(Right to Democracy) — Over 400 ocean policy and environmental justice advocates gathered this week in Washington, D.C. for Upwell 2026: A Wave of Ocean Justice.
The two-day conference addressed ocean conservation issues, prioritizing the experiences of communities who have been historically excluded from these discussions.
Leaders from Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, and Puerto Rico brought the realities of colonial rule and unilateral federal action to the center of the conversation.
The conference kicked off with a focus on Decolonizing Ocean Conservation. Moderated by Dr. Frances Colon, senior fellow at Center for American Progress, the panel also included Dr. Adi Martinez-Roman, co-director of Right to Democracy, Dr. Austin Shelton, director, University of Guam Center of Island Sustainability, Dr. Steven Mana’oakamai Johnson, assistant professor, Cornell University from the Northern Mariana Islands, and Rep. Jose “Che” Perez Cordero, Puerto Rico House of Representatives.
The panel examined what emerging environmental conservation practitioners can learn from the people of the territories and how to integrate Indigenous and local expertise into decision‑making. The panel also highlighted that meaningful conservation must begin with the people who live in territorial communities, given that they face unique environmental challenges and economic pressures, yet lack democratic representation to influence decision-makers effectively.
“As a result of the colonial legal framework, the people of the territories face the environmental consequences of imposed unilateral decisions. Yet local and Indigenous communities in the territories continue to create — through solidarity and coalition building — innovative solutions to their unique challenges,” said Dr. Martínez-Román of Right to Democracy, which works to advance democracy, equity, and self-determination in U.S. territories. “This community-led work in U.S. territories can provide a lesson to everyone dedicated to ocean conservation work.”
Another panel focused on deep-sea mining, and included Sabrina Sulauai-Mahukua, founder of American-Samoa based environmental organization Finafinau and Right to Democracy advocacy fellow, JV Lankilde, Associate at EarthJustice from American Samoa, and Angelo Villagomez, senior fellow at Center for American Progress from the Northern Mariana Islands, who co-led the conference. Together, these organizations helped organize tens of thousands of comments and letters in opposition to the imposition of deep sea mining.
Dr. Suluai-Mahuka also delivered the conference’s keynote address, centering the perspective of Pacific Island communities in a gathering of leading ocean advocates. “Governments derive their legitimacy from the consent of the governed, not the other way around. We spoke in testimony, in public comments, in village meetings, on fishing boats, along shorelines. And still we are told to trust the process. But trust is not built by speeding up decisions after communities raise concerns. Trust is built when power listens, and listening requires changing course when those words tell you no,” said Dr. Suluai-Mahuka.
Guam artist Gillian Duenas was also featured.
“Over the last year, Right to Democracy has worked alongside our community partners across the territories to ensure the voices of our communities are heard at the Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management at the Department of Interior and in the halls of Congress,” said Martínez-Román. “Later this week we will be briefing Congress on how the imposition of deep sea mining and other unilateral federal policies violate the principle of ‘consent of the governed’ that the United States was founded on.”
Angelo Villagomez, for his part, said: “The U.S. territories are home to 30% of all U.S. oceans, so it is fitting that the people who live there and call our islands home should be in ocean conferences in Washington D.C., where a lot of decisions are made on our behalf.”
For more information, reach out to Adi Martínez-Román at [email protected] or 787-383-6070 or Angelo Villagomez at [email protected]/.
