Didier Gamerdinger took office as Minister for Health and Social Affairs on Thursday, June 1, 2017. Minister Gamerdinger has taken over from Stéphane Valeri, who served in the post for seven years.
Following his appointment, the Council of Ministers held its regular meeting.
The new minister, 57, has served as a Counsellor of the Prince’s Cabinet since November 1, 2009. He first worked for the Government of Monaco in January 1989 in the Department of the Interior, rising to the post of Director General from February 1995 until October 2009. He has qualified in international law and holds a diploma from the French Ministry of the Interior in security matters.
Among the posts he has held in Monaco, Minister Gamerdinger has served as a member of the board of the Monaco Scientific Centre, and of the board of the Princess Grace Hospital. He is married with two children, and a keen sailor.
The Club for Foreign Residents in Monaco (CREM) has celebrated its seventh anniversary on June 1.
Under the Presidency of Honour of HSH Prince Albert, CREM, which is a private club that promotes relations between its members and their integration into Monaco life, has more than 400 members, representing 45 different nationalities.
Since its creation, CREM has been involved in the attractiveness of the Principality by organising informational meetings for new residents in collaboration with government institutions, including the Welcome Office, which now holds sessions on the premises. But the club’s primary mission has always been to offer residents of all nationalities, ages and social backgrounds, a warm and welcoming place to meet other residents and understand the institutional, political and cultural life of the Principality.
From May, the club is also open in the morning. Members can enjoy the club facilities from Monday to Friday from 9 am to 12:30 pm and from 2 pm to 9 pm. CREM offers above all an ideal setting for appointments in complete peace and confidentiality, which is very much appreciated by the members.
CREM has organised more than 1,000 activities, workshops, visits and evenings over the past seven years, and has decided to focus its activities on exclusive or exceptional events, such as the private visit to the underground CERN facilities in Geneva which was organised in March.
The club also places a priority on developing relationships between members. This is why a new programme of activities aimed at strengthening the ties between members will be proposed in September, including the creation of “small dinners between members” which will make it possible to put the club’s dinner table to good use.
Monaco has successfully submitted a draft proposal to the 70th World Health Assembly on a plan for a modification of the World Health Organisation programme for the control of poliomyelitis. The draft was cosponsored by more than 50 States – including all the Member States of the European Union – and was adopted by consensus on May 29.
The Monegasque Government, which has been involved for several years in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, is currently one of the largest per capita donors. HE Carole Lanteri, Ambassador of Monaco, serves as co-chair of the Global Partners Group of this initiative.
Eradication of the disease is now possible and should occur in the years to come if all the partners remain committed, the Government says. From this perspective, the Global Initiative’s work is concentrated on three endemic countries and in about 15 priority states.
As part of the Larvotto land extension project, the Prince’s Government has launched an ambitious transplant operation for Posidonia, a protected underwater plant. A significant portion of the plants has been moved to two sites: within the Larvotto reserve and at the foot of the Fontvieille dyke.
Bouygues Travaux Publics, which is carrying out the maritime infrastructure works in collaboration with Trasomar and Andromède Océanologie, has just completed the transplantation of 500 square metres of the plant.
Posidonia oceanica is emblematic of the Mediterranean. Today it’s a protected species and constitutes a major marine ecosystem with a large biodiversity. It is also a source of oxygen and a trap for carbon.
There is currently no proven method for such a transplantation operation. Prior to the move, a scientific research operation was conducted to optimise posidonia displacement involving 637 metal baskets covered with canvas of biodegradable coconut fibres.
Pierre Descamp, managing director of Andromède Océanologie, has been involved in the project for more than two years. He said: “Replanting the posidonia in the reserve was quite simple: we dug several holes in the sediment to the width of our specimens and once the plant was installed, we filled the interstices. In order to maintain its characteristic structure in a herbarium, the baskets were tightened to the maximum.”
In Fontvieille, the relocation took place differently. Planters were installed 14 metres deep to accommodate the baskets. The baskets were set with sediment so that the plant could live and develop there.
Marie-Pierre Gramaglia, Minister of Public Works, Environment and Urban Development, said: “After the displacement of 147 large molluscs from the area of the future extension to the Larvotto reserve, transplantation of 500 square metres of posidonia is the second major operation in the preparatory environmental work. A follow-up over 10 years, will ensure the success of the movement of this protected and emblematic species.”
To mark World Environment Day, on Monday, June 5, the government has given details of its various initiatives within the Principality.
The Environment Directorate is responsible for the inventory and monitoring of marine and terrestrial species, which enable the assessment of ecosystem diversity, the quality of the environment and the relevance of management measures.
In regards to marine biodiversity, particular attention is paid to protected or heritage species, with: afollow-up, for more than 15 years, of the evolution of populations of brown groupers and corbs along the Monegasque coastline (193 brown groupers and 25 corbs recorded in 2015); a mapping of the giant mother-of-pearl that allowed to list more than 1,000 individuals and to monitor the dynamics of this population; a delimitation, using 48 beacons, in 2002, of all the lower limits of posidonia, making it possible to follow its evolution in the long term.
The Principality has also integrated the RESPIRE project, a new tool for monitoring the quality of ports in terms of biodiversity and the abundance of young. More than 40 artificial habitats called Biohut have been installed in the ports of Monaco by the Maritime Affairs Directorate since 2015. The objective is to develop their nursery functions and carry out scientific monitoring three times a year.
Programmes for the protection of terrestrial biodiversity also rely on the establishment of regular inventories. Various studies have made it possible to identify the fauna and flora and to discover, in particular, species of insects and rare invertebrates. The Principality is also home to 347 plant species including six endemic species and 18 with high heritage value. The Environment Directorate is following a particularly rare and threatened species – the Nivéole de Nice – which is present in the Principality.
The Rock has proved to be the refuge of a pair of peregrine falcons and its offspring. In 2011, three young peregrine falcons were spotted in one of the excavations overlooking the port of Fontvieille. The peregrine falcon is a protected and “protective” species with respect to certain invasive species. Its reproduction is a rare fact that testifies to good ecological conditions, necessary for this protected and emblematic species.
In 2015, the discovery of a successful nesting of the Mediterranean crested cormorant on the cliff of the Rock was the first official mention of the species in this sector of the Mediterranean coast. In the spring, the Environment Directorate confirmed the birth of six young crested cormorants. The population of crested cormorants on this site continues to grow with at least 15, and these new births confirm the good ecological status and the privileged nature of this natural site, representing an urban nesting site in a maritime cliff almost unique in its kind.
In order to bring young people closer to nature, the Directorate of Urban Development has been running, since 2011, a programme “Bees, sentinels of the environment”. The aim is to raise public awareness of the protection of this endangered species. Six hives and a number of insect hotels were installed in the Principality, reproducing the specific living areas of certain species, such as wild bees. These programs are made possible by the eco-management of green spaces and the creation of honey meadows by the Direction of Urban Development.
