A Kenyan coral reef scientist, a Swedish wave energy company and a Chadian defender of Indigenous peoples’ rights have been honoured by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, as it marked 20 years of environmental work at its annual Planetary Health Awards in Monaco.

Prince Albert II presented the awards to Dr David Obura, CorPower Ocean and Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim on Friday 16th October in front of nearly 400 guests at the Salle des Étoiles of the Sporting Monte-Carlo, where oceanographer Dr Sylvia Earle delivered the keynote address.

Twenty years of the Foundation

Opening the ceremony, the Prince chose to dedicate his speech not to the Foundation’s achievements but to the people behind them, over two decades in which it has carried out more than 850 projects.

“Although the PA2 MF is named after one man, it could just as well bear the name of many others who have made it what it is today. It is to them – to you – that I would like to pay tribute,” he said.

He thanked the Foundation’s donors for their moral as well as financial support. “Knowing that you believe in us helps us move forward, especially when bad news follows bad news, as is so often the case when it comes to the environment, unfortunately,” he said.

The Prince credited scientists with two landmark moments for Monaco: the 2009 Monaco Declaration, which warned the world about ocean acidification, and the presentation of the IPCC’s Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in the Principality ten years later. “Their research brings us knowledge and hope. Their ability to innovate determines our ability to take action,” he said.

From monk seals to the high seas

Among the results achieved alongside partners in the field, the Prince highlighted the population of the Mediterranean monk seal, one of the region’s most endangered marine mammals, which he said had doubled “in just a few years”, as well as projects developing alternative energy in Africa, protecting forests in South-East Asia and tackling plastic pollution in the Mediterranean.

He also pointed to the Foundation’s work with business, through the Monaco Blue Initiative, the ReOcean Fund, the Ocean Innovators Platform and the Blue Economy and Finance Forum, which he said drew more than 2,000 participants from over 100 countries to Monaco last year and generated investment commitments of more than €8 billion.

Recalling that he attended the Rio Earth Summit with his father, Prince Rainier III, in 1992, the Prince said environmental protection had moved up the international agenda over the past 20 years, citing the recovery of Mediterranean bluefin tuna, the global ’30×30′ initiative to protect 30% of the planet’s land and sea by 2030, the creation of the world’s largest marine protected area in Antarctica in 2016 and, in January this year, the entry into force of the first global agreement to protect the high seas.

“These are victories that required time, perseverance and a ‘hint’ of diplomacy,” he said.

He closed by turning to the French writer and aviator. “Antoine de Saint-Exupéry wrote that fraternity ‘is forged through a shared commitment to something greater than oneself.’ That is what we have experienced together for twenty years: a commitment to a cause that transcends us yet unites us; a collective hope that brings together women and men from a wide variety of backgrounds; and fraternity formed through shared aspirations and enduring friendships. I know and I’m sure this spirit will inspire us for the next twenty years… and beyond, we hope!”

Science: Dr David Obura

The Science award went to Dr David Obura, a Kenyan marine ecologist who has spent more than 30 years studying the biodiversity of coral reefs, their resilience and their vulnerability to climate change, as well as what their decline means for the communities who depend on them. He founded CORDIO East Africa and has chaired IPBES, the UN-backed intergovernmental science body on biodiversity, since 2023.

“I am so honoured to receive this award on science in relation to planetary health. It marks a transition from my past work on coral reefs – showing how we are still accelerating to a precipice of coral reef decline, though solutions are essentially known – to my present and future work on the understanding of how our economies and finance must be reconnected with nature’s limits and societal needs, not the other way around,” said Dr Obura.

Innovation and Solutions: CorPower Ocean

Swedish company CorPower Ocean, which develops machines that convert the motion of waves into electricity, received the Innovation and Solutions award. Its patented WaveSpring technology is designed to capture wave energy efficiently while surviving the harshest ocean conditions. Last year, the company secured European Union backing for VianaWave, a 15-megawatt wave farm off the coast of Portugal, which is expected to use 45 converters to produce around 46 gigawatt hours of electricity a year.

“Wave energy is a field where Europe leads. We have the opportunity to build a new homegrown industry, with sustainable jobs and clean, competitive power from our own coastlines. And we can build it in harmony with the oceans, protecting the sea life we share them with,” said Patrik Möller, the company’s CEO and co-founder.

Awareness: Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim

The Awareness award was presented to Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, a member of the Mbororo pastoralist community in Chad, who has spent more than 15 years campaigning for the rights of Indigenous peoples and for their traditional knowledge to be recognised in responses to climate change. As founder of the Association of Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad, she combines advocacy on the international stage with work on the ground, including participatory mapping projects that draw on local communities’ knowledge of natural resources.

“My mission is simple: make our knowledge heard, protect our rights and ensure our people is not left behind. (…) This award is a responsibility to go further, for my people, for Indigenous people, for our planet, and for the generations to come,” she said.

‘Her Deepness’ on the ocean

The evening’s keynote came from Dr Sylvia Earle, the American oceanographer nicknamed ‘Her Deepness’, National Geographic’s Explorer at Large and a long-standing friend of the Prince and his Foundation.

“Now is time like never before and maybe as never again, we must protect the ocean as if our lives depend on it; because it does. We are close to tipping the planetary boundaries until they will not recover but have the chance now to change the trajectory to tip in the right direction. With knowing there is caring and with caring there is hope that we can find an enduring place for ourselves within the natural living system,” she said.

Monaco Life is written by qualified journalists, writing original content. Sign up for our free newsletter, listen to our podcasts on Spotify, and follow us across Facebook,  Instagram, LinkedIn, and Tik Tok.

Main photo credit: Ed Wright