Webinar: Blue Economy | The New Paradigm of Marine Prosperity for Latin America

Summary

On June 30 at 10:00 a.m. CST (MX, CR), in partnership with FUNDES Impact Consulting, will host the webinar “Blue Economy and Areas of Marine Prosperity: The New Paradigm of Prosperity for Latin America,” a forum to reflect on how we can promote prosperity in coastal communities while protecting the oceans, and how initiatives such as the one currently being implemented in the Gulf of California (by IDB Lab, the Coppel Foundation, and FUNDES) can be scaled up to other areas of the region through coordinated efforts among organizations from various sectors.

Currently, only 8% of the world's oceans are protected by some kind of conservation program. By 2030, the world has set a goal to achieve the 30x30 target: to protect 30% of the oceans. How can we achieve this without leaving behind the communities that depend on the sea?
What topics will we cover?

Participatory Governance: How to Build Territorial Models That Integrate Communities, the Private Sector, and Governments.
Sustainable Economic Drivers: The Potential of Responsible Fishing, Regenerative Tourism, and the Bioeconomy to Strengthen Coastal MSMEs.
Knowledge, technology, and artificial intelligence: digital tools for participatory design and the sustainable management of marine resources.

Details

Webinar

Tuesday, June 30, 2026
10:00 a.m. MX, CR
Free
Spanish

Watch recording

Meet our panel of experts

Karla Puerta

Karla Puerta Lara is the Operations Manager for Mexico at FUNDES, where she leads the operational management of projects focused on strengthening business ecosystems and the competitiveness of MSMEs. He has experience in project management, program implementation, and impact assessment. Before joining FUNDES, she worked at DAI and served as Director of Planning, Evaluation, and Statistics at Mexico’s Ministry of Public Education. She holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from the Autonomous University of Sinaloa and a master's degree in assessment from UNAM.

América Avalos

América Ávalos holds a bachelor's degree in Public Policy from the Autonomous University of Sinaloa and a master's degree in Public Policy from Georgetown University. She serves as National Manager of Education and Family Philanthropy at the Coppel Foundation, where she leads the Education and Leadership strategy, promoting initiatives in early childhood, educational quality, and leadership development. With extensive experience in the design and implementation of philanthropic strategies, it works with more than 200 civil society organizations and promotes social investment models aimed at generating sustainable and measurable impact.

Alex Muñoz

A leader in marine conservation with 20 years of experience advancing ocean protection across Latin America. Director, Vital Oceans. Former Senior Director for Latin America, National Geographic Pristine Seas. Former Vice President, Oceana Chile. 2024 McCluskey Fellow in Conservation, faculty member and lecturer, Yale School of the Environment. Yale World Fellow, 2019. Featured in 12 National Geographic documentaries. Council Member, Chilean Foreign Policy Council. Board Member, Rewilding Chile.

Valentina Platzgummer

Valentina Platzgummer is co-director of Strategic Alliances and Science Diplomacy at the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation (CBMC), where she fosters collaboration between science, conservation, and strategic stakeholders to promote sustainable solutions in the Gulf of California. She has experience in project management, ocean sustainability, the circular economy, and developing international partnerships. He holds a master's degree in Marine Resources and the Environment and studied at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, where he conducted research in collaboration with the Aburto Lab.