Women Ocean Guardians: Leading Ocean Conservation and Sustainable Blue Economies | International Women’s Month

About this Event

On the occasion of International Women’s Month, this high-level event will bring together representatives of States, international organizations, and partner institutions to introduce the Women Ocean Guardians Initiative and its Voluntary Commitment « Actioning Ocean Conservation and Sustainable Blue Economies through Women’s Leadership », and to convene a high-level dialogue on inclusive ocean governance, gender equality, and sustainable blue economies.

Launched at the United Nations Ocean Conference in June 2025, the Women Ocean Guardians Initiative is a global public–private coalition that seeks to place women at the forefront of ocean conservation and the sustainable use of marine resources within decision-making processes. By promoting the important participation of women in governance systems, the Initiative aims to contribute to more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable ocean governance outcomes. The Initiative is supported by partners including the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Conservation International (CI), and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), together with a growing number of governments and international organizations.

To date, seven governments—Germany, Australia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, the United Kingdom, and Seychelles—have endorsed the Voluntary Commitment. The Voluntary Commitment builds on the Call to Action developed by Women Ocean Guardians from eleven countries across the Americas and the Caribbean during the first gathering of coastal women leaders in June 2024. It seeks to strengthen and give greater visibility to the leadership of coastal women in marine conservation and climate-resilient livelihoods.

The coalition — advocating for inclusive ocean governance and a concrete pathway toward gender equality, climate resilience, sustainable blue economies, and peace — remains open to additional members.

The event will be followed by a reception.

Speakers

By order of intervention.

H.E. Amb. Antje LEENDERTSE

Permanent Representative of Germany to the UN Office and other international organizations in Geneva

Cristina CACERES

Women Ocean Guardian

H.E. Amb. Hasmik TOLMAJIAN

Permanent Representative of the Republic of Armenia to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva

Keleni SERUVATU

Deputy Permanent Representative of Fiji to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva

Joana FISHER

Deputy Permanent Representative of Portugal to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva

Marcela COEN MORAGA

Minister Counsellor, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Costa Rica to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva

Pierre BARDOUX-CHESNEAU

Director, Global Fund for Coral Reefs

Masego MADZWAMUSE

Environment Programme Director, Oak Foundation

H.E. Amb. Elizabeth TAYLOR JAY

Ambassador of Colombia to Barbados | Ambassador at large for Oceans and Coastal Zones

Ebrima SAIDY

Chief Executive Officer, Blue Ventures Conservation

Pamela CASTILLO

Director, Marine 30x30, WCS | Moderator

Highlights

Video

Live from Palais des Nations

Summary

Opening Remarks

H.E. Amb. Antje LEENDERTSE | Permanent Representative of Germany to the UN Office and other International Organizations in Geneva

• It is important to recognize and celebrate the vital contributions of women in everything but above all as driving forces in the fields of marine conservation, the blue economy, and marine research, and we should not only do that on International Women’s Day.
• It all began with the entry into force of the BBNJ agreement this year, the implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework, and the resumed negotiations on the UN plastics agreement.
• The focus on ocean protection is stronger than ever, but the pressure on the ocean is also greater than ever before. Climate change, biodiversity loss, and increasing pollution are taking an even greater toll on our ocean. This reality requires decisive action.
• Gender equality must not only be taken into account in ocean policy but also must be actively shaped. A gender-inclusive perspective on a sustainable blue economy means recognizing the often invisible but vital role of women in the conservation and sustainable use of marine resources and systematically strengthening their role as agents of change.
• Germany along with Australia, Costa Rica, Granada, the United Kingdom and other signatories has signed the Voluntary Commitment of the Women Ocean Guardians initiative last year in New York to achieve stronger and gender-inclusive ocean protection.
• I am delighted to be welcoming two-more signatories later on, Colombia and Blue Venture Conservation, and I would like to encourage others to join the voluntary commitment in the future.

