On Valentine’s Day, the ambassador for the poles and maritime issues, Olivier Poivre d’Arvor, was a guest at the Menton campus to discuss the UN Ocean Conference.
The day couldn’t have been better chosen to express love for the ocean. Invited to the Sciences Po Menton campus for a conference on Valentine’s Day, Olivier Poivre d’Arvor – the special envoy of the President of the Republic for the UN Ocean Conference (Unoc) – unveiled some topics that will be addressed at the conference, which will be held in June in Nice. Students from the Menton campus will participate to support the delegations.
Major Exploration Plan
“This conference brings together 196 countries, not all of whom get along, and they will decide on a number of measures on topics such as pollution, fishing, economic resources, exploitation and protection, biodiversity, the Arctic, maritime trade… But it will also raise public awareness about the importance of the ocean,” summarizes the diplomat. He reminds us that the ocean represents an enormous mass but remains largely unknown. “It seems familiar to us, but we only know about 10%! Among the major topics on the agenda, Olivier Poivre d’Arvor mentions the need to ‘plan the sea’ – proposing a clever mix of protection and exploitation. How to install wind turbines without harming a fish species? How to create a marine protected area without hindering economic activities?”
“There are quite a few hidden topics that will come to light. But one of our big ambitions is the Neptune mission. Our idea as Europeans is to offer a beautiful dream to humanity. Americans have the idea of going to Mars; we want to enable a large-scale exploration plan for ocean discovery to be carried out globally within the next ten years.”
In his view, it is important to talk not only about the economy and protection but also about the wonders of the ocean. And this is what distinguishes the ocean compared to the sometimes despairing climate conferences. “The speed of reaching a consensus is not the same. The ocean is much simpler; there are only solutions.”
ALICE ROUSSELOT
