In a landmark collaboration aimed at preserving the fragile ecosystems of polar regions, the Monaco Oceanographic Institute and the Alfred Wegener Institute have forged a strategic alliance. The partnership, inaugurated in the presence of Prince Albert II of Monaco, signifies a profound commitment to scientific cooperation and public engagement in the realm of polar, marine, and coastal conservation.

Against the backdrop of the prestigious Polar Symposium hosted by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), and the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), the Oceanographic Institute and Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) penned a historic Memorandum of Understanding on 22nd February.

The AWI conducts research in the polar regions, and provides ships such as the research icebreaker Polarstern, as well as stations to the international scientific community.

This agreement pledges a concerted joint effort over the next five years to advance research, protection, and public awareness initiatives crucial for safeguarding polar biodiversity.

It will include collaborative research projects, the organisation of scientific events, and the exchange of information useful for research.

Shaping the future of polar conservation

The partnership strengthens the actions already being jointly undertaken by the Oceanographic Institute and AWI in supporting the creation of Marine Protected Areas.

An engagement journey organised by the Oceanographic Institute to the Antarctic Peninsula welcomed several scientists on board, facilitating the collection of data on the Danger Islands archipelago, a rarely visited part of the peninsula. This data: biological, ecological, topographical, and pollution-related, will be valuable to AWI and will contribute to discussions surrounding the creation of a Specially Protected Area of Antarctica (SPAA) on the Danger Islands, home to one of the largest penguin colonies in the world.

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Photo: Prince Albert II of Monaco with, from left to right, Robert Calcagno (Director General of the Oceanographic Institute), Timm A. Bergold (Honorary Consul of Germany in the Principality of Monaco), Prof. Dr Antje Boetius (Director of the Alfred Wegener AWI Institute), Henry Burgess (President of the International Arctic Science Committee IASC) and Cyril Gomez (Deputy Director General of the Oceanographic Institute). Source: Monaco Oceanographic Institute

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