Remembering Berta Cáceres : Lenca Woman and Environmental Defender

This International Women’s Day we remember Berta Cáceres, Indigenous leader and environmental defender from the Lenca people of Honduras. Berta’s murder on March 2nd 2016 was directly associated with her campaign in the defence of the Gualcarque river, the site of a proposed dam in Lenca territory.

Join Zennström Professor in Climate Change Leadership, Stefania Barca, in conversation with Berta’s daughter, Bertha Zuñiga, in order to understand how her work lives on and the continued struggle for justice in the region. Bertha is also a social activist and coordinator of the Civil Council of Popular and Indigenous Organisations of Honduras (COPINH), founded by her mother in 1993. This conversation will be moderated by Grettel Navas Obando, PhD researcher in Environmental Justice at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. The event will be held in English and Spanish with interpretation by Azucena Moran.

Registration for the zoom webinar is free and open to all but should be made in advance here.
https://uu-se.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Ml6sLbUlSJyM2MnGd1yy9w
The webinar will be limited to 500 participants. However, a livestream of the event will also be aired on Facebook live without need for sign up.

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This tragedy of Berta’s murder is not in isolation. In 2019 alone, it is estimated that over 200 environmental defenders were killed as a consequence of their commitment to protect the environment and indigenous lands. Indigenous leaders and Indigenous women leaders in particular have been at the forefront of this struggle. How can we make sense of the violence against these earth defenders in a time when their work is all the more relevant to climate and ecological politics? What can we learn, from their stories, about the post-carbon transition?

This event also joins a louder chorus of voices and events this March, which marks 5 years since Berta’s murder. We strongly encourage watching the 30min documentary ‘Berta Vive’ in advance, to give context for the discussion. The filmmaker Katia Lara has generously made this available for attendees, with subtitles in English, Spanish, French and more. The film has won several awards including special mention at the Guadalajara International Film Festival. Information for accessing this film will be available upon registration.

The following materials are also recommended to learn more:
https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/case/case-history-berta-c%C3%A1ceres
https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/
https://www.versobooks.com/books/3180-who-killed-berta-caceres

Katia also has an upcoming documentary ‘Berta soy yo’ that will be released in July 2021. You can find the trailer here: https://vimeo.com/239019942

You can follow the conversation and demand for justice at #JusticeForBerta and #5AñosJuntoABerta.

Zennström Climate Change Leadership at Uppsala University is committed to bringing the voices and stories of women earth defenders to the forefront of climate change conversations, with this event marking the first in a series to come.

Photo : Goldman Environmental Prize (2015)