Six rural, Indigenous and young women from Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay are in Belém, Brazil, representing the Gran Chaco at COP30 with support from the UK‑funded Chaco Project, Weaving Networks, Building Impact. COP30 runs from 10 to 21 November 2025 in Belém.

The Gran Chaco is South America’s second‑largest forested ecoregion after the Amazon. It sustains remarkable biodiversity-around 3,400 plant and 500 bird species-and around 9 million people across Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay. That ecological and cultural richness is central to regional climate stability.

The data show why this delegation matters. MapBiomas Chaco reports a 15.1% loss of natural vegetation between 1985 and 2023-more than 14 million hectares transformed, largely for cattle and crops. Natural woody vegetation has fallen sharply over the past four decades, signalling rising pressure on dry forest resilience.

Independent satellite analysis aligned with Global Forest Watch estimates roughly 5 million hectares of forest cover lost across the Chaco from 2001 to 2021, with major hotspots in Paraguay’s Boquerón and Alto Paraguay departments. These losses concentrate risk for communities already facing heat and water stress.

The delegation brings lived expertise from across the territory: Argentina’s Ibel Diarte, Tochi Benítez and Liliana Paniagua; Bolivia’s Arline Dayana Estrada Vaca; and Paraguay’s Nidia Beatriz Morejuán de Ruiz and Teresita Cabrera. Their brief is clear-take community priorities from the Chaco directly into negotiations.

They arrive with a shared platform built this autumn. More than 120 rural, Indigenous and young women co‑developed proposals at a Trinational Gathering (30 September–1 October), followed by the 6th World Chaco Summit (2–4 October), where over 600 participants shaped a COP30 roadmap focused on finance access, land and territorial rights, and youth inclusion.

Their asks sit squarely in ongoing UN climate work. After COP29 extended the Enhanced Lima Work Programme on Gender for a further decade, Parties began designing a new Gender Action Plan for adoption at COP30-explicitly encouraging gender‑responsive finance and simplified access for grassroots women and Indigenous organisations.

What this looks like on the ground is practical: direct climate‑finance windows for women’s groups in the Chaco; support to secure collective land tenure; and formal youth seats in national climate planning. Evidence from FAO and WRI shows that where Indigenous and community land rights are recognised, deforestation falls and climate benefits rise-findings relevant to Gran Chaco governments.

Delivery also depends on proven land‑use solutions. In the Chaco, regenerative ranching and silvopastoral systems have helped producers lift productivity without clearing native forest, while community monitoring combines MapBiomas’ annual land‑cover data and GFW alerts to document clearing and support enforcement.

Science underscores the urgency of water‑smart planning. New peer‑reviewed research finds that agricultural expansion in the Dry Chaco intensifies aridity-reducing summer precipitation, soil moisture and runoff across large areas-so adaptation must prioritise shade, soil cover and water management alongside forest protection.

With COP30 hosted in the Amazonian city of Belém, forests are front and centre. For the Gran Chaco, that means aligning finance and policy with what works: rights‑based protection, deforestation‑free beef and soy supply chains, and community‑led restoration that keeps local economies viable. The platform these women carry is designed for implementation, not symbolism.

As the UK’s Ambassador to Paraguay Danielle Dunne put it, “Indigenous communities are on the frontlines of climate change. Their leadership and wisdom are essential to protecting biodiversity and building resilient futures.” Their presence in Belém is a chance to turn that recognition into funded, trackable action.