Maud Fontenoy is a navigator and regional advisor from Provence-Alpes-Côte-D'azur.
The President of the Republic recently announced to organize a summit devoted to the sea (
One Ocean Summit
). This unifying initiative, announced within the framework of the World Conservation Congress in Marseille, must be able to respond to the urgency of preserving this Big Blue which graciously provides us with oxygen, food, water, medicines, energy, biofuels, metals. rare: resources as immense as they are essential to our survival.
France has undeniable strengths in the maritime domain: the second exclusive economic zone in the world (with 11,710,417 km² - behind the United States, which totals 12,234,403 km²), ensuring a presence in all the oceans;
one of the most advanced scientific research;
sinners with recognized skills;
industry leaders in the world ranks;
valuable training organizations;
international shipowners;
a national navy deployed on all the oceans;
coastlines popular with tourists and boaters;
active diplomacy and recognized professionals in all service sectors.
For too long, we thought that the sea was a bottomless drift pit, in which we could tirelessly drown our trash cans.
Maud Fontenoy
And if the world ocean were a country, it would be the 7th economic power in the world!
With an annual production of goods and services valued at $ 2.5 trillion, it would rank just after Britain and France.
The global value of oceanic heritage is estimated at $ 24 trillion, a value out of all proportion to those of the largest sovereign wealth funds.
However, the challenge that the world must take up today is significant: how to feed, care for, provide work, contribute to the well-being of the 7 billion (soon 9 billion) of human beings who inhabit our planet in an environment of quality, a healthy climate with only the earth's resources?
The way to go seems immense.
Human needs today require players in the land economy to look to… the sea!
The next summit devoted to the sea must therefore make it possible to bring people together and take action because it is not a question of reproducing at sea the mistakes made on land.
The Blue Planet is not a spare planet!
Read also "The aggressive policy of the People's Republic of China in the China Sea is a major challenge for Europeans"
For too long, we thought that the sea was a bottomless drift pit, in which we could tirelessly drown our trash cans.
Ten million tons of waste are thrown into the ocean each year.
Today, this detritus, tides of medicine, plastic microparticles, phytosanitary products, are returning like boomerangs to our plates.
We would swallow five grams of plastic per week, the equivalent of a credit card, according to a WWF study.
Yet if we compare the ocean to a gigantic library, each species alone would represent a shelf full of knowledge and potential solutions for humanity.
However, of this library, we have only explored a few shelves.
It is therefore up to us, and it is urgent, not to burn the rest.
As the second largest maritime power in the world (and the first in Europe), what are we waiting for to fulfill our legitimate mission: to ensure that the sea is neither overexploited nor plundered?
Maud Fontenoy
I deeply believe in science.
I am convinced of it, we can reinvent our economy, our technologies, our societies in order to make them more low in carbon and in line with the fight against climate change.
France must take the
leadership
on these issues as it has in the past been able to position itself as a leading player in the aeronautics, nuclear and space fields.
The sea will be at the origin of a new industrial and economic revolution, but also social and cultural as the internet has allowed to trigger today's digital revolution.
I strongly believe in the emergence of a “
Blue Society
”.
Each Frenchman will also be given the pride of seeing his country defend a higher planetary cause: the sea as the keystone of the survival of humanity.
Will we therefore live up to our key strengths?
As the second largest maritime power in the world (and the first in Europe), what are we waiting for to fulfill our legitimate mission: to ensure that the sea is neither overexploited nor plundered?
Read also "Nationalization of highways: what does the law say?"
The solutions are before our eyes, there are many reasons to believe in them and the maritime players more than ever ready to do battle.
If we are able to send a robot to Mars, it seems essential to me that tomorrow, we decide together to devote ourselves to better understanding and better preserving these expanses, treasures as captivating as they are essential.
Thanks to the next summit dedicated to the sea (
One Ocean Summit
), I hope that we can honor the values of all those who cherish the sea: courage, solidarity, a taste for effort and respect for the environment !
More than ever, the Sea comes to the aid of the Earth!