Pamela CASTILLO | Director, Marine 30×30, WCS | Moderator

• You have seen the video. You have heard the voices of women on the continent. Their lives, their struggles, their power. Those women are the reason why we are here. They are the women ocean guardians.
• Today, we have gender gap reports that clearly show us where the inequalities persist. Beyond the data, these gaps are something we all see and feel. You see it when you enter a room and notice who is missing. You feel it in the conversations that never happen, in the voices that are not heard, and in the leadership that goes unrecognized. And yet if you go to the coast, women are always there fishing, restoring mangroves, patrolling in protected areas, passing knowledge quietly from one generation to the next.
• The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Conservation International (CI), and the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), with the support of partner organizations, helps bring together women on the front lines from Latin America and the Caribbean, Indigenous leaders, fisher women, rangers, and scientists.
• We met in Isla Chira, Costa Rica, and they shared their stories, their pain, their ideas, their power. From that gathering came a call to action for recognition, leadership and resources to lead with dignity.
• Our role as WCS, CI and GEF as initial supporting organizations was to connect them, hold a safe space, and lift their voices on the global stage. But the real leadership will always belong to the women on the front lines. And because of their leadership, eight governments and more than organizations now stand with women ocean guardians, committing to create the conditions for their leadership to thrive.
• Already more than 4 million dollars in seed funding has been mobilized to advance the five pillars of action.
  • Consolidating a global network of women frontliners and ocean leaders.
  • Increasing women voices in policy.
  • Supporting leadership and fair opportunities.
  • Exchange of knowledge between countries.
  • Accountability and learning.
• The initiative also focuses on ending violence and stigma, valuing caregiving and ancestral roles, health rights, fair pay and safe work, and real seats at the decision-making table.
• This is not just about women’s agenda. It is about conservation and human rights. Women Ocean Guardians show us this. Defending the ocean is defending human rights. When women’s rights are respected, when their voices are heard, when their leadership is supported, communities are stronger and the ocean is better protected.
• So today I ask you, stand with them, sign the voluntary commitment, support them with resources, protection, and recognition.
• The organizations and governments members of today’s Women Ocean Guardians coalition will continue to support the women ocean guardians by connecting and giving visibility. But the leadership will always belong to the women on the front lines.
• Let us walk together toward a future where the most connected to the ocean are the ones more protected, more empowered to protect it.

Cristina CACERES | Women Ocean Guardian

(Delivered in Spanish)

• I was born in a coastal marine community. My grandfather fished his entire life, and that was our family’s livelihood – fishing. That is where my curiosity, respect, and love for everything related to the sea come from.
• Now I live on an island where I have been even closer to this entire ecosystem. Working in these areas gives me peace and tranquility; it is about feeling that direct connection with nature.
• We know that, even though we are working to protect it, we depend on it 100%. If the ecosystem is in decline and disappears, we all disappear.
• Growing up in a fishing community, I understand the limitations and needs of fishers and their families. I began working with fishers as an adult. It is a challenge, because fishers do not like being told by a woman that what they are doing is not right. I dedicated myself to my home and family until I decided to return to my studies when my daughter turned 13.
• Graduating as a tourism technician gave me the opportunity to graduate alongside my eldest daughter, and together we began working on environmental protection and trying to improve the challenges faced by our communities.
• That empowerment I gained later in life is something I wish I had when I was a teenager – and that is why I want other women to have it.
• At the Bay Islands Conservation Association (BICA), the organization I am a part of, 80% of our staff are women; leadership is made up of women, and today we are making decisions to create opportunities for the next generation. We work on mangrove reforestation, environmental education, coral and reef health, and community development.
• With WCS, we launched a pilot patrol initiative to ensure that fishers are complying with no-take zones and marine park regulations.
• Being a Women Ocean Guardian felt like a new push forward for me. We all share the same mission: to care for the health of our families and our communities. Sometimes it feels like it is us against the world, but through this, we no longer feel alone; we know we have others to turn to when we have questions or new ideas. Our goal is to certify young people up to divemaster level so they have a life path while protecting the ecosystem.
• But today, I am calling on you because we need support. The greatest challenge right now is funding to continue. These are important projects, and we must keep working on them without a salary, because we cannot abandon them.  I have been preparing my entire family for this work; my niece and two daughters are already dive masters. Now it is time to involve my three grandchildren.
• It fills me with emotion to return to the places where we began restoring mangroves and see them grow and produce seeds. That same hope is what I want for my grandchildren.
• I ask you to join us and support this Women Ocean Guardians initiative so we can continue empowering young women. We cannot allow these efforts to stop.
• Knowing that we are protecting nature gives me peace and tranquility, but also the responsibility to understand that if the sea disappears, we all disappear.
• For the future of my family and of your communities, today more than ever, we cannot abandon this work.

