Monaco confirms Mediterranean leadership with Pelagos Consortium

In the gilded rooms of the Palais des Rois Sardes in Nice, Prince Albert II sealed the Mediterranean’s future, launching a revolutionary alliance of 13 partners whose aim is to protect the giants of the seas.

Speaking to an audience of French and European dignitaires, HSH Prince Albert II set the course for an unprecedented ambition: to make the Pelagos sanctuary the gold standard for cross-border marine conservation. “I am hopeful that this Consortium will usher in a new chapter in the history of the Sanctuary,”  declared the Sovereign, accompanied by Charles-Ange Ginésy, President of the Alpes-Maritimes Département and France’s Minister of Ecological Transition, Biodiversity, Forests, Sea and Fisheries, Agnès Pannier-Runacher.

The multi-million euro initiative transcends national borders to protect the eight species of cetacean that roam the 87,500 km² of the Ligurian-Tyrrenian basin.

Monaco, architect of marine protection

Since the Treaty was signed in Rome in 1999, the Principality has been discreetly but effectively conducting this ecological symphony. Monaco hosts the sanctuary’s technical secretariat and deploys its diplomatic and financial resources through the Prince Albert II Foundation, supporting scientific research and immersive technologies.

Three-week expeditions now leave from Fontvieille harbour, equipped with high-tech catamarans to study Risso’s dolphins. And Monaco’s “High Quality Whale-Watching” label redefines sustainable tourism in that field.

Pelagos Sanctuary uses new technologies to raise awareness on protecting cetaceans

The consortium confirms Prince Albert II’s vision of making Monaco the epicentre of Mediterranean ocean innovation, where philanthropy, science and diplomacy join forces to preserve one of the world’s most precious marine ecosystems.