Our Purpose

Areas of Focus

Women on the frontlines of marine conservation and sustainable use are oftentimes invisible to the system. The Women Ocean Guardians initiative helps strengthen their combined leadership and elevate their voice, working together to address the following challenges:

Violence

End gender violence, stigma, and inequality. Protect coastal women’s rights and access to land.

Caregiving

Value caregiving, honor ancestral roles, and promote shared, sustainable care.

Health

Guarantee coastal women clean water, quality care, and reproductive support.

Leadership

Boost marine women’s leadership, rights, and safety in conservation and policy.

Labor

Dignify marine women’s work with fair pay, protection, and local leadership.

Women Ocean Guardians

Dorcas Bautista Sogamoso

Sinumar Foundation

Colombia

Dorcas is the founder and director of Sinumar, a nonprofit that promotes women’s and children’s leadership and the conservation of natural and cultural resources on Colombia’s Caribbean coast. Through her program La Nave del Conocimiento (“The Ship of Knowledge”), she uses the sea as a space for learning and empowerment, boosting confidence and leadership among Afro-descendant and Indigenous women in the Sinú River basin. Her work has transformed the community, positioning the program as a successful alternative educational model. Over the past decade, it has reduced teenage pregnancy to zero, strengthened activism for conserving tropical dry forest and mangrove ecosystems, and promoted a sustainable ecotourism model that has improved local quality of life. At the preparatory meeting for the UN Ocean Conference (Costa Rica, 2024), Dorcas emphasized the crucial link between women, the sea, and sustainability. She advocated for recognition of women’s role in combating climate change and highlighted the need for conditions that allow women to fully exercise leadership, addressing issues such as menstrual health, new masculinities, and generational transition

Saily Hernández

Women Ocean Guardian

Ecuador

She is a Park Ranger with the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Ecological Transition of Ecuador, with over a decade of experience in the Playas Villamil National Recreation Area, where she currently serves as the Administrator. In this role, she is part of the local institutional framework for the management and conservation of marine-coastal protected areas. She has coordinated community engagement in surveillance and ecological monitoring, and has played a key role in building local capacity for solid waste and natural resource management. Currently, she is leading the initiative to expand the marine-coastal protected area under her stewardship, with the goal of enhancing food sustainability for local fishing communities

Wildres Rodriguez Wood

Women Ocean Guardian

Honduras

Is an indigenous community leader from Brus Laguna, Honduras, with experience in marine topics, including working as a technician in the conservation and protection of sea turtles, supporting the development of fisheries management plans, conducting research on shark bycatch, and collecting biometric data from shark landings. Additionally, she has served as a facilitator for the artisanal fishing supply chain in the Moskitia and contributed to the creation of the fisheries gender plan for the PRAWANKA program

Karen Perea Ledezma

Women Ocean Guardian

Colombia

Is a dedicated leader and environmental activist. She has participated in marine conservation research, including data collection and habitat assessments. Karen works closely with local communities to raise awareness of marine and mangrove ecosystem protection through educational workshops and sustainable fishing practices. She has contributed to environmental monitoring programs and has collaborated with NGOs and government entities to promote sustainable marine resource management through policies and strategic initiatives

Timeline of the initiative

First Convening of the Women Ocean Guardians

June 2024

Women leaders —including Indigenous women, Afro-descendants, fisherwomen, park rangers, MPA managers, mangrove restorers, conservationists, and other advocates — from 11 countries across the Americas and the Caribbean convened in Isla Chira, Costa Rica. Together, they united and issued a Call to Action to elevate coastal women’s leadership in marine protection and climate-smart livelihoods.

Presentation of Call to Action

June 2024

During the "Immersed in Change" Pre-UNOC meeting that took place in Costa Rica, the Women Ocean Guardians presented their Call to Action to the host nations of the UN Ocean Conference, Costa Rica and France. During this event, Costa Rican President, Mr. Rodrigo Chavez, and former member of the European Parliament, Catherine Chabaud, received the Call to Action, along with other UN agencies.

Amplifying the Movement at COP 16

October 2024

At the 16^th Conference of the Parties (COP), the Women Ocean Guardians hosted a side-event to amplify their voices and the initiative. This event was well attended by representatives of member states, NGOs, UN agencies, donors, and other key stakeholders.

Captura de pantalla 2025-06-05 a las 16.53

Presentation of the Voluntary Commitment

June 2025

At the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, the Women Ocean Guardians initiative took center stage when three governments—Costa Rica, Grenada, and the United Kingdom—alongside twenty international institutions, formally launched a Voluntary Commitment to elevate women in ocean leadership. This high-level declaration was backed by the announcement of a US $3.8 million grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to scale women-led marine conservation. The initiative positioned itself as a driving force in shaping a more inclusive and equitable future for global ocean conservation.

Coming Soon...

The Women Ocean Guardians initiative is excited to continue amplifying and elevating the voices of women frontliners globally. Stay updated for more news about the initiative.

“Women from 11 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean convened in Isla Chira, Costa Rica in June of 2024 and issued a powerful Call to Action advocating for the enabling conditions to increase their leadership in decision making and sustainable initiatives in marine conservation and the blue economy”