\u00a9\u00a0WCS<\/p>\n\n\n\n
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Last week, Colombia signed the Women Ocean Guardians Commitment at a high-level event at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, becoming the eighth government to pledge action on gender equity in ocean governance. The signing marks a significant milestone for the initiative, which was launched at the 2025 UN Ocean Conference and has rapidly grown into a global movement to place women at the forefront of marine protection and sustainable ocean economies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The event, hosted by the Permanent Mission of Germany and co-hosted by the Permanent Missions of Australia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Grenada, and the United Kingdom, brought together ambassadors, government representatives, international organizations, and conservation partners for a high-level dialogue on inclusive ocean governance. It was organized in partnership with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Conservation International (CI), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR), the Geneva Environment Network, and Blue Ventures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Antje Leendertse, Ambassador from Germany to the United Nations, said: \u201cIt is important to recognize and celebrate the vital contributions of women as driving forces in the fields of marine conservation, the blue economy, and marine research – not just on International Women\u2019s Day. The pressure on the ocean is greater than ever before. Climate change, biodiversity loss, and increasing pollution are taking a heavy toll on our ocean. This reality calls for decisive action in which gender equality cannot only be taken into account but must also be actively integrated into maritime policy.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Elizabeth Taylor Jay, Ambassador for the Oceans and Coastal Zones of Colombia, said: \u201cColombia\u2019s signing of the Voluntary Commitment pays tribute to the women who, from coastal territories, have historically protected the oceans. Through this signing, Colombia reaffirmed its international leadership in inclusive ocean governance and highlighted the role of thousands of women guardians \u2013 fishers, scientists, mangrove restorers, Indigenous and community leaders \u2013 who care for the sea beyond traditional economic activities.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n With each signing, governments send a signal that sustainable ocean management must include the people most dependent on healthy seas \u2013 and that women, who make up the majority of small-scale fishing communities worldwide, must have an equal seat at the table where decisions are made. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis event is a powerful example of how the collective leadership of Women Ocean Guardians is uniting governments and partners to drive systemic change towards inclusive ocean governance,\u201d said Pamela Castillo, Director of the 30×30 Marine Program at WCS. \u201cJoining seven countries already committed as well as over 25 organizations including Blue Ventures, Colombia\u2019s signing reflects growing momentum. We thank Germany for convening this moment and recognize the leadership of Armenia and Fiji, as co-hosts of COP17 and the upcoming Pre-COP31 respectively, in linking this initiative to key global processes. When women on the frontlines are empowered, marine protected areas are more effective and sustainable ocean use becomes a reality.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWomen are central to the life of the sea, and yet systematically sidelined from the decisions that shape it. That gap is not inevitable, but a choice \u2013 and it can be unmade,\u201d said Ebrima Saidy, CEO of Blue Ventures Conservation. \u201cWe stand with the Women Ocean Guardians initiative because we know that transforming ocean governance must go beyond adding women to a room.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n By signing the Commitment, governments pledge to align national ocean, climate and biodiversity plans with global frameworks, including the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the Paris Agreement; elevate coastal women into formal decision-making roles in marine governance; support financing mechanisms for women-led conservation and climate-resilient livelihoods; and strengthen monitoring frameworks to track women’s inclusion in ocean policy and management. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “This event inspired me to see how more countries and organizations are joining this initiative, taking it to new territories,\u201d said Cristina C\u00e1ceres, lead for the Guanaja, Honduras chapter of the Bay Islands Conservation Association and a member of the Women Ocean Guardians Initiative. \u201cThis gives us hope and allows us to imagine a future where more communities are involved in the protection of the ocean.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Women Ocean Guardians Initiative, co-led by WCS and CI, has already connected women leaders from 11 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean. At the 2025 UN Ocean Conference, the Global Environment Facility announced intentions to support a $3.8 million Women Ocean Guardians project \u2013 the first GEF investment of its kind targeting exclusively women in ocean conservation \u2013 to expand the network into Asia and Africa and scale programming on the ground. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Governments, international organizations, and institutions are invited to sign the Voluntary Commitment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To learn more or sign on, visit\u00a0womenoceanguardians.org\/take-action<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mujeres Guardianas del Oc\u00e9ano<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Women Ocean Guardians is a public-private initiative that elevates women frontliners, de-siloing conservation and sustainable use, to participate in meaningful decision-making, transforming ocean governance for more resilient and sustainable outcomes. View the full <\/a>compromiso aqu\u00ed<\/a>. Firmar como gobierno, instituci\u00f3n o <\/a>organization here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n CI (Conservation International)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n MISSION: CI empowers societies to responsibly and sustainably care for nature, our global biodiversity, for the well-being of humanity. Building upon a foundation of science, partnership, and field work, with offices in over two dozen countries and a network of thousands of partners, CI implements global solutions to global problems. Visit: www.conservation.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sociedad para la Conservaci\u00f3n de la Vida Silvestre (WCS)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n WCS combina el poder de sus zool\u00f3gicos y un acuario en la ciudad de Nueva York y un Programa de Conservaci\u00f3n Global en m\u00e1s de 50 pa\u00edses para lograr su misi\u00f3n de salvar la vida silvestre y los lugares salvajes. La WCS dirige el mayor programa de conservaci\u00f3n sobre el terreno del mundo, protegiendo m\u00e1s del 50% de la biodiversidad conocida de la Tierra, en colaboraci\u00f3n con gobiernos, pueblos ind\u00edgenas, comunidades locales y el sector privado. Sus cuatro zool\u00f3gicos y acuarios (el Zoo del Bronx, el Zoo de Central Park, el Zoo de Queens, el Zoo de Prospect Park y el Acuario de Nueva York) acogen a m\u00e1s de 3,5 millones de visitantes cada a\u00f1o, inspirando a generaciones a cuidar de la naturaleza. Vis\u00edtalo: newsroom.wcs.org<\/a>. Sigue: @WCSNewsroom<\/a>. Para m\u00e1s informaci\u00f3n: +1 (347) 840-1242<\/a>. Escuche el podcast de WCS Wild Audio AQU\u00cd<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Last\u00a0week, Colombia signed the Women Ocean Guardians Commitment at a high-level event at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, becoming the eighth government to pledge action on gender equity in ocean governance. The signing marks a significant milestone for the initiative, which was launched at the 2025 UN Ocean Conference and has rapidly grown into a global movement to place women at the forefront of marine protection and sustainable ocean economies.\u00a0<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2303,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/womenoceanguardians.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2302","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/womenoceanguardians.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/womenoceanguardians.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/womenoceanguardians.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/womenoceanguardians.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2302"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/womenoceanguardians.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2302\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2305,"href":"https:\/\/womenoceanguardians.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2302\/revisions\/2305"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/womenoceanguardians.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/womenoceanguardians.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/womenoceanguardians.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/womenoceanguardians.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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