February 11th is celebrated as “The International Day of Women and Girls in Science”; a day implemented by UNESCO and UN Women in order to promote women and girls in science. On this February 11th, we would like to highlight the women working on STRONG High Seas and their valuable contributions to this 5-year long project. This article is also available in French and Spanish.
Paule-Myriam Bana
Myriam works as an Monitoring and Evaluation Assistant for the Secretariat of the Abidjan Convention. She has been with the Secretariat since 2016 and holds a Master of Laws from Université Internationale Bilingue d’Abidjan and a Master in Project Management from Northeastern University. Myriam supports the STRONG High Seas project in her function as the contact person in the Secretariat of the Abidjan Convention.
Paula Bueno
Paula has been in the position of an Advisor in advocacy and governance of protected areas and marine areas for WWF Colombia since 2016. She has a background in Government and International Relations and holds a Master in Sustainability Science for Managing Global Change from the Universidad Internacional de Andalucía. Her work in the STRONG High Seas project focuses on developing a Dissemination and Public Outreach strategy in the Southeast Pacific region. Her contributions to the project can be found here.
Klaudija Cremers
Klaudija has been working as a Research Fellow in International Ocean Governance for the French think tank IDDRI (Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations) since 2019. She has a background in Global Justice and Public International Law (Leiden University). Her work in the STRONG High Seas project mostly focuses on the topic of Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) in Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ) and Klaudija has also been involved with the organization of the Marine Regions Forum and various inter- and intra-regional expert workshops on the BBNJ negotiations. Her published contributions to the project’s work are:
- Policy brief – Keeping an Eye on the High Seas: Strengthening Monitoring, Control, and Surveillance Through a New Marine Biodiversity Treaty
- Strengthening Monitoring, Control and Surveillance in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction
- Briefing for Negotiators
- Options for Strengthening Monitoring, Control and Surveillance of Human Activities in the Southeast Pacific Region
Klaudija at IDDRI
Maria Dias
Maria works as a Marine Science Coordinator for BirdLife International. She oversees the scientific work underpinning the marine programme of BirdLife. Maria holds a PhD from University of Lisbon and has a background in Biology. Thanks to her expertise, she is providing the STRONG High Seas project with valuable input to achieve its objectives. She contributed to a report analyzing and further developing Ecological Baselines in ABNJ for the Southeast Atlantic region. Her published contributions to the project’s work include:
Maria has co-authored a book-series for children called Outside
Maria at ResearchGate
Carole Durussel
Carole is the Co-Lead of the STRONG High Seas project and is based at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS). She holds a PhD in international environmental law from the University of Wollongong and has a background in marine environmental sciences and business administration. As co-lead of the STRONG High Seas project, Carole coordinates the many project activities to ensure that the project objectives are achieved. She also provides scientific and legal expertise to the project and presents project outcomes at various international, regional and national fora. Her published contributions to the project’s work include:
- Strengthening Regional Ocean Governance for the High Seas: Opportunities and Challenges to Improve the Legal and Institutional Framework of the Southeast Atlantic and Southeast Pacific
- Strengthening High Seas Governance Through Enhanced Environmental Assessment Processes
- Policy brief – Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction: Options for Underpinning a Strong BBNJ Agreement through Regional and Sectoral Governance
In 2019 Carole was selected as one of 80 women to be part of the 5th cohort of the Homeward Bound leadership programme. Check out her and her fellow participants’ journey in this programme here: https://homewardboundprojects.com.au/HB5virtualvoyage/.
