Gran Chaco women set for COP30 Belém with UK support
If you’re teaching climate politics this month, here’s a live case study. Six rural, Indigenous and young women from Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay will carry the Gran Chaco’s priorities into the UN climate talks at COP30 in Belém, Brazil-backed by the UK through the Chaco Project, “Weaving Networks, Building Impact.” The announcement was published on 13 November 2025 by the UK Government.
A quick refresher so your class can follow along. COP30 is the UN’s annual climate conference; formal negotiations in Belém run from 10–21 November 2025, while leaders’ events began earlier in the month. This year’s summit is taking place in the Amazon region for the first time.
What is the Gran Chaco, and why should we care? It is South America’s second-largest forest after the Amazon, stretching across Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and parts of Brazil. It is home to thousands of plant and animal species and supports Indigenous cultures, yet faces some of the continent’s highest rates of deforestation.
Who is going to Belém from the Chaco? The delegation named by the UK release includes 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. Together they represent youth organisers, Indigenous leaders and civil society networks across the tri-national territory.
Their platform has been built through the Chaco Project, a UK-supported initiative designed to centre women and young people in climate decision-making, from local land management to national policy proposals. As the British Embassy notes, the aim is to make climate action inclusive and gender-responsive. Ambassador Danielle Dunne put it plainly: Indigenous leadership is essential to protecting biodiversity and building resilient futures.
This delegation didn’t appear overnight. Ahead of COP30, more than 120 rural, Indigenous and young women co-wrote proposals at a Trinational Gathering on 30 September–1 October 2025. Days later, over 600 participants met at the 6th World Chaco Summit in Filadelfia, Paraguay (2–4 October), shaping a shared roadmap that highlights access to climate finance, land rights and youth inclusion.
If you’re mapping the negotiation themes with students, start with three big ones the Chaco delegates care about. First, finance: how money reaches frontline communities. Second, land and tenure: who owns, stewards and benefits from forests. Third, participation: making sure women and young people are inside national climate strategies, not just mentioned in speeches. These are all live issues on the COP agenda this year.
Understanding the timeline helps. Under the Paris Agreement, countries must submit new or updated national climate plans-NDCs-every five years, with a major round due in 2025. The EU, for example, has signalled its updated pathway ahead of COP30. This cycle is a key chance for Chaco voices to influence how governments account for forests and community rights.
Belém is also buzzing beyond the negotiation rooms. A parallel People’s Summit at the Federal University of Pará is bringing thousands of Indigenous participants and allies together to share knowledge, protest and propose solutions-useful context when students ask where real stories sit alongside official texts.
Why inclusion matters is not just a value statement; it’s now part of the host presidency’s organising frame. The COP30 Action Agenda seeks to “bring people to the centre,” with work streams on forests, food, cities, water, health and the enablers of finance and technology. That framing aligns closely with the Chaco coalition’s priorities.
For classroom use, try this sequence. Invite students to summarise, in 100 words, what the Gran Chaco contributes to climate stability using one credible source. Then ask them to draft a two-point “ask” for COP30-one on finance, one on land-backed by evidence. Finally, compare their asks with what civil society is tracking in Belém using reputable explainers on COP jargon and process.
What this means: we are watching local leadership step onto a global stage at exactly the moment new climate plans are being written. If these women secure clearer finance routes, stronger land protections and formal roles for youth in policy, the gains won’t only be felt in the Chaco-they’ll be a template other regions can adapt. That’s a practical lesson in how climate governance becomes more inclusive, one delegation at a time.