H.E. Amb. Hasmik TOLMAJIAN | Permanent Representative of the Republic of Armenia to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Geneva

• The global importance of ocean ecosystems for biodiversity conservation cannot be overstated. The ocean regulates our climate, sustains an extraordinary diversity of life, and supports the well-being of all nations regardless of their geographic location. 
• Although Armenia is a landlocked country, we remain fully committed to addressing the challenges facing marine biodiversity. Our engagement is guided by the convention that the conservation and sustainable use of ocean resources is a shared responsibility, one that transcends national jurisdictions, and requires inclusive, coordinated, and effective multilateral action.  
• Last year, Armenia held a high-level event from mountains to oceans, preserving biodiversity across environmental boundaries for a sustainable future at the UN Ocean Conference (UNOC) in Nice, co-sponsored by France, as the host of the conference, and Armenia as a host of the UN Biodiversity COP17. The event highlighted the interconnectedness between mountain ecosystems and the marine environment to encourage more comprehensive and coordinated responses to global environmental challenges, including the protection of ocean biodiversity. 
• Armenia’s signing of the agreement on marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction BBNJ reflects our strong environmental commitment and our readiness to deepen cooperation with international partners in the lead-up to COP.  
• We view this as an important milestone in contributing to global efforts to conserve and sustainably use marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction and as a reaffirmation of our dedication to strengthening the international environmental governance architecture.  
• The women and girls are at the forefront of environmental management, science, and policy. Women serve as advocates, researchers, and community leaders protecting marine biodiversity. They are not only agents of change, but also creators of sustainable and inclusive solutions.  
• In this regard, the Women Ocean Guardians initiative launched at the UN Ocean Conference in June has emerged as an important platform for elevating women’s leadership in global ocean action. Armenia’s initiative to promote women’s participation in education, science, and leadership resonates with the spirit of this initiative.   
• Deepening international cooperation, sharing the best practices and advancing joint initiatives to conserve water resources, protect biodiversity, and address climate challenges are essential.  
• Marine and coastal biodiversity form an integral part of the broader global biodiversity agenda. These issues will be duly reflected in the discussions at the upcoming COP 17, which Armenia has the honor of hosting in Yerevan this October.  
• COP will represent a pivotal moment as it will conduct the first global review of progress in implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and our collective roadmap for halting and reversing biodiversity loss.  
• Our vision is captured in the conference’s guiding theme, taking action for future nature. This is a call to move beyond commitments toward delivery toward measurable, inclusive and transformative action.  
• Armenia approaches its COP presidency with a clear ambition not only to assess progress but also to strengthen political resolve and deliver concrete outcomes.  
• A key pillar of this ambition will be the leader summit in Yerevan in October. The summit will bring together heads of state and government, leaders of international organizations, scientists, indigenous peoples, local communities, and prominent women leaders.  
• Armenia stands ready to work with all partners to strengthen coherence across global environmental processes and to advance the protection of ocean ecosystems and marine biodiversity, drawing on the leadership, expertise and voices of women. We look forward to your valuable engagement and contributions to COP17. 

Keleni SERUVATU | Deputy Permanent Representative of Fiji to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva

