Fundación OneSea

In case of receiving the award, it will be used to promote the current project that I carry in conjunction with the foundation on advocacy issues focused on bills that benefit the oceans. Specifically, this financial support would serve to replicate the experience of the current project "Promoting laws to protect our oceans, with the support of civil society and coastal communities" that is being developed at this time since the foundation in Costa Rica, so the current goals are to open new offices in the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Panama and Uruguay, in order to share the experience in the formulation of bills that include the different actors of society and seek to reduce marine pollution in the oceans through of legislative changes promoted by civil society. In case of being a winner, this money would make a dream come true, of being able to continue expanding a vision and impacting more people in the Latin American region. Specifically, the fund would help open these offices in these countries and begin to develop the processes for the formulation of these bills. 

My Oceans' Mission My passion has been the oceans; I have dedicated my life and career to their conservation and defense. I studied law to defend life in the sea. I founded a nonprofit called OneSea in Costa Rica. With my team, we have had outstanding achievements, such as; the prohibition of commercialization of styrofoam containers, promoting a bill in Congress with the support of more than 30,000 people. We drafted a bill that banned commercializing plastic straws and delivered it to a deputy for their respective approval. We have been part of legal processes against trawling in the Golfo Dulce and recently organized a march against this practice which was a success. We have also promoted the most extensive simultaneous cleanup in different parts of the country, promoting "The National Cleanup Day for the Oceans," gathering more than 1200 people in several parts of the country. Recently we obtained the recognition of the United Nations Development Program through the Ocean Innovation Challenge; this recognition will provide us with financial support for the following years, promoting laws in favor of our oceans. Our next goal is to start working in Nicaragua, Panama, the Dominican Republic, and Uruguay, our following locations. 

OneSea is a non-governmental organization that aims on having a clean, healthy and pollution free beaches and oceans. The organization counts on a multidisciplinary professional team working from regional, national and international perspectives.  

The organization works against sea pollution, a problem that has been growing exponentially over the years and it affects development of coastal communities and the environment. This problem has increased because of the disproportionate use of plastics and related disposable products and it has a global impact. The organization attends this problem through social work, local organization development, participatory governance, legal accompaniment, marine biology, and sustainable market development. In addition, OneSea has established partnerships with the local authorities since 2014 and executed joint initiatives involving the coastal community groups in both the northern and southern regions since 2016 consolidating as the organization with the highest incidence in congress

As an organization working towards healthy sea-related environments OneSea doesn’t limit his work just to remedial and temporary solutions such as cleaning campaigns, it also aims to preventive, realistic and high impact results through proactive actions in projects, laws and public policies. As well OneSea looks for ways to help communities (both coastal and non-coastal) in developing sustainable development models. In the process the organization also creates and supports local leaders and invites them to join into a well consolidated network of education, activism and work.

The goal of OneSea is to work towards clean, healthy and pollution-free beaches and oceans by implementing programmes and projects covering a wide range of sectors, through which it has made a positive impact on the lives of hundreds of people, as well as on marine ecosystems. Proof of this is the "Rescate Costa Rica" program, which contributes to the sustainable development of the coastal zone in the community of Guacalillo. In this place have been implemented actions such as voluntary beach cleaning work, education with training and workshops for community members, the establishment of a collection center for the proper management of waste, and cooperation with the Associations to meet the needs of the community. 

 The organization aims to promote programmes for vulnerable people with the capacity to work on sustainability and environment by providing clean, healthy and pollution-free oceans. That is why it has carried out the implementation of a program that focuses on developing business support skills for women entrepreneurs in coastal areas; This has made it possible to impact the lives of both the direct participants of the project and the inhabitants of the communities in which it takes place.