Nausicaa, standing up for the Ocean

The different oceans of the world join together to form a single global ocean, an immense borderless territory that we share and for which we are all responsible. Since it opened, Nausicaa has sought to raise awareness about sustainable development and is committed to protecting the Global Ocean!

Nausicaa, bringing the marine world to you

Since it opened in 1991, Nausicaa has been organising concrete awareness raising projects on the marine environment for the general public. These have included exhibitions, special events designed to highlight the need to act collectively and meetings with marine specialists…

Nausicaa, member of the World Ocean Network

As a founding member of the World Ocean Network, Nausicaa is extensively involved in numerous international initiatives for the Ocean.

Nausicaa, member of the IUCN

In November 2006, Nausicaa, the National Sea Centre, was granted membership of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The IUCN enjoys official observer status at the United Nations General Assembly. It provides expertise from all around the world to a large number of countries wishing to develop activities that respect the environment. By admitting Nausicaa to its membership the Union acknowledges Nausicaa’s commitment to public outreach on issues relating to the marine environment. In addition, Nausicaa is committed to supporting and informing the public about IUCN activities for the environment as well as providing its marine expertise to the Union.

As a member of the Union, Nausicaa is more than ever willing to take initiatives at all levels to convey its message about the importance of promoting awareness raising as widely as possible.

Nausicaa and ACCOR

Nausicaa and the ACCOR group have been working together for a number of years with the aims of building public awareness about the the marine environment.

Today, tourism is one of the world’s major industries and its future also depends on the quality of the environment at tourist destinations. Nausicaa and ACCOR have fully understood this and are working together to raise public awareness so that this sustainable future is ensured. As tourists we should all do everything we can to make sure our holiday destinations are not degraded year after year. Success will depend on the ‘smart’ development of the industry, as well as on each of us learning to respect the environment.

ACCOR has put this thinking fully into practice at Sofitel Hurghada, a pilot site in Egypt on the Red Sea coast, through providing awareness raising activities on the theme of the marine environment and encouraging clients to follow some simple but nonetheless essential guidelines.

In order to continue benefiting from the riches of the sea in the future, to better understand and therefore appreciate it even more, to learn to respect it while having fun, a full programme of awareness raising activities has been organised:

• All the secrets of the sea have been brought under one roof in a tourist information centre called the Red Sea Corner.
• A guided walk in shallow water with expert guides has been organised by the Nausicaa team so that tourists can discover the sea and its riches and observe the myriad forms and enchanting colours of its inhabitants.
• There are activities for children on the theme of the sea: children’s workshops, games, barefoot discovery walks at the water edge and trips out onto the sea…
• A whole day is devoted in each stay specifically to the theme of the sea. There are activities for everyone and the day is a real celebration.
• Information notices in the hotel and in the rooms.

The sea is fragile. And because there are millions of tourists enjoying it every year, it has has been damaged in some places. But if millions of visitors care about it, they can also make a big difference.

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Nausicaa, CNPMEM, OFIMER and FINDUS: supporting sustainable fishing

On Wednesday December 12 2007, for the first time in France, four partners representing the entire supply chain from the producer to the consumer, i.e. CNPMEM, OFIMER, Nausicaa and FINDUS, joined forces to promote sustainable fishing.

The concept of « Responsible fishing - Sustainable development » was introduced by the UN’s FAO in 1995. Since then, the whole of the fishing industry has been working hard to put this concept into practice. 

It now seems a priority for all fishing industry partners to communicate widely on the sector’s improvement strategy, underway now for several years, if the sustainability objectives for fisheries are to be met.

Successful communication implies reaching the consumer who must not only be an observer but also an active participant in the sector’s improvement strategy, through being a responsible consumer.

Eco-certification is where “responsible fishing and sustainable development” and “responsible consumers” meet.

The development work on eco-certification carried out by the four partners (CNPMEM, OFIMER, Nausicaa and FINDUS) over recent months has entered a new phase with the presentation of requests by several fisheries for eco-certification.

The candidate fisheries are:

• Pot crustaceans,
• Bolinche sardines,
• Corsican lobster,
• Scallops,
• Gascogne gulf Norway lobster.

The fact that fishing industry stakeholders want these proactive initiatives to be recognized is strong evidence of the direction taken by the sector..

It is intended that this initiative will be adopted by other fisheries across the European Union in the future.

Copenhagen 2009 : Nausicaa encourages further negotiations

From Monday 7 to Friday 18 December 2009, the 15th Annual Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP15) was held in Copenhagen, DENMARK.

Having attended the Conference, Philippe VALLETTE, Managing Director of Nausicaa and Oceanographer, and Manuel CIRA, coordinator of the World Ocean Network, summarise its essential aims and outcomes in relation to oceans and public education issues. What was at stake in Copenhagen for the future of the Planet and mankind?

The process of negotiation at venues such as Copenhagen is highly complex. There is no simple route map. There were 192 very different nations present, each with its own agenda. For Philippe VALLETTE and Manuel CIRA, COP 15 began in a mood of widespread optimism. France and Europe, therefore, put forward a number of suggestions to help move negotiations forward. For example, France proposed the creation of a fund aimed at helping the countries most at risk from climate change. Sadly, this major Conference ended in failure. No specific commitments were made, despite the fact that urgent action is needed, in particular to help small island states. The international community is now focusing on a new Conference, which is to be held in Mexico in 2010. Yet, for an agreement to be reached then, negotiations need to make progress now.

For Nausicaa, there is a second reason to be disappointed. This is that issues relating to the Ocean and public education are barely even raised at such crucial climate change venues. At KYOTO, in 1997, the Ocean was only discussed in relation to the threat of rising sea levels. Today, the Ocean is slightly higher on the agenda, but it does not receive the attention it should. Education and outreach could also make a dramatic difference because citizens’ choices directly influence 50% of our greenhouse gas emissions.

The Ocean: all but missing from Conference discussions

The ocean plays a fundamental role in regulating the Earth’s climate system.

CO₂ emissions from human activities are the main cause of global warming. The Global Ocean absorbs some 30% of the CO₂ released. Phytoplankton produces some 70 % of the oxygen that we breathe. .

Part of the atmospheric CO₂ which enters the water is not absorbed and therefore increases the water’s acidity, probably threatening the long-term survival of a large number of marine species, including corals, molluscs and crustaceans and phytoplankton. This process is going to create havoc up and down the marine food chain. Unless we take decisive action, it will also compromise our own ability to exploit ocean food resources. It is of course fundamental to reduce our CO₂ emissions, but it is also necessary to find ways to remove some of the CO₂ already present in the atmosphere.

The greenhouse effect causes global warming and is also warming the Ocean, but the Ocean’s ability to absorb atmospheric CO₂ is limited and excess CO₂ is now making the water more acidic.

Public education: all but missing from Conference discussions

Our everyday decisions can influence more than 50% of greenhouse gas emissions.

It is for this reason that the World Ocean Network Association of zoos and aquariums and the European Union of Aquarium Curators, which, together, communicate directly with some 700 million visitors every year across the world, presented a range of observations and opinions to the world leaders present at Copenhagen between Monday 7 and Friday 18 December 2009.