In July 2017, H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco initiated a flagship project for the Principality: the Explorations of Monaco. Created on the initiative of the Prince’s Government, they represent a real “platform” for H.S.H. Prince Albert II’s commitment to the knowledge, sustainable management and protection of the Ocean.
The Explorations of Monaco associates the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, the Oceanographic Institute, the Scientific Centre of Monaco and the Yacht Club of Monaco. They support the actions of these institutions through international missions that combine scientific research, public outreach and government cooperation.
Combining history and modernity
The program began on board a ship before moving to more flexible exploratory arrangements.
Whatever the means, on water or on land, the modernity of the Explorations of Monaco is to revive the great historical Expeditions of Prince Albert I, which were as much dedicated to the search for scientific truth as they were to humanism. Because the objective of this adventure is important: to reconcile humanity and the sea.
The first campaign in Macaronesia
Malpelo Island, Colombia: surrounded by sharks
Accompanied by Sandra Bessudo, a Franco-Colombian biologist and former Colombian Minister of the Environment, the Monaco Explorations teams travelled off the coast of Colombia, in the Eastern Pacific, to study, amongst other things, shark populations. This sanctuary, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is home to remarkable flora and fauna that should be better known…
Martinique: tagging sea turtles
The Explorations de Monaco teams also went to Martinique, in particular with the aim of assisting a CNRS research programme on marine turtles, led by Damien Chevallier. Awareness-raising operations were also carried out in certain schools, in the tradition of the Explorations de Monaco mediation.
BADU ISLAND, an encounter with the Torres Strait Islanders (Australia)
Between Australia and Papua New Guinea, the Torres Strait Islands are located at the junction of the Coral Sea and the Arafura Sea. The population, estimated at 7,000, is concentrated on only fourteen of the islands. Since their earliest childhood, the inhabitants of the Strait have been used to the harshness of the natural environment and to swimming among the “salties” – sea crocodiles – and sharks. They have an almost fusional relationship with this environment which nourishes them both physiologically and spiritually.
The islanders of the Torres Strait remain attached to the notion of clan, especially the family Kwod with its totems (crocodile, turtle, dugong, ray, emu…). The prerogative of the clan chief and the council of elders still prevails in many matters, including native title, the customary law of land settlement.
Mission Indian Ocean: Reunion, Mauritius and Seychelles
The mission of Explorations de Monaco in the western Indian Ocean is part of the Principality’s and its Sovereign’s commitment to the international community for the protection and sustainable management of the Ocean. The first component of the “Monaco Explorations” project approved as part of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030, the mission will run from October to November 2022 between Reunion Island, Mauritius and the Seychelles, aboard the South African oceanographic and supply vessel S.A. Agulhas II.
