Day: 30 October 2024

Following the signing of an important agreement between RAMOGE and the Pelagos Sanctuary in March, the two organisations have come together to host their first collaborative event on marine protections and projects at Sciences Po’s Middle East and Mediterranean campus in Menton.

On 15th October, the Communauté d’Agglomération de la Riviera Française (CARF) welcomed delegations from the RAMOGE Agreement and the Pelagos Sanctuary to the Sciences Po Middle East and Mediterranean campus in Menton.

RAMOGE was established in 1976 and seeks to promote tri-national cooperation between France, Italy, and Monaco regarding the protection of the nations’ coasts and marine environments. Pelagos, meanwhile, was founded in 2002 and focuses on the creation and management of marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Mediterranean, particularly aimed at conserving marine mammals within a designated sanctuary shared by France, Italy, and Monaco.

The two organisations signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding during Monaco Ocean Week 2024 in March, which laid the foundations for increased collaboration between RAMOGE and Pelagos going forward. The recent event is a direct result of this agreement and highlighted the efforts of RAMOGE and Pelagos to reduce pollution and enhance marine protections in the region.

Among those who attended the event were representatives from municipalities aligned with the Pelagos Partnership Charter, managers from Marine Protected Areas and National Parks within the Pelagos Sanctuary, Pelagos Ambassadors, and high-level officials from RAMOGE.

During the day-long event, the secretariats of both organisations shared updates on their initiatives designed to reduce pollution and enhance marine protections in the region, followed by two roundtable discussions: one on local government actions and Marine Protected Areas, and the other on fostering relationships with sailors through the Pelagos Ambassadors programme. These sessions generated valuable insights, which will be refined and presented to decision-making bodies in the coming months.

The day concluded with the unveiling of a mural commissioned from Monegasque artist Anthony Alberti, better known as Mr One Teas. This mural was created in collaboration with Sciences Po students and other participants and symbolises a united front for the preservation of the Mediterranean.

Organisers are hopeful that this event will catalyse expanded joint actions, positioning the Pelagos and RAMOGE Agreements as pivotal players in future Mediterranean environmental efforts.

Read related:

Monaco’s Oceanographic Institute champions biodiversity credits at COP16

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Photo credit: Adrien Poquet

The Oceanographic Institute, led by CEO Robert Calcagno, is advocating for high-integrity biodiversity credits as an essential tool for global conservation efforts. At COP16 in Cali, Colombia, the Institute has thrown its support behind a new framework from the International Advisory Panel on Biodiversity Credits (IAPB), which aims to build a credible, regulated market for these innovative financial instruments. 

“By creating innovative tools like biodiversity credits, we can generate the necessary funding to conserve and restore nature, while recognising the Earth’s limited resources,” said Robert Calcagno, a co-author of a recent op-ed in Nature Magazine.

The Oceanographic Institute’s commitment reflects its vision for a financial system that values environmental preservation. As co-chair of the IAPB’s ‘Knowledge Partners’ team, Calcagno noted the need for an evolution in economic thinking: “The profound reform of our society will not come from a brutal transformation but from a progressive evolution, where the logic of limitless growth must give way to a regulated approach aimed at preserving our planet and its biodiversity.” In collaboration with the World Economic Forum and the Biodiversity Credit Alliance, the IAPB’s framework aims to prevent pitfalls seen in other environmental markets, notably carbon credits, which Calcagno acknowledged may create “concerns” but insists that biodiversity credits are a “blank page” on which to create a positive impact.

The framework presented at COP16 is the result of an extensive international collaboration involving over 120 experts from more than 25 countries. These credits, as defined by the Biodiversity Credit Alliance, represent “a measured and evidence-based unit of positive biodiversity outcome that is durable and additional to what would have otherwise occurred.” Launched in 2023 by the UK and French governments, the IAPB seeks to guide biodiversity credit markets through credible, actionable standards, encouraging global governments and financial institutions to incorporate these credits into a conservation-driven economy.

Addressing the risks and concerns associated with biodiversity credits, Calcagno stressed the IAPB’s focus on creating well-structured and transparent rules to ensure the market operates with integrity: “It’s essential we take lessons from other markets. That’s precisely the purpose of this international working group.” By applying rigorous standards, the IAPB seeks to avoid the misuse seen in other environmental credit markets, ensuring that biodiversity credits achieve their intended impact.

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Photo credit: S N Pattenden, Unsplash