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OCEAN GOVERNANCE | 9

On 20 March 2023, in the plenary room at the "The ocean is a vital part of our history, culture, and
Oceanographic Museum of Monaco, leading re- our relationship with the world", he continued, "We
search panellists, including high-ranking officials and must shoulder our historical responsibilities, passing
political representatives, took part in the panel ses- them on to our children and the generations that
sions throughout the day focused on ocean conser- follow." The President highlighted the critical issue
vation and restoration, with an emphasis on the of seabed mining, reiterating Costa Rica's commit-
Mediterranean. The 14 Monaco Blue Initiative was ments on the subject and calling for the precautionary
th
structured around four themes and attracted a record approach: "The only way to comply with Article 145
number of participants, with over 180 attendees from of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the
every continent. Sea is not to exploit any part of the seabed without
the sufficient scientific data needed to make informed
For the opening of the event, jointly organised by the decisions and effectively protect the marine environ-
Oceanographic Institute, Prince Albert I Foundation, ment."
and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation,
the Sovereign highlighted a significant develop-
ment in ocean conservation: “The adoption on “We should adhere to true multilateralism
4 March 2023 of the High Seas Treaty, which and firmly protect the ocean under
covers more than 60% of the world's ocean, international law”.
comes after two decades of intense nego- Huang Runqiu, Minister of Ecology
tiations, much lobbying efforts, moments of and the Environment, People's Republic
doubt too, and sometimes even pessimism. of China

Thanks to this agreement, we will finally have le-
gal backing to effectively protect international waters
by creating marine protected areas on the high seas, In addition to the platform's four themed sessions,
which I have advocated for a long time, while also en- moderated by Yalda Hakim, chief presenter and in-
suring a fair distribution of products derived from bio- ternational correspondent at BBC World News, the
logical resources." The Sovereign spoke of the efforts programme included speeches from government re-
of the Monegasque community and other pioneering presentatives from China, the Seychelles, the United
countries, such as Costa Rica and the Seychelles, in States, Spain, and France.
their support of the commitment to protect 30% of
ecosystems by 2030. Encouraging decision makers The Monaco Blue Initiative, which brings together the
to become closely involved in conservation objec- expertise of leaders in ocean conservation and go-
tives, HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco called upon us vernance, as well as blue economy and blue finance,
to “inventing a development model capable of recon- politics, and civil society, has once again provided
ciling man and the ocean”. a valuable forum for reflection and collaboration on
priority directions in terms of sustainability and res-
The President of the Republic of Costa Rica, HE ponsibility towards the ocean.
Rodrigo Chaves Robles, declared "I come from a
small country, but one that is taking action", pointing
out that his country already protects over 30% of its
maritime territory, spread across two oceans.