Blue Earth Summit

UNEP Patron of the Oceans

Lewis Pugh Foundation

Lewis Pugh is an endurance swimmer, maritime lawyer, and UNEP’s Patron of the Oceans. For nearly 40 years, he has pioneered swims in some of the most extreme and fragile environments on Earth to campaign for their protection.

He was the first person to complete a long-distance swim in every ocean of the world, the first to swim across the North Pole, and the first to swim the full length of the English Channel. Earlier this year, he swam around Martha’s Vineyard on the 50th anniversary of Jaws to draw attention to the urgent need to protect sharks.

Lewis is a much sought-after speaker on leadership, resilience, and change. He shares lessons from swims that were once thought “impossible”, and the campaigns that followed to secure protection for our oceans. TED describes him as a “master story-teller”, and his book Achieving the Impossible became an international bestseller.

Through the Lewis Pugh Foundation, he has helped safeguard over 3.5 million km² of ocean - an area larger than Western Europe. The Foundation’s work focuses on protecting the most biodiverse and vulnerable marine ecosystems, because that is where the future of our oceans will be decided.

Lewis has received many honours for his work, including being recognised by National Geographic as one of the world’s leading change-makers, and awarded South Africa’s highest honour, the Order of Ikhamanga (Gold Class).