• Strong partnerships are essential if we are to deliver meaningful and lasting impact for our oceans and our communities.
• Fiji aligns itself with the central message of this event that the future of our ocean depends on inclusive leadership and that women must be at the forefront of that leadership for the blue Pacific.
• This is not an abstract principle. It’s a lived reality across our region. Women are already ocean guardians in practice. They sustain coastal livelihoods, manage inshore fisheries, safeguard traditional knowledge, and lead community resilience efforts in the face of climate change. Yet too often their leadership remains underrecognized and underresourced.
• The Women Ocean Guardians initiative is both timely and transformative. It helps shift the narrative from participation to leadership, from visibility to influence, and from local action to global impact.
• As part of the UNFCCC COP31 arrangement, the Pacific is pleased to co-host upcoming pre-COP engagements in Suva, Fiji, which we see as an opportunity to carry forward a strong and unified Pacific voice. For us, that voice is clear. There is no climate solution without ocean action. And there is no effective ocean action without women’s leadership.
• As we look forward to COP31, we are, and we must continue to ensure that women’s perspectives are fully integrated into climate decision-making, particularly in adaptation, loss and damage, and nature-based solutions. These are areas where women across the Pacific are already delivering tangible results on the ground.
• For Fiji, the blue Pacific, the blue economy framework, which we recently launched, also recognizes this vital truth, recognizing the vital role of communities, women and youth and small enterprises as custodians of Fiji’s blue economy vision.
• Women make up most of the workforce in coastal and maritime tourism and fisheries, which are key sectors of the blue economy. However, they are often the lowest-paid, lowest status, and least protected positions.
• Complementing government efforts as well as our other regional partners, organizations such as the women and fishers network in Fiji reflect a critical intersection between gender equity and the resilience of the blue economy.
•  In the Pacific context, women are responsible for approximately 70 to 80% of the catch in nearshore fisheries. Yet their contributions are undervalued in informal economic statistics. So, by engaging in value-added processing, women transition from subsistence harvesters to active entrepreneurs in the blue economy.
• Fiji’s approach is anchored in the Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, which is a regional long-term vision for a resilient and secure and prosperous region. Within that strategy, the ocean is reflected as the foundation of our identity, our economies, and our collective future. And critically, it also reinforces that gender equality is integral to achieving these outcomes.
• When women are included in ocean governance, outcomes are more sustainable. When communities are empowered, solutions are more durable, and when traditional knowledge is respected, resilience is strengthened.
• The Blue Pacific Ocean of Peace Declaration, recently endorsed by Pacific leaders, reflects our region’s commitment to stewardship, solidarity, and peaceful governance of our ocean.
• Fiji’s experience continues to demonstrate that the most effective ocean solutions are community-driven and inclusive. From locally managed marine areas to national conservation commitments, we have seen that when communities, especially women, are meaningfully engaged, outcomes are stronger, more equitable, and more sustainable.
• As we move forward, there are three priorities that we continue to emphasize to:
  • Embed women’s leadership across all levels of ocean and climate governance.
  • Scale up investment in community-based and women-led initiatives, particularly in conservation, sustainable livelihoods and adaptation.
  • Strengthen coherence across global processes and regimes, ensuring that initiatives such as this the women ocean guardians’ initiative, UNFCCC processes, our ocean conference, and the other oceans conferences that convene, reinforce one another in advancing a resilient and sustainable ocean future.
• I encourage all of us to continue strengthening the partnership across regions, sectors and communities because only through collective action can we truly safeguard our ocean for future generations

Panel Discussion

Portugal has demonstrated strong global leadership on ocean governance from co-hosting the UN Ocean Conference in 2022 to advancing SDG14 through voluntary commitments to accelerating efforts to protect 30% of marine ocean. In this context, how can the Women Ocean Guardians Initiative support building and advancing a platform to advance and achieve the international commitments while driving more resilience and sustainable outcomes in marine governance?

Joana FISHER | Deputy Permanent Representative of Portugal to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva

