January 26, 2010 – Monaco — The United Nations (UN) has decreed 2010 as the “International Year of Biodiversity”, with the goal of mobilizing the international community to protect the wealth and fragility of all forms of life that cover the notion of biodiversity.
The Principality of Monaco, the Government of Monaco, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and the Oceanographic Institute, Albert I Prince of Monaco Foundation, are all proud to announce they will be involved in numerous national and international activities throughout the year, dedicated to biodiversity awareness and preservation as implemented by all United Nations member states.
The Government of Monaco will support lectures and workshops which will take place during the Monacology Fair and on World Environment Day. An information sheet on Mediterranean seaweed for the general public will be produced in partnership with the Oceanographic Museum.
Artificial reefs are to be created in the Principality’s coastal waters in 2010. This new habitat will improve living conditions for the marine life within the Monégasque coast. Compiling inventories of marine and land species will continue – this involves finalizing the mapping of pen shells (Pinna Nobilis) in the Larvotto reserve, monitoring the population as well as continuing the study on the colonization dynamics of the secondary jetty of Port Hercule.
A draft Sovereign Order will be finalized in 2010, in accordance with the Code of the Sea, with the purpose of protecting marine biodiversity. An inventory of avifauna (birds) will be completed – along the same lines as inventories on wild flora (plant life) and entomofauna (insects). The Government of Monaco and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation have signed a partnership agreement with the Parc National du Mercantour and the Parco Naturale delle Alpi Marittime, which includes awareness activities and an all-taxa biodiversity inventory for the entire territory of the two parks.
A task force managed by the Monaco Scientific Centre (CSM) and the IAEA has been set up to examine the relationship between the state of marine biodiversity and the economy. This is being carried out in the same spirit as the TEEB (the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity) process supported by the European Union and Germany within the framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity. The Task Force is currently working on a conference project focused on the economic impact of ocean acidification.
The Government of Monaco has contributed financially towards the production of technical sheets on “Biodiversity in French-speaking Areas” which will be produced by the IEPF (Francophone Institute of Energy and the Environment) with the technical and scientific support of the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature). These sheets will be presented at the next conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Nagoya in October 2010.
The Government of Monaco, within the context of its international cooperation policy, couples development with preservation of biodiversity in several projects. The goal is to support economic development that is compatible with the objectives to conserve species and their habitats. Such cooperation takes on the form of aid to NGOs and public authorities for the creation and management of protected areas, specific measures to reduce conflicts between man and nature, the promotion of biological wealth by developing eco-friendly economic activities such as eco-tourism, and improved knowledge of species and their environment (research, management capability).
To this end, projects have been implemented in the Pacific (Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and Ecuador): management of a large marine area including the Galapagos and the Cocos Islands, in Madagascar (creation and development of protected areas, conservation of endangered species), in Mozambique (skill building for the management of a marine protected area) and in Slovenia (study and protection of biodiversity on various sites). On an international level, the State Services will continue their participation in conferences and meetings for environmental conventions and agreements on biodiversity protection to which the Principality is a party.
Monaco hosted the “International Coral Reef Initiative” (ICRI) meeting (Jan 12-15, 2010) – the International Coral Reef Initiative has been co-presided over by France, Monaco and Samoa since July 1 2009 (and runs until June 30, 2011).
Furthermore, the Monégasque authorities took part in the high-level event organized by UNESCO for the launch of International Biodiversity Year in Paris on January 21-22, 2010.
A key event in March 2010, will be participation by Monaco in the 15th Conference of the Parties to the CITES (Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) which is being held in Doha, Qatar from March 13-25, 2010. The Principality has proposed an amendment to this Convention, with the aim of listing the blue fin tuna in appendix I of CITES, i.e. the prohibition of the international trade of this particularly endangered species.
Finally, among the major meetings in the Principality this year, the 4th Meeting of the ACCOBAMS Contracting Parties (Agreement of the Conservation of Cetaceans in the Black Sea, the Mediterranean and the Contiguous Atlantic Area) will take place in Monaco in November 2010.
Because the tropical rainforest is a hotspot for world biodiversity, on January 28, 2010, MC2D and the Prince Albert II Foundation are launching the initiative “Monaco Makes a Commitment Against Deforestation” to promote the use, in Monaco, of wood from sustainably managed forests among companies and public authorities. On the same day, a photographic exhibition entitled “Wealth of the Tropical Rainforest” will take place in the Galerie des Pêcheurs.
MC2D and the Prince Albert II Foundation, with the Government of Monaco, wish to make the Principality of Monaco a model for the use of wood-related products. The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation also supports other forest projects: the education and strengthening of the Kayapo Indians’ culture in the Amazonian Forest, the preservation of the Siberut primary forest in Indonesia, a study with the Global Canopy Program on the economic value of tropical rainforests and the creation of new natural parks in the heart of Amazonian Peru with The Field Museum in Chicago.
Other exhibitions, conferences and round tables on biodiversity will be held throughout 2010 for and by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.
The “Monaco Blue Initiative” jointly organized by the Oceanographic Institute, Albert I Prince of Monaco Foundation and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, will be held for the first time as part of the centenary celebrations of the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco, on March 31 and April 1, 2010. This event will provide an opportunity for thirty or so internationally renowned figures to discuss the preservation of marine species and the protection of the fragile balance that exists between man and the ocean. “The Biodiversity of the Ocean Depths” and “Large Marine Predators: A Cornerstone of the Ecosystems” will be the themes.
On November 18, 2010, following a day of discussions and meetings on Mediterranean biodiversity, the Oceanographic Institute, Albert I Prince of Monaco Foundation, is organizing an exhibition “Let the Mediterranean Live”. This event will place the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco, on the occasion of its centenary, at the heart of the movement to preserve the Mediterranean Sea. The exhibition will offer the public the chance to discover the Mediterranean via exceptional images and unusual objects, and will turn the spotlight on current preservation measures and highlight the efforts each of us can make on a daily basis towards preservation and conservation.
For more information:
Department for the Environment: environment@gouv.mc
Office of International Cooperation: coopint@troisseptsept.mc
Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation: ipeters@fpa2.mc
Prince Albert I Foundation/Oceanographic Museum: musee@oceano.mc
Department of International Affairs: cvanklaveren@gouv.mc
DPOI: pvanklaveren@gouv.mc