Monaco Blue Initiative: identifying the multidimensional challenges to the Mediterranean Sea

• A 14th edition of the Monaco Blue Initiative (MBI) led by the Foundation of the Oceanographic Institute of Monaco was organized in March 2023.
• The UfM Secretary General Nasser Kamel was among the main key speakers invited to this discussion platform. He underlined the importance of Mediterranean cross-shore cooperation and partnerships in anticipating and tackling the effects of climate change in the region.

20 March 2023, Monaco – Invited by the Foundation of Prince Albert II, UfM Secretary General Nasser Kamel partook in the 14th edition of the Monaco Blue Initiative (MBI). Organized by the Foundation and the Oceanographic Institute of Monaco, the MBI is a unique discussion platform that draws together, each year, the key players in the Ocean sector. This initiative fosters dialogue as it sets the bases for an outstanding opportunity to discuss in concrete, operational, but also prospective terms, the current and future global challenges of ocean management and conservation.

The MBI, organized in the context of the Monaco Ocean Week, was opened by Prince Albert II and the President of Costa Rica, Rodrigo Chaves Robles, whose country will co-host the 3rd UN conference on Ocean that will take place in Nice (France) in 2025 (UNOC25).

UfM Secretary General Kamel was invited to share his views on the multidimensional challenges specific to the Mediterranean Sea during a “fireside chat” with broadcast journalist Yalda Hakim. The discussion was anchored in the theme of session 4, entitled: “Raising ambition and scaling solutions for a protected, resilient and sustainable Mediterranean Sea” and focused on both the multiple threats and issues faced in the region and the necessary multi-scale mobilization to address it. As such, the Secretary General highlighted the importance of strengthening the partnership between the two shores as well as the mutual interest in terms of energy supply, especially from renewable sources. He finally contended that it is urgent “to identify solutions, by listening and voicing scientists and actors on the ground, bridging the gap with policymaking, and scaling them up at a regional level, in order to tackle the climate and environmental impacts as one”.

Furthermore, on the margins of the opening session, Secretary General Kamel exchanged with Prince Albert II, who praised the continuous involvement of the UfM in the activities and projects led by Monaco. He then held a bilateral meeting with Mrs. Razan Al Mubarak, President of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). during which he praised the close cooperation between the UfM and IUCN, especially with the Mediterranean Office based in Spain (Malaga), and the West Asian Office based in Jordan (Amman). Kamel recalled that the UfM granted its label to the project SMART DESERT in Jordan.

Finally, Secretary General Kamel met with Mr. Renaud Muselier, President of Region Provence Alpes Côtes d’Azur, and Mr. Olivier Poivre d’Arvor, French Ambassador in charge of poles, ocean, and seas. The discussion was mainly focused on the UNOC25 in Nice, as Amb. Poivre d’Arvor was leading the team in charge of its organization. He expressed his interest in having a session dedicated to the Mediterranean in this framework and asserted his will to work closely with the UfM and UNEP/MAP in this regard.