Page 5 - Livre_MOW2024_EN

Bringing together individuals from diverse backgrounds to create common
solutions together, addressing environmental issues without separating
them from the human development needs, thinking about our immediate
future while bearing in mind the long and very long-term prospects... Those
ambitions, which guided us in 2010, are still relevant, I think, today. […]

There used to be just a few enthusiasts who advocated for the sea, a few ad hoc
initiatives to protect exceptional ecosystems and endangered species. Now there is a
global movement. And there is growing awareness of the fact that the Ocean is not just
another piece of the puzzle for our future, but that it holds within it, most of the keys
that will determine this future, from the climate to biodiversity, from food to health,
from peace to the economy.

These changes have materialized through several key moments over the past fifteen
years, moments of which we should be proud. […]

Of course, this progress has not yet been enough to reverse the trend of degradation –
and sometimes even destruction – of our Ocean which prompted the creation of the
Monaco Blue Initiative. On the contrary, for fifteen years these disturbing trends have
continued, year after year, and the findings of scientists are still extremely alarming.

However, we are no longer powerless in the face of this sad and dramatic news.
We have the knowledge gained from our experience, new tools, and even greater
resources. […]

This is the imperative today that brings us here together, as it has for the last fifteen
years: to pool our knowledge, our experience, our resources, our energy, our
associations, our institutions, our businesses, in clear support of the Ocean and the sea.

Excerpt from the address by HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, during the 15th edition of the
Monaco Blue Initiative on 18 March 2024.

HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco