Theresa Zabell: "Al mar no le vamos a ganar nunca, tenemos que ganar con él"

The oceans cover 71% of the planet and act as a natural barrier against global warming, but their resilience has limits. Theresa Zabell, a double Olympic champion and founder of Ecomar, advocates for prevention, education, and restoration to protect a decisive ecosystem also essential for the economy. It is strange how we unconsciously ignore something fundamental in our lives.

Oceans cover 71% of the planet and their conservation is crucial in facing climate change and, therefore, our future. From their well-being and health, depend marine biodiversity, coastal protection and fundamental sectors of the productive fabric such as fishing. Zabell, a double Olympic champion sailor and founder of Ecomar, stated during her intervention at the IV Green World & Sustainability Forum 2026 that we must not "win against the sea," but rather "win with the sea."

The athlete called for acting proactively to protect ecosystems that mitigate global warming, whose resilience is not unlimited. Oceans have absorbed more than 90% of the excess heat generated over the past decades, but this is not always done at zero cost. The sea actually imposes a climatic bill that we have not yet been able to pay.

She uses an economic analogy to explain this: it is a free insurance that we all share. Her message warns against taking for granted this protection. The solution to this common problem involves education, prevention, and restoration of damaged ecosystems. After retiring from competition, Zabell founded Ecomar over 27 years ago to give something back to the sea.

The foundation emphasizes education, awareness, and action as the most cost-effective way to protect marine ecosystems. Among these three verbs, the entity added "repair" a decade ago. If we do not start repairing what we have already destroyed, we are really too late. Ecomar currently works on replanting Posidonia oceanica, an endemic plant in the Mediterranean crucial for protecting coasts from storms and generating oxygen.

Zabell also points to another example, such as the recovery of red algae after restricting fishing. She emphasizes the need to let ecosystems rest to allow them to recover their balance. Education is the other major front for Ecomar, reaching around 100,000 children each year through schools, marine nurseries, and beaches. The organization conducts beach clean-ups to help participants understand how debris reaches the coast, why it is there, and how to prevent it from returning.

The future is changed today, not tomorrow, Zabell emphasizes. Her commitment began when she observed litter while sailing. A transparent fishing net prevented her from starting on the podium at an European championship. This experience changed her perspective: the sea went from being her playing field to her objective. She stresses the role of businesses in strengthening her work, as most of her funding is private.

Several companies have supported the project altruistically for over twenty years. Zabell also transfers the environmental challenge to the competitive rule of sailing. In this sport, there is no idle time. Reading signals and preparing before a wave arrives allows you to advance, while reacting late can leave competitors two waves ahead, a distance difficult to recover.

The goal, she concludes, requires a shared victory. The good news is that we are all on the same team, not seeking a gold medal. The objective is different: to obtain a medal that is blue on one side and green on the other, the medal that will allow us to continue living on this planet called Earth.