Blue Planet Global Ambassador Spotlight
Rigoberto exploring SDG 14, Life Below Water
Blue Planet Alliance launched its Blue Planet Global Ambassador program (BPGA) during the 2022 Our Oceans Conference in Palau to honor and empower young people from the ages of 16 to 30. We jointly run the BPGA program with our partner Peace Boat US, a nonprofit that works to build a culture of peace around the world. Peace Boat embarked on a Latin America expedition on June 20th that will conclude on July 5th and go from Panama to Guatemala and Mexico. Peace Boat US Director Emilie McGlone recently caught up with our newest ambassador, Rigoberto Amaya, from Panama, who is on the journey.
Emilie: What are you looking forward to the most on the Peace Boat?
Rigoberto: I am most looking forward to engaging with other like-minded individuals, as well as collaborating with local communities to learn about their context, then analyzing how we can collaborate to leverage change.
Emilie: What would you like to share with other youth for the UN Ocean Decade?
Rigoberto: The time to act is now. We cannot continue business as usual any longer, since if we do not create meaningful change toward critical SDGs — such as SDG 7 (Clean and Affordable Energy), 13 (Climate Action), and 14 (Life Below Water) — irreversible damage will take place to endangered land and sea ecosystems that will make accomplishing the proposed goals unlikely.
Emilie: Where are you looking forward to visiting and why?
Rigoberto: I am excited to visit Puerto Quetzal in Guatemala and doing climate action with mangroves and connecting with the indigenous Mayan community. This opportunity excited me because I will be learning about mangrove restoration and this will be something I can hopefully replicate in Panama once I come back. Furthermore, being exposed to an indigenous community that has so much history and knowledge is a great opportunity to expand understanding about other communities in Latin America and how climate change has affected them.
To learn more about the Blue Planet Global Ambassador program, please visit here.
