This webinar titled “A Global Spotlight on Ocean Defenders” aims to bring greater visibility to the plight of Ocean Defenders worldwide. Ocean Defenders include individuals, groups, and communities of small-scale fishers and Indigenous Peoples who are actively protecting the marine environment and human rights. Unfortunately, ocean defenders are often marginalized, criminalized, threatened, and even murdered for their efforts to safeguard the ocean. This webinar explores the ongoing struggles and efforts of ocean defenders globally, and sheds light on the potential avenues through which allies and organizations can provide support and protect ocean defenders.

This webinar will be of interest to a diverse audience of ocean defenders, conservation practitioners, researchers, policy-makers, and funders who are committed to protecting oceans and people. Speakers present an overview of the Ocean Defenders Project, followed by global case studies on Ocean Defenders, discuss potential strategies for effective support, and the ocean defenders themselves will share their lived experiences.

Speakers include:

Nathan Bennett (Global Oceans Lead Scientist, WWF & Chair, People and the Ocean Specialist Group, IUCN)

David Boyd (UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment & University of British Columbia)

Philippe Le Billon (School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, University of British Columbia)

Rocio Lopez de La Lama (School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, University of British Columbia)

Paula Satizabal (Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity, University of Oldenburg, Germany)

Taryn Pereira (Coastal Justice Network and One Ocean Hub, Rhodes University, South Africa)

Samiya Selim (Center for Sustainable Development, University of Liberal Arts, Bangladesh)

Francisco Araos (Antropologia de la Conservación, Universidad de Los Lagos, Chile)

Kristen Walker Painemilla (Chair, Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy, International Union for the Conservation of Nature)