The meeting in the insular territory of the Gulf of Nicoya and part of the famous tourist beach region of Puntarenas, is an initiative of Costa Rica and France to promote the sustainable use and conservation of the ocean’s natural resources, an official statement adds.

The meeting, which also seeks to consolidate the global goal of protecting 30 percent of the oceans, in an inclusive manner and with guarantees of an equitable and inclusive distribution of benefits, is led by the Minister for the Status of Women, Cindy Quesada.

The meeting in the largest of the Pacific islands will include the first of four workshops, one in the region around that ocean and three others in Africa and Oceania, all with a view to the Third UN Conference in 2025 on the subject in Nice (France).

These exchanges are aimed at building a global and lasting community of women leaders from the coasts, which organizers expect will grow over time.

The UN and other entities convening the meeting aspire to make visible ─from the voice of women─ contributions to the conservation of biodiversity, their presence in fishing and related activities, ancestral knowledge within the dynamics of life and relationship with the environment.

The participants of the meeting from States such as Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Antigua and Barbuda and Chile, will formulate a call to action through the creation to be called: Women Guardians of the Oceans.

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