Diana Vásquez Alzamora is Peruvian, Forest Engineer from the National Agrarian University La Molina with more than 12 years of experience in the generation of spatial analysis in land use, deforestation, ecosystem services, landscape ecology and climate change in different fields in Latin America. She has extensive experience in the Peruvian Amazon in governance, conservation and management of natural resources in native communities and natural protected areas. She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Climate Change at the Universidad Científica del Sur.
She is currently a member of the Productive Landscapes team – Center for Sustainability and Conservation of the Smithsonian Institution, and coordinator of the Catalyze Madre de Dios initiative. Diana shares her experiences as a woman in the forest sector, the activities she has performed and the challenges she has faced throughout her professional career.
INTERVIEW
Lili: Diana, tell us a little about yourself, your background and what you are doing now.
Diana: Yes, remembering my history as a forester and rural woman, I had a very particular life pattern because I had the figure of my grandmother, who taught me a lot about rural life, not to be afraid of the plants and animals of the countryside, I learned to touch the earth and plants from a very young age. From a very young age I felt very familiar with rural life.
When I had to start looking for higher education, I was very interested in biology, and when I applied I saw what forest engineering was, but at that time it seemed to me that it was still a strange career, I thought: how can someone make a living just from seeing forests, working from seeing forests? However, I had read about Dian Fossey, the primatologist who had worked in Africa with gorillas and it was hard for me to understand how a woman could work in that field, because usually what we saw in documentaries were men engaged in such activities, but by chance I entered forest engineering and at first it was hard to find myself, I did not make sense of it until I started taking courses and that was when I discovered that this was what I liked and enjoyed. When I started to travel to the Amazon, to have that contact with what the career itself was, I realized that I was on the right path, that it was what I liked, what I was passionate about. And I felt happy, and I began to do very well academically, I was one of the first to finish my career in my faculty.
I think that helped me a lot, but it also highlighted the issue of female representation, I did not find examples, I did not find much representation, it was difficult. In my own faculty there were few women professors, many were young and they encouraged us girls to continue in this profession.
Lili: You mentioned many important topics, I would like to know: When you graduated did you have a clear idea of what you were going to do as a forest engineer, or did things just happened and led you to where you are now?
Diana: It happened little by little, I had no idea, but what I liked is that the career is so varied and touches so many topics, that you can say I go this way, I go that way and you will not lack fields. And what I felt was that I could experiment wherever I wanted, I was lucky enough to start with an experience of managing a large agricultural area, which forged me a lot in the administration and management of a field, an experience that served me a lot, and above all forged me in character. I was 22 years old and had to manage 10 hectares, personnel and people, and I did very well.
Lili: Let’s talk a little bit about those challenges that you faced when you went out into professional life or those challenges that you still face when you go to work every day. What are those things that have been difficult for you, but that you have managed to overcome?
Diana: Yes, well in the rural areas there is still a lot of distrust, when a woman enters the field, they look at you a little bit strangely, they say: “Ah, but you are a woman! But you are a woman”, it is a little difficult for them to understand that you are going to have physical capacities, and when you demonstrate that you have the physical capacity, that is when you begin to earn the respect of your colleagues and they say: “Oh yes, the engineer can do it, the young lady can walk well”, then they begin to respect you, to listen to you, you gain some confidence, and people talk to you, share their experiences, and you begin to establish a different type of bond. But I also think it is important, and in many cases it goes beyond gender, it is the attitude with which we professionals enter. I believe that openness, the desire to learn and listen also help a lot, but I definitely believe that as a woman it has always been a limitation for me and something I always have to fight against. Another important issue that women experience is harassment, we have to take care of ourselves and protect ourselves among women, we have to take care of ourselves in the tents, in the areas where we sleep and where we bathe, it is not something pleasant but it comes with the job.
Lili: Yes, for people who don’t know much about this area, can you describe a little bit about what your work is about, like in more detail.
Diana: I work in different areas, especially in the Peruvian Amazon doing spatial analysis and landscape ecology, right now I am working on a project in Madre de Dios in Sustainable Investments, but I have also worked in natural resources with native communities, so I have traveled a lot to do workshops, socializations, I have had to spend a lot of time in these areas, living and dealing with the people who live there.
Lili: In the development of this professional area, what skills have you developed?
Diana: I would say that to start with patience, to be very patient, to have a lot of patience, and many people have acknowledged that to me. Because sometimes you have to deal with people who do not think the same as you, but when you are in a coordination position you have to listen to everybody and sometimes some people give opinions that are totally discordant with yours and you have to listen to them, and you cannot directly object to them, but you have to listen to them. See how they can reach a middle ground and open channels of dialogue, so I think that is important, a lot of patience, tolerance and empathy, I think that has helped me a lot, but it has also empowered me as a woman, it has given me a lot of strength to feel more confident about who I am.
Lili: Do you think the participation of women in forest engineering has changed in Peru, do you think it is different now than it was 10 years ago or when you were in the university?
Diana: Yes, I think so, it has increased a lot, now there are more women in the career. But I think that the movement itself has had an influence, in general since #MeeToo many women are making it more visible to help, to lend a hand, to open spaces to help other women to continue increasing knowledge, support in order to have a more egalitarian sector. Unfortunately this is not our case, and many of us have lived it, in my case I do not want many experiences that have happened to be repeated. For example, in many forest inventories women are not allowed to be present because of the risk they may suffer, it seems inconceivable to me that in the 21st century there should be such restrictions and rules.
Lili: What do you think are the challenges that the new generations of forest engineers will face?
Diana: I think that thinking globally, more in the world, because of all the global changes that are happening, now in the current scenario of climate change we have to start thinking about how all these phenomena are affecting on different scales all the ecosystems in our country, not only the Amazon, but also the different Andean, coastal and marine ecosystems. We have to think about it and also how to incorporate much more the social and economic issue, because we do not gain anything by conserving, we have to show that the activities we are proposing bring benefits to the people, that we are achieving a real and demonstrable sustainability, I think that is the most important thing.
Lili: Diana, in closing, one last question: What advice would you give to these new professional generations that are being formed at this time?
Diana: That they go out, because I know that some professionals do not want to go out, or do not want to go to the field, that they are lazy, that they are going to get dirty. I would tell them to go out, to get dirty, to get to know, to talk to as many people as they can, because in the field, at least here in Peru, is where you get to know the reality of the country and this changes our perspective completely. I think it is something key that all professionals have to do, at some point get to these more remote places, because it will help us a lot to change our professional perspective.
Lili: Thank you very much Diana, it has been a very interesting interview, would you like to share something additional?
Diana: For my part, I keep motivating women to continue, sometimes the road is difficult but keep going, you will always find a hand from another forester to keep going. There is a phrase on LinkedIn that says: “We are here to give each other a hand up, not to compete with each other, but to help each other to keep going up“, I think that is something beautiful that we should all look for.
This is how we close this interview, I hope you enjoy it. And for the people who read us, don’t forget to comment and share.
Thank you all! See you in the next interview.
