Having called the ocean my home-quite literally-for 41 years, which is already more than half of my life, I can consider myself a citizen of the ocean and of the world. After all, the ocean knows no borders. With three circumnavigations completed, a fourth currently underway with Voice of the Oceans , and countless adventures across the planet's seas since the late 1990s, I have witnessed the growing invasion of disposable plastics in our waters and coastal sands. Faced with this reality, I have taken on-alongside my family and the Voice of the Oceans team-the mission of raising awareness and mobilizing society so that together we can reverse this situation.

On this journey, about a year ago our São Paulo-based team based began an important dialogue with the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC ), exploring potential partnerships to support our initiative and to exchange knowledge and sustainable expertise. These conversations have always been very encouraging, and this year, they crossed oceans. While sailing through Indonesia with the Voice of the Oceans expedition, I took a brief break from the sustainable sailboat Kat, nd, before returning to Brazil, made a fascinating stopover in the United Arab Emirates.

Dubai has always intrigued me, but seeing it up close was even more impressive. Grand, clean, organized, with its ultramodern architecture and the white sandy beaches kissed by the Arabian Sea. However, it was another side of the city that began to captivate me-the environmentalist side. I got to know, for example, the World Green Economy Organization (WGEO) and the Jumeirah Al Naseem Turtle Rehabilitation Project. In Abu Dhabi, I had the honor of presenting Voice of the Oceans at the Brazilian Embassy, further strengthening Brazil's representation in ocean conservation efforts in the UAE.

From this meeting came a closer relationship with Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, which this year established its Ocean Institute and just a few weeks ago participated in the U.N. Ocean Conference (UNOC). It was in Nice, France, that I had the pleasure of participating as one of the university's invited panelists. I was delighted to share the stage with Dr. Ameer A. Eweida, consultant for the MENA Oceans Initiative and Goumbook, member of the executive committee of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas, and Marine Biology professor at the University of Miami, and Dr. Julia Motte Baumvol, Associate Professor of Law and Head of International Relations at Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi.

In addition to sharing the story and mission of Voice of the Oceans, I had the opportunity to learn about the UAE's circular economy strategy to combat plastic pollution, which aims to promote regional cooperation and expand innovative solutions for ocean health and a truly sustainable future. The panel“Tackling Plastic Pollution in the Middle East & Beyond: Experiences in Policy and Action,” hosted by Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi at the UNOC, was another chapter in a promising partnership between our initiative and the UAE in defense of our oceans, the environment-our Water Planet.

Back on the sailboat Kat, we set sail to complete Voice of the Oceans' first circumnavigation in Belém, Pará, with a series of special actions to highlight the ocean cause during U.N. COP30 summit-including the Voices of the Ocean House. It will be a democratic and accessible space featuring a collective program, connecting-or reconnecting-civil society with the oceans. A home for joyful meetings and reunions... Will we once again have the ocean voices of the UAE by our side at this important and impactful moment?

The fight against plastic pollution crosses borders. Different languages unite in a voice that understands itself and echoes louder across the planet. So, let there be more meetings, more dialogues, and an ever-stronger partnership. Because we are all the Voice of the Oceans!

*Heloisa Schurmann is the leader of Voice of the Oceans

Translated by Guilherme Miranda

The post Strengthening the oceanic cause with the UAE appeared first on ANBA News Agency .

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