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Month: August 2020

Monaco backs projects reducing Med plastic pollution

by: Cassandra Tanti
26/08/2020

BeMed, founded by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, has unveiled the latest five projects that it will support in their efforts to reduce plastic pollution in the Mediterranean islands.
Because of its closed sea topography, the intensity of maritime transport and the industrial and tourist activities it concentrates, the Mediterranean is particularly impacted by plastic pollution. With 1 to 10 million plastic particles per square kilometre, it is probably the most polluted sea in the world.
Faced with this reality, Beyond Plastic Med (BeMed), founded by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, the MAVA Foundation, Surfrider Europe Foundation, the Tara Ocean Foundation and the IUCN, is working with stakeholders in the field to reduce this pollution at the source. 53 micro-initiatives, supported by BeMed, have already been implemented in 15 countries of the Mediterranean basin.
On 1st April, BeMed launched a call for more projects, specifically targeting the Mediterranean islands – tourist hotspots that are strongly impacted by plastic pollution, providing opportunities to test and implement sustainable solutions anchored locally.
On Tuesday 25th August, it was announced that five projects have been selected to amplify the efforts of the BeMed network:
Together for zero plastic in 10 Albanian islands
This project is led by a consortium of associations – the Royal Albania Foundation, Women Rights Albania Association, Agriculture University of Tirana, Doctor Veterinarian in Community Association and the company 3k shpk– aims to reduce plastic pollution on 10 tourist islands in Albania. It relies on the involvement of municipalities to define a sustainable waste management strategy and develop regulations limiting the use of plastic on the islands. Support for businesses and tourists will facilitate the implementation of these regulations.
Plastistop – JLIJ Association for the Marine Environment
The main objective of this project is to improve the collection and recycling of plastic on the island of Djerba in Tunisia. It includes the implementation of selective sorting for 100 households and the installation of adequate equipment in strategic areas of the island. It will be accompanied by several awareness-raising activities among the population, tourists and fishermen.
For plastic free Croatian Islands – Association for Nature, Environment and Sustainable Development Sunce
This project aims to reduce the production of waste on two Croatian islands. By working with local stakeholders, an action plan based on the reduction of single-use plastics will be developed and implemented. The population will be involved and made aware of the problem and existing solutions to facilitate the transition. An experience-sharing component with stakeholders from other Croatian islands is planned to replicate the approach.
Plastic Free Balearic – Save the Med and Ibiza Preservation
This project aims to establish a common ‘plastic free’ certification in the tourism sector of the Balearic Islands.  In particular, it plans to evaluate and identify the most relevant alternatives to single-use plastics in the local context. It is based on an already active network of hotels, restaurants, and cafés, where the certification will be tested in more than 150 businesses.
Projet pilote Zero plastique sur l’archipel des îles d’Or et réplication en méditerranée – Small Islands Organisation (SMILO)
The aim of this project is to set up, in the “îles d’Or”, a micro-process to produce alternatives to single-use plastic made of waste from Provence cane farming. These alternatives will be designed, used, sorted, and composted locally. The project also plans to replicate this approach on the Kerkennah Islands, Tunisia, with residues and by-products from date palms, and on the island of Tavolara, Italy, with cork.
The call for projects is supported by the MAVA Foundation.
 
Photo: Balearic Islands, Ibiza, Pixabay
 

Code orange on Monaco for Netherlands

by: Cassandra Tanti
26/08/2020

The Netherlands is the latest country to issue a warning against all travel to Monaco while putting in place a 10-day quarantine for visitors coming from the Principality.
The government gave its new travel advisory to residents of the Netherlands at midnight Tuesday, upgrading its warning to orange for Monaco, Spain, three regions of France, and also the Scottish city of Aberdeen in the United Kingdom, advising against all but necessary travel.
“The number of coronavirus infections is increasing in various places in Europe,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “The travel advice for these Covid-19 risk areas will therefore be adjusted on the advice of the RIVM.”
The new regions of France that have gone orange are the Alpes-Maritimes, Sarthe and Hérault.
Anyone entering the Netherlands after visiting these areas, as well as residents from Monaco, will be instructed to enter home quarantine for 10 days upon arrival, the Ministry said.
 
Photo: Rotterdam, Pixabay
 
 

Endurance athlete joins team Notorious

by: Cassandra Tanti
25/08/2020

Team Notorious has evened the playing field for the upcoming water bike challenge, bringing Guinness World Record holder Mathew Bennett on to the team led by Gareth Wittstock. 
Mathew Bennett is no stranger to endurance. The British national entered the record books in 2016 after he and his team spent 50 continuous days rowing unaided across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe to South Africa. He has also crossed the Gobi desert on foot, and finished 8th in the longest canoe race in the world – the Yukon 1,000.
He will certainly be a force for team Notorious, who will go up against team Serenity on 12th and 13th September for The Crossing: Calvi to Monaco, a 180-kilometre relay across the Mediterranean Sea.
The adventure, organised by the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation, is designed to raise awareness about water safety.
Mathew Bennett will join world champion fighter Conor McGregor on team Notorious, led by Gareth Wittstock, brother of Princess Charlene and General Secretary of her Foundation.
Team Serenity is so far comprised of Australian racing cyclist David Tanner and French swimmer Yannick Angel. Heading the team is, of course, Princess Charlene herself.
With two weeks to go before the starting gun is sounded, we wait with excitement to see the final members of each team.

