and Action Plans to GEF projects in Nepal (through Independent Office of Evaluation-GEF-WB) to ensure improvement in inclusion of the specific needs, interests and the FPIC Rights of the IPs, IPLCs and women in the project areas. She also assisted the GCF funded project, namely, Critical Ecosystem Restoration Programme (CERP) of FAO/MOFE by conducting a comprehensive GESI assessment of the IPs, IPLCs and women from 26 river basins in 11 districts in the Chure area, along with developing 26 GESI inclusive intervention packages (IPACKs) to guide inclusion of the voices, and interests of the IP women. Currently Ms Lama serves inter alia, as BoD member to Forest Action Nepal (FAN), South Asian Institute for Advanced Studies (SIAS), remained past BoD to Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture and NRM (WOCAN), past Chairperson to Community of Evaluators Nepal (COE-N), the founder Advisor to Feminist Dalit Organization (FEDO) and mentor to HIMAWANTI (women’s rights in NRM) and CSRC (Landrights) and Chair to Women Leading for Change in NRM (WLCN).
Juanita is a member of the Pheasant Rump Nakota First Nation. She is a dedicated advocate for holistic well-being and cultural revitalization, emphasizing the lived teachings of the deep connection between identity and health. As a health professional specializing in dental health and the effects of diabetes, she recognizes how these factors influence the transmission of traditions and language. This understanding drives her commitment to this important work. A proud mother and grandmother (kuší), she is devoted to revitalizing the Nakóda language, rooted in the belief that cultural identity plays a crucial role in well-being. She integrates traditional knowledge with contemporary educational practices to build resources that develop meaningful learning experiences to honor the Nakóda ways of knowing, being, and doing.
It also works to support the development of four community climate action plans (CCAPs) in four hilly mountain regions of Nepal, along with 25 small-scale climate projects. These innovative nature-based projects designed by the IWG in collaboration with Salasan will help to support each community in their effort to improve their resilience to the unique climate change impacts that they face.
Challenges such as landslides, drought, water shortages, food scarcity, and severe flooding have impacted participating communities in the past, causing physical and mental health issues for vulnerable community members, along with increased workload for women left behind in their villages. By working with CIER and Salasan on this initiative, challenges related to these impacts will be addressed, boasting healthier lives for the members of these communities.
CIER’s role is to support the project by conducting research on gendered impacts due to climate change and best practices; providing access to resources from project conception to implementation; providing engagement and curriculum development assistance; and creating a network with Canadian Indigenous women climate experts to provide advice and support throughout the project.
Project Highlights to-date:
- Twelve women-led Climate Action groups have been formed across four rural municipalities in Nepal.
- Ongoing capacity building and training has ensued for 25 field-led groups.
- An advisory committee with Canadian Indigenous Women Climate Advisors and Nepal partners has been established.
- Quarterly meetings with Canadian and Nepalese climate experts have ensued to build cross-border connections and share climate insights.
- Community climate action plans have been assessed for participating communities.
- Climate project proposals have been reviewed by CIER and climate experts to help strengthen proposals and ensure the implementation of meaningful climate adaptation initiatives.
- Community-led climate projects have been initiated in the areas of tree planting, landslide control, drinking water and irrigation improvement, and livestock infrastructure improvement.
News and Resources
Empowering Women in Climate Action Resources:
- Implementation of Gender-Responsive Climate Action in the Context of Sustainable Development
- Gender Just Climate Solutions
- Empowering Communities: Gender-Responsive Nature-based Solutions for Climate Adaptation in the Guinean Forests
- “Water is life”: A position paper on: Indigenous Women’s role in Water Governance in Asia
Indigenous Climate Action Resources:
- Nature-based Solutions for Climate Adaptation in the Guinean Forests of West Africa
- A Briefing Paper: Building the Resiliency of Indigenous Communities on Climate Change Adaptation
- Endorois Peoples’ Biocultural Protocol: Sustainable Biodiversity Resource Management For Access and Benefit Sharing and Protection From Threats to Culture
Emergency Preparedness Resources:
- Managing seeds and agricultural losses in the wake of extreme climate events: Lessons from Nepal
- Indigenous Peoples’ Good Practices in Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction: Case studies of indigenous Karen community of Hak-kia village in Northern Thailand and Taloctoc tribe in Northern Philippines
- Community-Based Disaster Risk Management: Field Practitioner’s Handbook
The CLAN project is a collaboration that includes Salasan-Canada, Salasan-Nepal, National Indigenous Women’s Forum (NIWF), the Indigenous Women’s Upliftment Centre (IWUC), and CIER. This project is generously funded by the Government of Canada.
