Haydée Rodriguez-Romero
Viceminister for Water and Ocean
Costa Rica
Haydée Rodríguez-Romero, 38, is Costa Rica’s Viceminister for Water and the Ocean. Haydée is an environmental lawyer specialized in science and public policy. Her passion is to translate scientific evidence into sound policies to protect people and nature.
Since 2001, she has worked with NGOs and communities promoting integrated water management, the recognition of the human right to water and sanitation, and participatory processes in environmental decision making. In 2008 she dove into marine topics and the ocean has been an essential part of her life ever since. In the past 10 years she has devoted her experience and knowledge to promote innovative actions to ensure a productive, healthy, and resilient ocean.
From her government office she has worked with coastal communities and the public sector to establish the first effective governance mechanism for marine spatial planning, promotion of the blue economy, and successful marine protected areas. She has led international negotiations for protecting biodiversity beyond national jurisdictions and the inclusion of ocean-based solutions into climate change actions. Living in a country with a marine territory ten times bigger than its land, Haydée is an enthusiastic diver and admits that her heart is captive under the water of Coco’s Island
