In April 2023, a self-funded team of 12 women, under the banner of ‘HER Planet Earth’ - a non-profit organisation headquartered in Singapore dedicated to gender equality and environmental conservation - will trek across the Knuckles Mountain Range of Sri Lanka, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in support of women impacted by climate change. The team plans to cover a total distance of 150km (100km on foot in 4 days + 50km on bike), and summit Gombaniya (1,906m), the highest peak of the range, as the largest all-female team to ever attempt this route. The objective of the expedition is to raise awareness and funds, a team total of $50,000 USD, for the economic empowerment of underprivileged women in Sri Lanka, via UN Women, to help build their climate resiliency.  

HER Planet Earth, now in its sixth year of operation, raises awareness and funds via expeditionary travel across the globe. Pioneering in nature, the group’s initiatives support organisations that champion underprivileged women affected by climate change to help empower and advance their life and community. Past HER Planet Earth expeditions have taken all-female teams to remote islands in the Philippines, Mountains in Antarctica, across the Arctic Circle Trail of Greenland and to the largest caves in the world in Vietnam.

In the past decade, climate related disasters have led to the loss of 700 thousand lives, 1.7 billion people affected and economic losses of USD 1.4 trillion. These effects disproportionately affect women and girls. Multiple discriminations mean that women are more vulnerable in crises and post disasters situations than men. In view of this, the team will meet with representatives of UN Women while in Sri Lanka to learn more about the issues women face in this part of the world and how supporting the economic empowerment of women in rural areas of the country helps strengthen their resilience to the destructive forces of climate change.