Haydée Rodríguez Romero

At Conservation International, she leads the Blue Protection portfolio and serves as Director of the Coral Reefs of the High Seas Coalition (CRHS), guiding multilateral strategies to safeguard globally significant marine ecosystems, including the Salas y Gómez and Nazca ridges in the high seas.

Since 2001, she has worked with civil society organizations on issues related to the human right to water and sanitation, marine spatial planning, sustainable management of fisheries, protection of marine vulnerable species, climate change and public participation in environmental decisions. A veteran of international ocean policy, Haydée has been part of negotiations for the United Nations High Seas Treaty (BBNJ Agreement) for more than a decade.

From 2018 to 2021, she served as Costa Rica’s Vice-minister for Water and the Ocean for the Government of Costa Rica. During her tenure, she architected the historic expansion of Cocos Island National Park and the Bicentennial Marine Management Area, propelling Costa Rica past the 30% marine conservation goal nearly a decade ahead of the global 30x30 deadline. She established the country’s national ocean governance framework and elevated Costa Rica as a vanguard nation at the nexus of international ocean- climate diplomacy.

Haydée holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Law from the University of Costa Rica and a Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Public Policy from Columbia University, New York.