Using technology to “fill” empty stadiums

by: Stephanie Horsman
25/08/2020

A new technology that makes semi-filled stadiums appear full was utilised during the recent Herculis games in Monaco, helping athletes keep their mojo while giving spectators a more authentic experience.
On 14th August, the Herculis EBS meet, the first major sporting event in Monaco since the pandemic stopped everything, came to Stade Louis II. There were 5,000 people present in a stadium with a capacity for 16,000, as health measures prevented a larger number from attending. 5,000 may seem like a huge number, and it is, but with over two-thirds of the stadium empty, it certainly would not have the energy of a “normal” sporting event.
Except it did. A new technology developed by Australian start-up AFX Global was able to recreate an atmosphere through a system that sent out pre-registered cheers, making the stadium feel almost as lively as if it were completely full.
The company has built a real-time audio effects engine – the world’s first AI-led crowd synthesis engine, generating excitement from the real sounds of live supporters. It is a welcome invention, giving both sides the rush of excitement needed to spur on athletes and give fans a genuine feel.
The system works with an integrated hardware and software platform that delivers typical crowd noises heard at athletic meets at just the right moments. A dedicated sound engineer orchestrates the show in real-time mimicking an actual event’s noise and excitement levels.
An extensive library gleaned from previous events make this possible and the system has the capability to create new sounds so that it is not a continuous loop of old ones.
“Creating stages for our athletes is one of our core tasks,” World Athletics event presentation manager Florian Weber said. “Given the circumstances we have to be creative and innovative to find new ways to make these stages still the best ones to compete, even without spectators.
“Ghost events don’t have to be silent. Our Atmosphere Project will create an environment that athletes are used to, help them to compete and perform better and at the same time enhance the viewer experience for the TV audience. We’re thankful to be able to use the Wanda Diamond League to implement this World Athletics innovation.”
The technology was also used at the Diamond League Games in Stockholm last weekend, and will be used at upcoming games in Brussels on 4th September.
 
 

Germany issues Riviera travel warning/quarantine

by: Stephanie Horsman
25/08/2020

The German Foreign Minister issued a travel warning on Monday for Paris and the French Riviera due to the sharp rise in Covid cases.

The foreign ministry in Berlin has cautioned against unnecessary trips to both Ile-de-France, which includes Paris, and the Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur (PACA) region, as a result of the rising number of coronavirus cases in both places.

There were nearly 5,000 new cases reported in France on 23rd August, an alarmingly high number for a single day, with the figures hitting 2,000 the following day.

Travellers returning to Germany from the regions will undergo screening tests for the virus and a two-week quarantine period if the test proves positive. This comes just 10 days after the United Kingdom placed quarantine restrictions on passengers arriving from France.

The Alpes-Maritimes health agency reported 13 new clusters and two additional deaths in the region on Monday. New cases are on the rise with eight new admissions into intensive care units, after a period of several weeks of respite.

Monaco has also seen more new cases, with a total of 121 residents affected by Covid-19 to date.

 
 

Beating quarantine

by: Stephanie Horsman
25/08/2020

Some travellers are trying to beat UK quarantine by flying out of Italy or other non-blacklisted countries to avoid quarantine measures. But it is not as simple as it sounds.

When infection rates in both France and Monaco started rise a few weeks back, the UK took a stance on what to do with visitors and residents arriving into the country. Following a similar protocol to that which saw two-week quarantine measures put in place with arrivals from other countries such as Spain and Portugal, the government implemented the same with French and Monaco residents.

This move prompted a mass exodus of people trying to return under the wire before the 16th August cut-off date. But there were many who either could not or chose not to return and a portion of these have made a concerted effort to “beat” the system by flying back to the UK from destinations which are not on the blacklist.

For Monaco and French travellers, the most obvious choice has been to fly out of Italy. Just flying out from a country not on the list does not eliminate the need for quarantine, though.

Every passenger arriving into the UK must fill out a Covid declaration form that states not only personal information, travel information and where you will be staying whilst in the country, but also where you had been for the previous two weeks.

It is at this point that individual decisions are made. Either these people decamp to Italy or another non-blacklisted country for a two week stay prior to returning to the UK, they go for a few days to reduce the quarantine time, or they falsify the declaration and say that they have been in the country where they flew from for at least a fortnight, causing a potentially dangerous situation for themselves and others.

The fine for lying on the form can be steep. It ranges from £100 to £1,000 for quarantine non-compliance or refusing to fill out the form, though the moral issue involved may be the more pressing. By coming from a high-risk area and “cheating” the system, it potentially puts others at risk and may spread the disease. Clearly, flying and travelling is risky full stop in these difficult times, so it could be argued that no matter where a person flies from, there is chance of catching or passing on the virus.

The UK has not issued many fines for breaches, only 10 as of 14th August, but authorities claim that is because most people are in compliance. 

In the end, it comes down to each person’s moral compass, as well as assessing whether one’s personal lifestyle puts them in a higher risk category for catching or spreading the disease.