Carole at IASS
Leticia Greyling
Leticia is currently working as one of the Interim Directors for the NGO IOI-SA and has been a Management Committee Member there since 2010. Her background is in Zoology & Chemistry, Conservation Biology and she holds an MBA from Rhodes University where she is a Senior Lecturer for Strategy & Sustainability (Rhodes Business School). She is supporting the project in organizing the Dialogue Workshop series and capacity development trainings in the Southeast Atlantic region. Her published contributions to the project’s work can be found here:
Leticia at IOI-SA
Kristina Gjerde
Kristina is Senior High Seas Advisor for the IUCN Global Marine and Polar Programme, where she has been involved since 2002. Kristina holds a Juris Doctor from New York University and is a well-known expert in the law of marine conservation. She co-founded and helped to lead the Deep Ocean Stewardship Initiative, the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, the High Seas Alliance, the Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiative and the Sargasso Sea Project. Kristina contributes to the STRONG High Seas project by developing governance recommendations for the global process under UNCLOS and helps with the organization of trainings on regional ocean governance. Her published contributions to the project’s work can be found here:
- Strengthening High Seas Governance Through Enhanced Environmental Assessment Processes
- Policy brief – Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction: Options for Underpinning a Strong BBNJ Agreement through Regional and Sectoral Governance
- Policy Brief – Towards Ecosystem-based Management of the Global Ocean: Strengthening Regional Cooperation through a New Agreement for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction
Kristina at IUCN
Shannon Hampton
Shannon has been working as a Program Manager for the NGO IOI-SA since 2015 and has a background in Zoology and Marine Biology. Shannon also holds a PhD from the University of Cape Town. Within the STRONG High Seas project she is involved in the organization of a series of Dialogue Workshop and capacity development trainings in the Southeast Atlantic region. She has also contributed to several of the project’s outputs focusing on the Southeast Atlantic Region. Find out what she has been working on here:
- Ecological Baselines of the Southeast Atlantic and Southeast Pacific: Status of Marine Biodiversity and Anthropogenic Pressures in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction
- Marine Biological Diversity Beyond National Jurisdiction and the Abidjan Convention Region
Shannon at IOI-SA
Carolina Hazin
Carolina works as a Global Marine Policy Coordinator for BirdLife International and has been with this organization since 2012. She has a background in Biology, Ecology, Public Policy and International Relations. Within the STRONG High Seas project she is involved in leading the project’s engagement in policy processes in the Southeast Atlantic region and in the development of some of the project’s knowledge products (reports, studies). She also contributes to other activities of the project such as in the organization of a series of Dialogue Workshop and capacity development events in the Southeast Atlantic region. Find her contributions to the project here:
Beatriz Yannicelli
Beatriz works as a Researcher in Oceanography and fisheries for the Universidad de la República Uruguay. She collaborates with the Chilean Universidad Católica del Norte, where she worked previously through CEAZA regional institute of research. She holds a PhD from the University of Concepción and has a background in Oceanography. She helps the STRONG High Seas project the organization of a series of Dialogue Workshop in the Southeast Pacific region and also contributed to several of the project outputs focusing on this region. Find out what she has been working on here:
- Ecological Baselines of the Southeast Atlantic and Southeast Pacific: Status of Marine Biodiversity and Anthropogenic Pressures in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction
- Biodiversidad Fuera de la Jurisdicción Nacional en la Región del Pacífico Sudeste
Beatriz at UCN (up to 2017)
About STRONG High Seas:
The STRONG High Seas project (2017-2022) aims to strengthen regional ocean governance for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ). It carries out transdisciplinary scientific assessments to provide decision-makers, both in the target regions (Southeast Pacific & Southeast Atlantic) and globally, with improved knowledge and understanding on high seas biodiversity and the impacts of human activities in ABNJ. Together with the Secretariat of the Comisión Permanente del Pacífico Sur (CPPS; Permanent Commission for the South Pacific) and the Secretariat of the West and Central Africa Regional Seas Programme (Abidjan Convention), the project develops and proposes targeted measures to support the coordinated development of integrated and ecosystem-based management approaches for ocean governance in ABNJ.
The project is coordinated by the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) and implemented together with six partners based in Europe, South America, and Africa: the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI), BirdLife International, the International Ocean Institute (IOI) – Southern Africa, the Universidad Católica del Norte (UCN), WWF Colombia, and WWF Germany.
