Tres bon! French PM gives thumbs up to Marine Reserves Campaign
Mr Sarkozy has made a personal statement which commits France to setting up a network of Highly Protected Marine Reserves on the lines of the MARINET recommendations to our own government. In addition, he has also recognised his duty to act beyond the limits of European waters and include those parts of the sea in the control of French overseas territories. If this same principle were to be adopted in the UK, over three million square kilometres would be included in the scope of protection, in addition to the 0.75m square kilometres of the UK Exclusive Economic Zone in the scope of the Marine Bill.
He also binds his government to a timetable.
His speech, delivered on 16 July 2009, can be seen in full at
http://www.ambafrance-uk.org/President-Sarkozy-on-France-s.html
The whole speech is of great interest to marine conservation campaigners, but the key extract says
“France’s maritime policy – Speech by Nicolas Sarkozy, President of the Republic
Le Havre, 16 July 2009
FRENCH MARITIME AREA/FISHERY RESERVES/MARINE DIVERSITY
“I want to take up the compromise which emerged from the Grenelle Maritime Forum. France today protects less than 1% of her maritime area. By 2012 I’m determined that 10% of it will be protected, and, by 2020, 20% of the 11 million km² of sea under France’s sovereignty will have to be included. And I expect half this area to consist of fishery reserves and boxes, to be designated with the assistance of fishermen, scientists and local stakeholders. It’s here that marine biodiversity will be preserved. It’s here that we will be able to recover the resources which will in future enable fishing to go on for ever in our country.
“So, in 2020, the network of maritime areas will protect over 2 million km² of oceans and seas under French sovereignty. This network will extend both the length of the coasts of metropolitan France, particularly in the Mediterranean, and of Overseas France: from the French West Indies to New Caledonia and Polynesia. This maritime network will complement the green and blue belts created by the Grenelle Environment Forum on land, without forgetting the “navy blue belt” so dear to Isabelle Autissier [French round-the-world sailor]. What we’re going to do in pursuit of this goal of maritime protection, no other State in the world has ever done. The example France is going to set will pave the way for an unprecedented effort to preserve the oceans, recover fish stocks and safeguard all those who depend every day on the fertility of the seas for their livelihood.
PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE/“SEA ORBITER”
“During the Grenelle Maritime Forum, requests were made every day for moratoria, in the name of the precautionary principle. Admittedly, we still know too little and are too ill-informed about the life concealed beneath the world’s oceans. It’s also true that evidence of an exhaustion of the natural marine reserves is piling up. Finally, it’s true that threats to the existence of some species like bluefin tuna can no longer be ignored. In this instance, the precautionary principle dictates that we very swiftly beef up our scientific knowledge of the sea bed, exploration of the marine worlds, stocks assessment and understanding of the ecosystems. The precautionary principle dictates too that we substantially increase our scientific expertise on the state of natural marine resources. We will, I most solemnly pledge here, commit the necessary funding. I am keen to see our country return to a great oceanographic policy, drawing, of course, on the network of French expertise in the marine sciences, without ever neglecting such new initiatives as, for example, the building of the “Sea Orbiter” international [floating] oceanic station.”
Tags: France