• I will start with a quote from one of my favorite poets, Sophia de Mello Breyner Andersen, who wrote: “Sea, half of my soul is made of sea”.
• This speaks to the deep and enduring connection between Portugal and the ocean, one that continues to shape our identity, our communities and our outlook on the world.
• For Portugal, the ocean is not abstract. It is part of our history and identity. Increasingly, it is also about recognizing those who have sustained that relationship all along.
• In many coastal regions, in Portugal and across the Lusophone space, women have always been central to the ocean economy, yet, for a long time, their role remained largely invisible in formal governance structures.
• What we have learned, sometimes too slowly, is that excluding women from decision-making not only raises questions of fairness, but also leads to poorer outcomes, while their meaningful inclusion strengthens resource management, resilience and sustainability.
• In Portugal, more than half of the scientists dedicated to marine research are women. They are at the forefront of advancing knowledge on ocean ecosystems, climate impacts and sustainable management.
• But this is not new. In coastal communities such as Nazaré, women have long played a central role in sustaining the local ocean economy, from processing and selling fish to holding together the social fabric of fishing communities, often in the absence of men at sea. Their contribution has been essential, even when it was not formally recognized.
• These examples show that when barriers are removed and opportunities are created, women lead, innovate and shape the future of ocean governance.
• This is why, under its National Strategy for the Ocean, Portugal is committed to promoting equal access for women to ocean-related professions through measures to address discrimination and inequality, and fostering women’s participation and employment across maritime sectors.
• But this discussion also speaks to a broader challenge. The ocean is where many of our global crises intersect: be it climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution or food insecurity.
• And yet, our institutional responses remain fragmented. Environmental, economic and human rights discussions often remain siloed. This fragmentation limits our effectiveness.
• In advancing SDG14, we should make full use of Geneva as a space where these agendas can come together and where we can work towards more coherent and connected approaches to the challenges we face.
• While my remarks have focused on the Portuguese experience, they illustrate how inclusive approaches that place women at the center of ocean-related activities can contribute to more effective and sustainable outcomes, as demonstrated by initiatives such as the Women Ocean Guardians, which bring together public institutions, private actors and communities, with women at the forefront.
• Because ultimately, the sustainability of the ocean will depend not only on the commitments we make, but on our ability to make them coherent, inclusive and grounded in reality.
• The future of the ocean will also depend on ensuring the full and meaningful participation of women across all dimensions of ocean governance.

Costa Rica has demonstrated strong leadership in advancing inclusive ocean governance through its role in ocean processes, as well as supporting SDG14 and its commitment to integrating gender equality into environmental and climate policy. From your government perspective, what concrete actions are needed to ensure that women ocean guardians and leaders are seated in the formal decision-making processes? 

Marcela COEN MORAGA | Minister Counsellor, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Costa Rica to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva

• Women, girls and other groups are already leading climate adaptation and resilience efforts, drawing on community knowledge and developing solutions.
• Women, especially fisher women, coastal communities, and indigenous leaders, are the frontline stewards of the blue economy.
• We recognize that multi-actor engagement is not only morally fair but essential to effectively address the triple planetary crisis.
• As a coastal nation, Costa Rica knows that the promotion of ocean health and governance must be a priority in our agenda.
• I want to share with you four main ideas on how we can address this with concrete actions.
  • First, we should have a regular human-rights-based approach addressing structural barriers. Women cannot effectively participate in decision-making spaces if basic conditions are not met. For example, if she has no access to social protection such as childcare, no property or land rights, no access to financial services, or no access to health services, then meaningful participation is simply not possible.
  • Second, Governments must commit to include a gender perspective that is responsive across national environmental and climate policies, supporting capacity building for women leaders and unlocking financial resources for women-led conservation initiatives.
  • This brings me to the third point about representation in national and international levels. Costa Rica has been at the national level amongst the first countries in the world to adopt a national gender and climate change adaptation plan, demonstrating that environmental action can strengthen economic autonomy, close the gender gap, and improve the management of nature. National action must also be matched by meaningful representation in multilateral spaces. National delegations must be representative, including key constituencies, not just officials from our capital.
    • For example, when negotiating the BBNJ Treaty, it ensured that the appointment of members to subsidiary bodies must take gender equality into account. These are the kinds of institutional commitments that create lasting structural change.
    • Here in Geneva last year, we promoted the International Gender Champions Framework, a joint appeal for gender balance at COP presidencies. With only five women serving as COP presidents in the last 30 years, we face a striking deficit of diverse leadership at the highest decision-making tables.
    • At the multilateral level, we are turning these principles into concrete, measurable action. This brings me to the Women Ocean Guardian Initiative that we co-hosted last year with France at the third UN Ocean Conference. It successfully convened the women leaders in Isla Chira, formalized their network, amplified their knowledge, and ensured their voices are integrated in national and regional environmental policies. We call on all governments to sign this voluntary commitment, secure more political endorsements for this initiative, and establish national implementation plans.
  • Finally, another point of action is to mandate gender disaggregated data and accountability mechanisms. You cannot govern what you do not measure. The Women’s Ocean Guardians voluntary commitment calls for the release of a biannual “Coastal Women in Marine Global Governance Global Progress Report” including disaggregated data, case studies, and recommendations for scaling and improving marine governance. Similarly, the creation of the Ocean Decade Gender Expert Working Group represents a tangible, measurable step towards institutionalizing gender equality in ocean science governance.
• In conclusion, Costa Rica has played a substantive leadership role in hosting and organizing meetings. We have provided ministerial endorsement, co-launched commitments and pledged concrete policy and financing actions to back women on the front lines of maritime conservation.
• Costa Rica’s call to governments is straightforward. Please sign the voluntary commitment. Establish national implementation plans. Show up at UNOC, CBD and UNFCCC sessions with women from your coasts. We need more states to step up and join us

