Data from the field for land defenders and rural women

In a regional context marked by the advance of extractivism, violence against land and territory defenders, and persistent gender inequality in access to land, several initiatives promoted by the International Land Coalition (ILC) in Latin America are investing in data generation as a key tool for defending rights and advancing policy advocacy.

Data is a language closely connected to power. Public policies, land management decisions, and other key determinations rely on information produced through data. Having the capacity to generate, analyse and communicate data enables communities to build their own narratives, challenge existing ones, and influence decision-making processes.

Latin America remains one of the most dangerous regions for land and environmental defenders, while significant information gaps remain regarding attacks, threats and other forms of criminalisation. At the same time, states face serious limitations in producing data that reflects the real situation of women in relation to access to, use of, and control over land, especially in collective territories.

The lack of disaggregated, updated and relevant information makes it harder to design effective public policies and reduces the ability of communities themselves to influence decision-making. In response, ILC platforms in the region are promoting processes aimed at strengthening local and national capacities to produce, analyse and use data as a political tool.

Data School for Land Defenders: strengthening capacities for advocacy

Within this framework, the Data School for Land and Territory Defenders has been launched as an initiative promoted by the Platform of Land and Territory Defenders (PDTT), aimed at strengthening the strategic use of data for defending land, territory and natural resources.

Through the School, defenders strengthen their capacities to collect, analyse and communicate information in a systematic way, expanding their tools for protection, documentation and rights defence, while strengthening their ability to influence decision-making at local, national and regional levels.

The first pilots will take place in Ecuador and Argentina during the first quarter of 2026, in partnership with Ecuador’s National Land Coalition (NLC), ALLIED and Oxfam. In the coming months, the initiative will also expand to Peru, Guatemala and Argentina, together with the National Land Coalitions in those countries, as part of a regional strategy for strengthening capacities.

This process is directly linked to the Escazú Agreement, as the data generated through the School aims to inform debates, reports and advocacy actions related to its implementation, helping to highlight patterns of violence against defenders and to demand stronger protection guarantees from states.

Data from the territories: a women-led initiative

At the same time, the Platform Women and Land and Territory Rights is promoting a data generation process led by women themselves in their collective territories, aimed at improving the availability and quality of information about women’s land tenure situation.

The initiative emerged after recognising that available official data — including those linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — are insufficient to capture the reality of women, either because they are outdated, not gender-disaggregated, or fail to incorporate key contexts such as collective territories.

To address these gaps, a participatory data-collection tool has been developed, through which women themselves gather, systematise and use information aligned with SDG indicators 5.a.1, 5.a.2 and 1.4.2. This work will be implemented during 2026 in Guatemala, Ecuador, Colombia and Peru, in partnership with the National Land Coalitions of each country, combining training, technical support and an approach that recognises women as central actors in producing evidence for advocacy.

From data to advocacy

Both the Data School for Land Defenders and the work promoted by the Platform Women and Land and Territory Rights share the same goal: ensuring that data does not remain at the level of diagnosis but becomes a strategic input for political advocacy.

Processes of data generation and analysis feed dialogues with authorities responsible for public policy, contribute to alternative reports before international mechanisms — such as CEDAW — and strengthen advocacy actions in national and regional spaces, including monitoring commitments under the Escazú Agreement. The year 2026, declared by the United Nations as the International Year of the Woman Farmer, also represents an important opportunity to amplify this evidence within the public agenda.

Looking ahead

In a context of multiple crises — environmental, democratic and human rights — these initiatives show that strengthening data capacities is a key tool for defending territories, protecting land defenders and advancing women’s land rights across Latin America.