Building a global network of regional partners lies at the core of the Ocean Platform’s work. Regional partners, involved in many varied aspects of the ocean economy from fishing to renewable energy to port development, engage with the Ocean Platform both to share knowledge and learn from others, to build alliances, take successful innovations to scale and to advocate collectively for improved corporate policy, practice, and accountability in regard to human rights in the blue economy. The founding organisations aim over time to increase the number and geographic scope of partnerships in all regions of the world.

 

HOMEF, Africa

As an ecological think tank that works to uncover the roots of exploitation of natural resources and peoples, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) has worked closely with ocean-dependent communities whose well-being and human rights are threatened. We coordinate the FishNet Alliance, a network of artisanal fishers in Africa campaigning for sustainable fisheries and against extractives in aquatic ecosystems.

 

The world increasingly appears to look at the oceans as spaces for unregulated exploitation or as massive dumps for wastes. The establishment of the Platform for Oceans and Human Rights has come at a critical time and HOMEF is excited to be a part of it. We believe that together we can work to ensure respect for human rights and that economic and other activities in the oceans acknowledge the role of oceans in the protection and support life.

Nnimmo Bassey

 

HOMEF works also to unpack the Blue Economy to ensure that it does not slide into the commodification of Oceans, displacement of coastal communities and attendant sea grabs. HOMEF works to share knowledge and engage in networking for the preservation of the oceans as commons with the economic, cultural, spiritual and other interests of dependent communities fully respected. HOMEF facilitates engagement between the Ocean Platform and ocean-focused organisations in Nigeria, South Africa, Togo, and Senegal.

HOMEF has produced a Toolkit for Ocean Human Rights Defenders that provides guidance and practical steps for effective advocacy to stand up for their environment, lives and livelihoods, and defend their human rights.

CREER, Latin America

Centro Regional de Empresas y Emprendimientos Responsables (CREER), which is a regional hub and centre of south-south learning, knowledge and exchange, using its affiliation with IHRB to develop strategic partnerships and share lessons internationally. CREER engages with governments, business, trade unions and wider civil society in Latin America to understand their perspectives and build them into the multi-stakeholder approach takes to strengthening government and company efforts to protect, promote and respect human rights.

 

The establishment of the Platform for Oceans and Human Rights lends CREER a unique opportunity to link our work on climate and human rights in Colombia to a global Just Transitions agenda within the blue economy. The virtuous circle of connecting local and international work on common issues has proved to be a practical approach to linking policy dialogue with specific impacted environments and communities - promoting collective action through dialogue and collaboration.

Luis Fernando de Angulo

 

CREER has integrated two areas of ocean economy into its climate and human rights programmes:

1. Urbanisation and human rights in coastal cities, specifically in Cartagena, a UNESCO Heritage City, facing impacts like sea-level rise, population displacement in the fishing and tourism sectors, and loss of ecosystems such as mangroves. 

Cartagena is emerging from a period of political instability, having had 12 mayors in the last 10 years, due to various reasons, including cases of corruption. So, the current administration has placed great emphasis in building trust and making citizens feel heard through consultation and involvement in its new ‘Territorial Ordering Plan’ (POT). CREER, supported by Rafto and IHRB, participated in this outreach by attending workshops which confirmed a range of human rights challenges, including lack of planning and regulation exacerbating social inequalities and threatening crucial ecosystems such as mangroves and wetlands.

2. Just Transitions: human rights impacts on coastal indigenous communities, primarily the Wayuu in the peninsula of Guajira in northern Colombia, a coal-exporting region with regard to the phased transition out of coal and rapid transition into coastal wind energy and where consultation with impacted local marginalised communities has been totally inadequate in the ‘green rush’ for renewable energy projects. 

The "Fair Wind" project will be led by CREER, supported by IHRB and Rafto, and seeks to raise awareness and shape an agenda of dialogue and advocacy around the human rights risks and responsibilities for energy majors and financial institutions with regard to the impact of coastal wind projects on indigenous Wayuu peoples, including youth and human rights defenders, in La Guajira where it has been engaging for several years. IHRB will support this work by drawing relevant lessons from an international network of responsible wind energy actors and indigenous community leaders, including in Kenya (Turkana), Canada, and northern Norway and Sweden.

Rafto will support the participation of human rights defenders from Latin America and beyond in this process. This project will respond to the need for new kinds of dialogue and innovative partnerships between companies and affected communities around consultation, decision-making, enhanced human rights due diligence by companies and mechanisms for building community equity into new wind energy projects as the 'green rush' gathers pace.  

 

BlueGreen

BlueGreen is a coastal and ocean resource centre based in Kerala, South India, which was set up by Dr. Johnson Jament in 2023 to promote education, culture and research as well as sustainable development activities with artisanal coastal communities, and coastal Indigenous Peoples in India. BlueGreen is a development of over a decade of learning, research, activism and community engagements.

BlueGreen provides appropriate guidance and data-science based practical ideas to strengthen the coastal community activism to protect Kadalamma – the mother sea/ocean – and the coastal Indigenous People's lives that includes women and disabled at the coast and their traditional ownership of ocean/coastal resources, their sustainable livelihood practices at the territorial waters and beyond.  The BlueGreen also works to facilitate opportunities to defend their human rights and build a network of ocean defenders.

The activities are reflected through various forms of engagements:

  • Supporting the Association of Artisanal Fishers to promote sustainable fishing practices as well as to protect their centuries old customary rights over the sea and the natural resources.
  • Promoting communications through SeaTribes YouTube media channel and other social media platforms in the form of documentaries, short films and issue-based video productions.
  • Working with organisations, institutes and individuals in India and abroad to document marine species, conserve marine biodiversity, and have the localised weather information provided to artisanal fishers, thereby building resilience to ensure their safety and security related to adverse weather.
  • Educating the Coastal Indigenous Peoples and the local communities to be aware of the impacts of marine pollution and other related harmful industrial activities at the seawaters, particularly, young people (through Coastal Indigenous Youths Network), who are encouraged to engage in community development activities in connection with Sustainable Development Goals, Ocean Decade (The Science We Need for the Ocean We Want), UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration (Preventing, Halting and Reversing the Loss of Nature), UN Water Decade (Averting a global water crisis), and International Decade of Indigenous Languages.