From the perspective of the Global Fund for Coral Reefs, how can financial mechanisms better support women and community-led initiatives, especially as we scale nature-based solutions?

Pierre BARDOUX-CHESNEAU | Director, Global Fund for Coral Reefs

• When we talk about blended finance, there are three main examples of financial instruments:
  • Simple reimbursable grants for working capital,
  • Guarantee,
  • Impact fund. 
• Regarding real support grants, let me take you to East Tanzania, on Pemba Island, where we have been working there with the Global Fund for Coral Reefs for the past four years. We have been supporting local women cooperatives that are co-managing the Pemba marine protected area (MPA) network.  
• Those women are really leaders in their communities in trying to finance their local MPAs.  
• They are learning how to swim, they are patrolling the reef, but they are also trying to develop new alternative livelihoods so that their communities do not rely only on overfishing the reef. 
• What we’ve been doing with the Global Fund for Coral Reefs is providing them with reimbursable grants in the form of working capital to actually invest in seaweed businesses, invest in sea cucumber and small businesses.  
• We are doing it in a very innovative manner, so if they are able to reach impact, those working capital grants can be forgiven. This is really helping them invest in developing those new kinds of businesses and being resilient, being able to work with capital that is patient, and recognizing their efforts and the results that it generates for the reef. 
• The second example is in Papua New Guinea. We are working with a local financial institution, it’s called Mama Bank, which is a microfinance institution dedicated to supporting women-led businesses.  
• Very often, women businesses will have difficulties accessing domestic capital markets, and they will not get loans from local banks.  
• We have provided a $1 million guarantee to Mama Bank and that 1 million guarantee has unlocked and leveraged $3 million in loans to local businesses. 
• We are working with the bank to actually provide clear criteria that will guide the investment and guide the use of the guarantee. Those have to be women-led businesses. They have to generate impact for their communities, but they also have to generate impact for the reef, meaning that the investments have to go towards businesses that will lower the driver of degradation of a coral reef, which then generate multiple benefits for their communities.  
• The last example is in Fiji with Matanataki and their CEO, Jodi Smith – we have been supporting them and working in Fiji for 5 years. It was one of the first programs of the Fund. They have pristine reefs, wonderful ecosystems and seascapes.  
• With Matanataki, we first provided technical assistance for them to work on incubating reef-positive pipeline of solutions and businesses. 
• We have done that for three years. And after three years, we saw that they were able to generate an investment pipeline that could really be credible and could generate revenues that family offices are being invested in. 
• We’ve worked with several institutions to actually provide a first-loss investment into a regional fund. We’ve provided $ 2 million that we are about to sign now. Those two million have also leveraged additional investment from a Geneva-based philanthropy that they have matched. We also know that now some family offices are coming in as well as a larger development financial institution, so this is really looking at scale. 
• Those two million would probably leverage up to 20 to 30 million for the entire Pacific.  
• These three examples and instruments demonstrate how you can support women at the community level, but also in the financial institution and at the global level. You really see women being real leaders in the financial ecosystem at all levels, and it’s incredible to see the impact that they can generate.

Evidence has shown that when women participate in environmental decision-making, governance becomes more inclusive and conservation outcomes are stronger as well. As the first philanthropy partner for Women Ocean Guardians, what motivates the Oak Foundation to join this initiative and what potential do you see for it to strengthen women’s leadership in inclusive ocean conservation and sustainable use?

