A year ago, something beautiful happened.

Greenpeace UK arrived in Bermuda not just to study the Sargasso Sea surrounding our island, but to sit with us. To listen to us. To learn from us. And to stand beside us in shared purpose.

That visit was part of the Oceans Are Life campaign, which calls on governments to work together to protect the ocean and communities that depend on it by ratifying the Global Ocean Treaty. It marked more than a milestone. It sparked a movement rooted in the reverence that for the first time, we have a pathway, a global agreement that could finally give legal teeth to protecting the seas on which islands such as ours depend.

The Sargasso Sea is unlike anywhere else on Earth. Defined not by coastlines but by currents, this living, floating wilderness surrounds Bermuda and breathes life into everything we do. For Bermudians, the Sargasso Sea isn’t a catchphrase; it’s the backdrop of our daily lives. From childhood memories of fishing off the rocks, to the rhythms of our economy, to the stories passed down through generations about our ocean’s creatures, currents and quiet power. We live with it. We live in it. It’s as close to sacred as nature gets.

In May 2024, the energy across the island was electric. Conversations filled community halls. Students asked bold questions. Elders shared observations grounded in decades of experience. The idea of turning the international waters of the Sargasso Sea around Bermuda into a sanctuary to safeguard our island, grounded in local science and shaped by local voices. In the past 12 months, something powerful has been building.

The High Seas Treaty, also known as the BBNJ Treaty — Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction — was signed at the United Nations in 2023, laying the foundation for the largest network of international ocean sanctuaries in history, covering 30 per cent of the ocean. It offers something we have never had before: a global legal framework to safeguard the waters of the world that belong to no one.

However, Britain has not yet signed the treaty into law. Greenpeace is calling for Britain to ratify the treaty urgently, and to work with Bermuda to develop a proposal to create a high seas ocean sanctuary in the Sargasso Sea — ready to present to the first Conference of Parties at the United Nations once the treaty comes into force.

We cannot afford to treat high seas protection as optional. What we choose to do next will define the protection of our island for every Bermudian child yet to come. This is not just international policy; this is local memory, meaning and identity. Think of the possibilities that could happen when nations stop seeing environmental protection as overly complex problems to be solved and start recognising them as painless opportunities for:

• Community collaboration

• Improved food security

• Climate resilience

• Economic diversity

• A living legacy that honours both science and culture

Protecting the entire Sargasso Sea around Bermuda is a huge step forward in how we ensure our island’s continuity.

Let this be the moment we prove that our tiny island in the middle of the Atlantic can lead a bold wave of global action. That Bermudians did not wait for the world to decide for us; instead we decided to lead the rest of the world.

This is about possibility, about redefining what leadership looks like on the global stage, not as sovereign dominance, but as collaboration between Britain, as the sovereign authority, and Bermuda, as its British Overseas Sub-National Island Jurisdiction Territory.

We are not calling anyone out; we are calling everyone in!

We encourage action from both governments:

1, Step forward together in solidarity

2, Ratify the High Seas Treaty

3, Commit to co-developing a Sargasso Sea Sanctuary proposal

To the people of Bermuda and beyond, your voice matters:

1, Sign the open letter (available in English and Portuguese)

2, Speak to your elected representatives

3, Read the report.

4, Keep the momentum alive, share the campaign information available at www.noelleyoung.info

Let this time next year be marked by progress not promises, because Bermuda was not shaped by promises, but by the sea, the storms and the people who learnt to live in rhythm with them.

• Noelle Young is a former Bermuda Youth Delegate and Sustainability Solutionist. She consulted Greenpeace during its visit to Bermuda and the Sargasso Sea