María Janet Arteaga Ordaz is the project manager for Mujeres y Ambiente, a community enterprise established in Querétaro, Mexico. This women-founded, women-led association has been working with an environmentally-minded Spanish company, the Mexican Government, and a local university to develop and market cosmetics based on native plants. The agreement signed between the parties is considered one of the first cases of full compliance with the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing. The association supports women to grow their agricultural micro-businesses, and engages in biodiversity conservation, restoration, stabilization of soils, and nursery cultivation. The activities have empowered women to create jobs and improve livelihoods in their community based on their traditional knowledge about local biodiversity,
Speaker
María Janet Arteaga Ordaz
Project Manager, Mujeres y Ambient