Masego MADZWAMUSE | Environment Programme Director, Oak Foundation

• I think the evidence is clear: when women meaningfully participate in environmental decision-making, community ownership deepens. We don’t only see it, hear it, or read it in global studies – we also see it in terms of women’s lived realities.
• I have just come back from a weeklong gathering that brought together women leaders from all over Africa, a pan-African movement of women who were collectively rising for the environment.
• They were not rising for the environment for the first time. It was a movement and a gathering of people who are, on an everyday basis, doing their bit for the environment. They’re managing national parks. They are repairing our coastal reefs. They are supporting and leading community enterprises. They are doing their bit in terms of environmental education. Many of them are also in the policy spaces where decisions are being made.
• The energy in the room was palpable, and I am still reeling from that positive energy of having seen what it looks like when people are beacons of hope in their existence and what they do on a daily basis.
• What was clear was the message that kept coming up – when we invest in women, we invest in the collective good. We don’t only solve for single problems, but we solve for multiple problems: biodiversity loss, climate crisis, and most importantly, for community well-being and their livelihoods.
• For us, when the WCS and Women Ocean Guardians approached us as a partner, it was a no-brainer to really step up and invest in the changemakers and the people that are leading the change in the first place.
• We are also drawing on the insights and the lessons that we have learned from many years, over two decades of investment in our small-scale fisheries portfolio within the environment program.
• The working beliefs that my colleague Imani Fairweather Morrison has been leading over the years have taught us that the very people who stay behind when the investment dries up, when the funding dries up and when the technical expertise leaves to go elsewhere, are the very people who are living on the shores of our oceans and are their custodians on a daily basis.
• It makes sense that if we’re thinking about building resilience and if we’re thinking about making an investment for lasting change, where else to better make the investment than with the very people that are doing this work on a daily basis?
• What was also clear, and has always been clear for us, is the importance of intergenerational knowledge and the importance of investing in wisdom keepers –collective knowledge at community level and most importantly the collective wisdom that women have in their different spheres as scientists, as policy makers, as investors, as entrepreneurs, but also as the people that are holding the fort on a daily basis.
• We don’t have a shortage of examples. My colleagues were just reminding me of some of the inspiration and the insights that we see from the movement of sisters in Africa on fishnet use and what they were able to do at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. When we saw restrictions of movement, the closure of the marketplace where the women were operating and the restrictions on movement and trading at a given time.
• Yes, we were dealing with a health pandemic, and policymakers were concerned about the risks of the disease spreading, but what we did not think about was what to put in place for people who had lost their livelihoods.
• Those women using the power of the numbers and the might of the collective did well to step in and to remind the governments to rethink their social protection policies.
• They took the opportunity of a crisis at a time and the impact long-term in terms of thinking about inclusive social protection and thinking about the cost of labor in the informal spaces within the policy space is one change that has had a lasting impact.
• I have heard similar examples in Brazil, Peru and in many other places where solutions are being driven from what others might perceive as the “periphery” when in fact it is the real economy and where real knowledge and wisdom sit.
• Coming back to what inspired us, centering women by making the decision to partner with you and support you, we were centering women who were already leading the change. We didn’t need to convince them about the importance. They’re already doing it.
• The women protecting mangroves in Brazil, safeguarding nearshore fisheries in the Caribbean. The women who also make the investments for the fisherfolk and the fishermen to keep going back to sea and also make sure that they are contributing to the entire value chain.
• As the Oak Foundation, we looked at the values that were driving the initiative and the ethos behind the initiative. We prioritize providing flexible community-anchored funding and also supporting rebranding mechanisms that are looking at placing emphasis on building and strengthening local leadership and local leadership that is investing in resolving questions that are of global importance.
• Really seeing the scale and the impact and the potential that those investments provide. Lastly is the potential for catalytic impact that is real. This is to tie it back to what the rest of you have been describing around ensuring that once we have more governments endorsing the voluntary commitment.
• It is only meaningful if that voluntary commitment is informed by the voices and the realities of the people who are the custodians of the resources that we are discussing in the first place.

