Voices of the High Seas for Colombia: youth, ocean governance, and the right to shape our blue future
- Gabriela Casuso
- May 14
- 3 min read
Published on 14 May 2026 at 01:17 GMT
By Gabriela Casuso
Ocean advocate and founder of Proyecto Acuática
The ocean does not end where waves meet the shore. Beyond the horizon lies the high seas, a vast, shared space that covers around 64% of the global ocean and nearly half of the planet’s surface. A territory without borders or flags, but not without consequences. The high seas help produce the oxygen we breathe, regulate the climate, and sustain migratory routes that connect entire continents. Yet, less than 1% of these waters are currently protected.
What is not governed is exposed. And what is not understood is left out of the conversation.
In Colombia, the campaign Voces de Altamar por Colombia (Voices of the High Seas for Colombia) emerges to change that: to bring ocean governance closer to citizens, especially young people, who often grow up unaware that their future is also shaped by what happens in waters they may never see.
Today, the High Seas Treaty represents a historic opportunity to protect marine biodiversity in international waters. It is more than a technical agreement: it enables the creation of marine protected areas, the regulation of human activities, and a more equitable approach to managing our global ocean. But its impact depends on one crucial step: ratification by countries. Ratifying this treaty means recognising that the ocean is a shared system, and that its protection cannot wait.
Failing to do so prolongs a governance gap in one of the most critical, and vulnerable, spaces on Earth.
But this conversation cannot remain confined to negotiation rooms.
As a youth ambassador of High Seas Alliance, a global coalition working to secure protection for the high seas, and of EarthEcho International, founded to strengthen youth leadership in environmental action, I have connected with young people around the world who share a clear conviction: we do not want to inherit decisions we were never part of. Programs like High Seas Youth Ambassador exist to change that. They help us equip with knowledge, amplifying our voices, and reminding us that the time to act is now.
Youth participation in ocean governance is not symbolic. It is strategic. When a young person understands that an ocean current can link their home to another continent, they begin to see that their voice, too, can travel far beyond borders. Yet ocean education still carries a significant gap: the high seas are largely absent from school curricula, public discourse, and everyday narratives. And this absence matters.
We cannot protect what we do not understand. And we cannot take part in conversations we were never invited into.
This is why Voices of the High Seas for Colombia is not just a campaign, it is an invitation. To learn, to question, and to act. To recognise that there is only one ocean, without boundaries, and that its governance should reflect that same unity.
The high seas may seem distant, but they are the blue heart that sustains everything else. And if we are to protect them, we need more than treaties, we need a generation that feels responsible for them.
Because the future of the ocean is not decided only in global summits. It is shaped by the voices that choose to take part.
And if we want ocean governance to reflect the voices of this generation, then those voices need to be heard.
Today, you have the opportunity to be part of Colombia’s first Youth National Declaration on the High Seas. Your perspective, your concerns, and your ideas will be collected and presented to decision-makers shaping the country’s ocean future.
This is not just participation. It is real civic influence.
Take a moment to share your voice here: https://forms.gle/SbU92NJw4Qwd56Xe8
Because the high seas belong to all of us, and so should the decisions that define their future.
