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Day: 20 April 2021

Chance to save coral reefs is diminishing, say experts

by: Cassandra Tanti
20/04/2021

The timeline to protect coral reefs is closing fast, according to a new report written in part by researchers from the Scientific Centre of Monaco, which states that saving coral reefs should be given the same effort and funding as other grand challenges such as landing on the moon.
More than 500 million people depend directly on coral reefs for food production, shoreline protection and livelihoods. These reefs are hot spots, the marine equivalent of tropical forests. However, since the 1980s, they have experienced a significant increase in mass bleaching and mortality events as a result of global warming.
In an article published in the journal Biological Conservation, 21 international experts from seven countries, including two researchers from the Scientific Centre of Monaco, demonstrate that the degradation of coral reefs will continue to escalate, threatening their survival over the course of this century.
“Climate mitigation is the foremost and essential action to prevent coral reef ecosystem collapse,” reads the report. “Without it, reefs will become extremely diminished within the next 20 to 30 years. Even with strong climate mitigation, however, existing conservation measures such as marine protected areas and fisheries management are no longer sufficient to sustain the ecosystem and many additional and innovative actions to increase reef resilience must also be taken.”
Experts assessed the effectiveness and timeliness of 16 proposed measures to save coral reefs. Their analysis shows that the window for action is closing fast and that these measures will need to be part of an organised strategy, requiring strong government support and investments comparable to those applied to other major challenges facing humanity, such as the conquest of the moon.
“It is no longer time for discussion but for action if we want to save the first ecosystem that is in danger of disappearing because of human activities,” say the authors of the report.
They are calling for strong coordination between disciplines and governments, saying that this coordination should ideally take advantage of the many existing organisations and networks such as ICRI, of which the Principality of Monaco is currently vice-president, as well as governmental organisations, NGOs and private institutions that are already partnering to achieve common goals.
 
Photo by Marek Okon on Unsplash
 
 

Formula E will race on full Monaco GP circuit

by: Stephanie Horsman
20/04/2021

The Monaco E-Prix will for the first time ever utilise the full 3.32-kilometre track layout in its 8th May event thanks to the introduction of a new car whose features have increased performance and range.
This year’s Monaco E-Prix will be one for the history books. Not only will the event go forward in unprecedented pandemic conditions requiring serious people and health- safety management, but it will also be racing the full Monaco Grand Prix track for the first time.
The 3.32-kilometre course will be at the disposal to the E-Prix because of a new Gen2 car which allows LED lights on the halo to light up as cars race through the legendary Monaco tunnel for the first time.
The circuit won’t be exactly the same as for the Formula 1 Grand Prix, though. There will be a change to Sainte Devote, a throwback to the original 1929 design, making the first corner a big right-hander. Turn 11 at the tunnel’s exit will also be slightly modified for the E-Prix.
Formula E chief championship officer Alberto Longo has expressed his delight in the decision, saying, “In many ways, this circuit is made for Formula E – it’s a fast and narrow street circuit which will see plenty of opportunities for overtaking and will really test driver’s energy management with sharp inclines and high-speed sections.
“The FIA and the ACM are allowing us to race around corners steeped in motorsport tradition and we are honoured that Formula E will be creating its own history on 8th May.”
“I’m glad to see the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship back in the Principality,” added FIA President Jean Todt. “It is in the series’ DNA to compete on streets circuits and Monaco is one of the most iconic tracks in the world. This discipline has its own identity, that’s why, together with Formula E and the ACM, we’ve designed a bespoke layout which suits its particularities.”
The Monaco E-Prix has been around since 2015 and is raced every two years.
 
 

April is gender equality in professional life month  

by: monacoadmin
20/04/2021

The Committee for the Promotion and Protection of Women’s Rights is launching a new gender equality campaign, this time focusing on the workplace.

The Committee for the Promotion and Protection of Women’s Rights is spending the month of April getting the word out about gender equality in the professional world. Their new campaign features posters displaying both women and men in non-traditional work environments, such as a woman working in construction and a man working in an early childhood development centre, with the slogan “Everyone has their place” emblazoned on it.

The point is to remind the public that no one is limited by their gender from doing a job they love. The committee also hopes to “deconstruct clichés to raise awareness that there are still inequalities in professions”, but that attitudes can and are being changed through education.

