Restoring dolphin’s habitats, protecting turtles from poaching, empowering women in the blue economy: three stories from the Planetiers World Gathering.
The ocean is the largest and most vital ecosystem on Earth. Often referred to as the “blue heart” of our planet, it hosts an estimated 94% of all wildlife on Earth, regulates the climate by circulating warm and cool currents, and absorbs atmospheric CO₂, one of the primary drivers of climate change. The health and stability of the ocean are essential for sustaining life on Earth.
However, ocean ecosystems worldwide face significant threats, including rising temperatures, pollution, overfishing, and habitat destruction, and these issues contribute to a loss of biodiversity. Biodiversity loss is not just about species decline or extinction: it affects us all. In fact, loss of biodiversity destabilizes ecosystems, making them less resilient and more vulnerable to climate change, extreme weather events, and diseases. This, in turn, jeopardizes food security and diminishes the quality of life for coastal and local communities.
What can we do to protect ocean ecosystems? Is it possible to live in harmony with the ocean while using its resources sustainably and safeguarding the health of marine ecosystems?
We explored these questions at the Planetiers World Gathering in Aveiro (Portugal), an international event on sustainability and climate action. There, we learned about three inspiring women-led initiatives focused on protecting the ocean: a Portuguese cooperative working to restore sea meadows, a foundation in Cape Verde dedicated to protecting wildlife, and a EU project aimed at closing the gender gap in the blue economy.
Ocean Alive in the eyes of the dolphin
“I need to look at the sea with the eyes of a dolphin”. This thought guided Raquel Gaspar during her PhD research on the declining dolphin population in the Sado estuary. Dolphins, while swimming, can perceive an underwater world invisible to us at the surface. One of these hidden wonders is a seagrass meadows: actual “underwater forests”, that, unlike algae or seaweed, are composed of true plants with roots, stems, leaves, and even flowers. These meadows are vital habitats where dolphins hunt for fish.
Raquel Gaspar discovered that these seagrass meadows were disappearing from the Sado estuary due to human activities such as pollution, shipyard construction, and seabed dredging. When the seagrass disappeared, so did the fish that relied on it, and, in turn, the dolphins that depended on those fish. Raquel argued that reversing the decline in dolphin populations required protecting and restoring the seagrass meadows. To this end, she founded Ocean Alive, an NGO dedicated to seagrass conservation.
Ocean Alive works closely with local fisherwomen of the Sado estuary, empowering them to become ‘keepers of the sea’. These fisherwomen, whose livelihoods depend on a healthy ocean, play a crucial role in protecting seagrass meadows and the biodiversity they support. “No seagrass, no fish, no jobs for fisherwomen” Raquel explains. The ‘keepers of the sea’ help prevent damages caused by practices such as litter from shellfishing, anchoring on seagrass beds, and destructive fishing techniques. They educate their peers on sustainable practices, teach marine conservation, and monitor these ‘underwater forests’ as part of scientific projects.
“These new professions value the fisherwomen’s wisdom, their deep knowledge of the estuary, and their role in the community” says Raquel Gaspar. “Our aim was to achieve a social impact alongside the environmental one”. Ocean Alive hopes to replicate this model in other locations, building a wider network of ‘keepers of the sea’. For Raquel, the greatest challenge is also the most rewarding: changing people’s mindsets. “Our mission is to change behaviours” she emphasizes.
Maio Biodiversity Foundation and the hatchlings of turtles
“If people don’t see how ecosystem conservation affects their lives, they won’t act on it. They won’t value it or mobilize for the environment” says Janete Agues. Agues is the director of the Maio Biodiversity Foundation (MBF), an NGO in Cape Verde that embraces the principle of “community-based conservation”, empowering residents to monitor and protect their environment.
Maio is one of the ten islands in the Cape Verde archipelago, a biodiversity hotspot and sanctuary for both terrestrial and marine species. It is especially significant for loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta), as Cape Verde hosts the second-largest nesting aggregation in the Atlantic Ocean of this vulnerable species. Maio is also home to marine megafauna, including sharks, manta rays, humpback whales, and dolphins. For MBF, engaging local communities is crucial to safeguarding this rich wildlife. Locals help prevent illegal activities, combat poaching, contribute to scientific research, and foster a sense of ownership and connection to nature.
Emotional experiences are a powerful tool in conservation. “Watching a turtle lay eggs or hatchlings coming out… that emotion can change you” says Janete. One of MBF’s main activities involves nightly beach patrols, where volunteers camouflage freshly laid turtle nests to protect them from predators, gather data on nests and hatchlings, and watch out for them. Thanks to MBF’s efforts, turtle poaching on the island has dropped dramatically: from 43% to less than 7% in just 5 years.
“You can’t just tell people not to poach turtles: you have to provide alternatives”, explains Agues, highlighting the need for sustainable economic growth for local communities. MBF is now the largest employer on Maio Island after the public administration, addressing poverty and high unemployment rates, particularly among youth and women. Promoting sustainable tourism is a key part of this strategy. To protect Maio from unsustainable development while creating jobs for locals, MBF supports young entrepreneurs in developing ecotourism initiatives. They also connect international volunteers with host families on the island, creating meaningful cultural exchanges and generating additional income for local communities.
WIN BIG and gender mapping the blue economy
“It’s a new era for the blue economy” says Helena Vieira, a researcher at the University of Aveiro and coordinator of WIN BIG, an EU project designed to help women thrive in marine-related jobs. The “blue economy” encompasses the wide array of economic activities dependent on the sea and its resources. Sectors like fisheries, aquaculture, marine transport, and coastal tourism provide employment for millions of people worldwide.
However, in the European Union, the blue economy remains a traditionally male-dominated industry across almost all sectors. Women account for less than a third of the workforce in this field and are often employed in the lowest-paid, lowest-status positions. Their expertise and contributions are frequently undervalued, particularly in roles requiring either technical-scientific expertise or manual labour. While there is more data about the gender gap in established sectors such as fisheries and aquaculture, much less is known about women’s contributions to emerging sectors like offshore renewable energy or marine biotechnology.
There are two key challenges for women in the blue economy, according to Vieira. “The first one is safety: many ocean-related activities require safety measures that are often not adapted to women’s bodies and needs. The second issue is gender stereotypes. For instance, you’d think a woman would be less suited to work on offshore energy platforms. But with recent technological advancements, this is no longer true: there are plenty of exciting new opportunities in the blue economy that most women are unaware of”.
The WIN BIG project (Women in Blue Economy, Intelligence Gathering and Capacity Boosting) aims to address these issues. The first step is “gender mapping”, which involves gathering data on gender representation in the blue economy, reviewing existing research, and collecting new insights through a pan-European survey available in seven languages. “We need a broad perspective, across countries, sea basins, and sectors” explains Vieira. WIN BIG involves 14 partners from 9 countries, covering all six European sea basins: the Atlantic, Mediterranean, Baltic, North, Arctic, and Black Sea. “The European Union needs to understand the barriers women face in entering, advancing, and staying in the blue economy”.
Following this initial phase, WIN BIG plans to provide tailored training and mentoring programs for women in the blue economy. The goal is to foster entrepreneurship and sustainable innovation through learning labs, acceleration programs, and networking events across Europe. “We also want to highlight inspiring role models for women in the blue economy and share their stories” says Vieira. It’s time for women to take center stage in ocean protection and sustainable development. The ocean may be vast, but these examples have shown how connected we are in safeguarding them.
