Germany joins international initiative to promote women’s ocean leadership

Germany has become the fourth country to sign the Women Ocean Guardians voluntary commitment, a global initiative promoting women's leadership in marine conservation. The announcement was made on 21 July during the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in New York.

The Women Ocean Guardians initiative was first launched at the UN Ocean Conference in Nice in June, signed by Costa Rica, Grenada and the United Kingdom together with 20 international organisations. The initiative aims to promote gender equality across ocean-related policies, including decision-making roles, finance, and leadership training for women in coastal communities.

At the signing ceremony, Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter, Parliamentary State Secretary in Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment, said: “Women play a key role in blue economy sectors and help drive forward ocean conservation – and yet their voices far too often go unheard in decision-making processes. This must change.”

The initiative is co-led by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Conservation International and has already connected women leaders in 11 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. It is backed by a $3.8 million grant from the Global Environment Facility, which will help expand the programme into Asia and Africa, the organisers said.

“This groundbreaking initiative empowers women frontliners in coastal and marine ecosystems to take a seat at the decision-making table,” said Adriana Gonçalves Moreira of the Global Environment Facility. She added that it aims to promote “inclusive partnerships” across civil society, local communities and Indigenous groups.

The commitment outlines a number of goals, including supporting women-led marine conservation, improving access to funding and increasing transparency through equity-focused data systems.