To this end, Monaco is teaching kindergarten aged children, both boys and girls, how to code.

The campaign used statistics from IMSEE, the nation’s statistics provider, which showed that 25% of women worked in the male-heavy communications and information sectors, and only 9% were employed in construction jobs.

In traditionally female occupations such as administration, education and health, and social action sectors, 29% of those workers were men.

The Committee for the Promotion and Protection of Women’s Rights fights against discrimination of any kind in the workplace, including sexual discrimination in the form of women receiving less pay for equal work, being overlooked for promotions, as well as sexual harassment whereby a woman feels her dignity or rights have been violated by another in the work environment.

Its main role is to implement, monitor and asses national measures and policies which promote gender equality and prevent violence and discrimination against women. 

 
 

Super League a “surprise” to AS Monaco

by: Stephanie Horsman
20/04/2021

The world of football was rocked on Sunday when it was announced that 12 football clubs are breaking away to form a new European Super League that’s set to rival, and hope to eventually replace, the Champions League. 
The European Super League has been greeted with some pretty strong emotion. Primarily, there is outrage mixed with disgust at what many are seeing as a ploy to make money, which, like any business venture, it is.
The new Super League clubs are defending themselves saying that “the formation of the Super League comes at a time when the global pandemic has accelerated the instability in the existing European football economic model. Further, for a number of years, the Founding Clubs have had the objective of improving the quality and intensity of existing European competitions throughout each season, and of creating a format for top clubs and players to compete on a regular basis.
“The pandemic has shown that a strategic vision and a sustainable commercial approach are required to enhance value and support for the benefit of the entire European football pyramid.”
The 12 founding member clubs include six English Premier League teams Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham, plus AC Milan, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Juventus and Real Madrid.
Notably missing are French champions Paris Saint-Germain and German heavyweights Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich, who have so far decided against joining.
The timing of the announcement came just hours before the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) was set to discuss reforms in the Champions League. The proposed reforms were going to be an attempt to compromise with the clubs offering them more matches per season. They were to begin in 2024, expanding the Champions League to 36 teams and adding a full 100 matches to the format, going from 125 to 225.
The reorganisations were meant to be an olive branch to many of the now-break-away teams.
UEFA has since lashed back in an official statement that read, “The clubs concerned will be banned from playing in any other domestic competition, European or international level, and the players could be denied the opportunity to represent their national teams.”
As the news trickled out, other clubs slowly began to express their opinions, including AS Monaco, who have a shot at returning to the Champions League next season.
“This news of the creation of the Super League surprises us a lot. At the moment, we are focusing on the championship and the building of the club,” said Oleg Petrov, AS Monaco’s Vice-President, rather lukewarmly of the news when speaking to RMC Sport.
 
 

Incidence rate falls significantly

by: Cassandra Tanti
20/04/2021

Circulation of the Covid-19 virus in the Principality has dropped dramatically, with the incidence rate now sitting at around 63. It’s a similar story in the Alpes-Maritimes where circulation has finally dropped below national levels.
The incidence rate, calculated per 100,000 inhabitants, is used by governments in their decisions about whether to apply or remove certain restrictions.
Monaco has consistently tested between 4,000 to 5,000 residents and non-residents each week, providing a clear indication of how active the coronavirus is in the Principality.
On Monday, health authorities revealed that the incidence rate had dropped to 62.58. At the end of February and in late March it had peaked at 226.
Of the 4,190 people tested in Monaco last week, only 2.22% returned a positive result.
It’s an encouraging evolution of the health situation that is being mirrored in the neighbouring Alpes-Maritimes region, which has been under tight restrictions for months. There, the incidence rate has dropped to 229 after peaking at 642 in late February. As of Friday, France’s national incidence rate was 342.19.
On Friday 16th April, the Monegasque government revealed that the Principality has now vaccinated 12,094 people, equivalent to 31.82% of the population, with their first jab. Meanwhile, 10,859 of those vaccinated have also received their second shot.
The favourable conditions have allowed authorities to lift some restrictions in Monaco from Monday 26th April. Restaurants will be allowed to reopen for dinner service, sports activities will resume in schools, and the evening curfew has been pushed back one hour to 9pm.
 
READ ALSO: Monaco eases some restrictions
 
Photo by Michael Alesi/Government Communication Department