Pamela CASTILLO | Director, Marine 30×30, WCS | Moderator

• What we have heard today gives us a set of closing reflections on what the system needs to change and transform.
• At the heart of the Women Ocean Guardians initiative is collective leadership and partnership. This is what we are working to scale.
• In June, we will convene a similar gathering in Africa, bringing together women ocean guardians from across the continent, much like the meeting you saw in the video. This will take place alongside key climate discussions, ensuring that women are not just present but central to these processes.
• What we are building is a partnership across governments, finance, and communities, bringing women ocean guardians to the same table, not as beneficiaries, but as leaders. This is what will allow collective wisdom to shape official decision-making and help tackle the triple planetary crisis.
• When governments, multilateral funds and civil society align to create the conditions for women on the frontlines to lead, ocean governance becomes stronger and more effective.

Welcoming New Signatories to the Women Ocean Guardians

Ebrima SAIDY | Chief Executive Officer, Blue Ventures Conservation

• I would like to recognize our partners, including the government of Germany, our UN colleagues, the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Global Fund for Coral Reefs, the Oak Foundation, and many others here today.
• Allow me to begin with a quote from Paulo Freire: “Empowerment is not gifted, it is claimed.”
• Women ocean guardians are claiming their rightful stewardship of our oceans.
• Blue Ventures recognizes and celebrates all women ocean guardians across the world. We are here to have your back, and we look forward to continuing to work with you and others.
• This initiative aligns strongly with our vision, it is community-led, rights-based and it has integrated outcomes for communities and oceans.
• Blue Ventures is following the evidence and the evidence is clear: when women lead, we see stronger ocean governance and better outcomes for communities and ecosystems. Inspired by examples we have heard today, we are also strengthening our frontline community fund to better identify and invest in women ocean guardians around the world.
• This initiative is not about adding women into existing systems; it is about women ocean guardians claiming their rightful stewardship and, with that, transforming the systems inside out.
• Blue Ventures is humbled and honored to sign this initiative and to stand by these powerful women across the world as our women ocean guardians.

H.E. Amb. Elizabeth TAYLOR JAY | Ambassador of Colombia to Barbados | Ambassador at large for Oceans and Coastal Zones

• As I sign this voluntary commitment on behalf of Colombia, in my capacity as Ambassador at Large for Oceans and Coastal Zones, as a woman and as a leader, I reaffirm our commitment to a cause that brings together the strength, wisdom and care of women in protecting a common good upon which the existence of humanity, the planet, and all living beings depends.
• I grew up surrounded by myths and legends about mermaids – connected through rivers from the mountains to the Caribbean Sea. I am the granddaughter of a fisherman and the daughter of a fisher and farmer who carries deep knowledge of the sea and its gifts.
• I stand here thanks to generations whose livelihoods and spirituality depend on the ocean.
• This signature represents an act of dignity and recognition for thousands of women who have played a fundamental role in shaping the legacy we hold today along Colombia’s Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, including insular areas.
• We are fully aware that our work is not yet complete – particularly on a planet facing multiple environmental crises, especially climate change, which disproportionately affects coastal and vulnerable communities.
• Today, I want to speak about resilient women in Colombia. On the Pacific coast, more than 4,000 women known as Piangüeras have sustained their families for generations through ecosystem-based harvesting of mollusks in mangrove ecosystems.
• On the Caribbean coast, Indigenous Wayuu women – known as Palabreras – act as guardians of the sea, raising their voices against projects that threaten their territories.
• In Córdoba, young women surfers are breaking cultural barriers. In Chocó, women lead efforts to protect sea turtles. Women scientists and leaders have also been central to Colombia’s environmental achievements.
• Today, 30% of our marine areas are under protection, surpassing global targets under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
• We have also committed to restoring mangroves through inclusive approaches that integrate ancestral knowledge and scientific evidence, with women playing a leading role.
• We honor environmental defenders, especially women, who have lost their lives protecting the ocean.
• Today is a moment of recognition. Women are no longer spectators — we are women with the power to transform the world.
• Under President Gustavo Petro, Colombia has adopted its first feminist foreign policy, an inclusive and innovative approach that we hope can inspire others.
• We hope this initiative grows like a wave – crossing borders, inspiring countries and organizations to join, and reminding us that protecting the ocean is essential to our shared future.

Photo Gallery

Photos © Mohamed Koujil

Links

• Women Ocean Guardians Initiative Gained Momentum at UN Event Hosted by Germany | WCS | 31 March 2026
• Women Ocean Guardians Initiative
• Action for the Ocean in International Geneva