articles

HELP US plant 1,400,000 trees on Easter Island! Maururu (Thank You)! OUR WORLD’S REFERENCE FOR ECOLOGICAL RECOVERY Jacques Cousteau said: “Alone in the middle of the big Ocean, Easter Island is like planet Earth alone in the middle of the big Universe”.

On the occasion of World Oceans Day, discover the first infographic on Sounds of the Ocean and the sometimes surprising impacts of noise polution on marine species. Throughout the month of June we will post an assembly of 9 infographics on this topic. They are all from our 8-10 June exhibit at UNESCO . Feel free to share them with your friends ! Download our pdf : The ocean at the heart of climate change

According to UNESCO’s first global scientific assessment of climate change impacts on World Heritage coral reefs, all 29 World Heritage sites which contain coral  would cease to exist as functioning coral reef ecosystems by 2100 if our behaviour concerning emissions remains the same. “The 29 globally significant coral reefs on UNESCO’s World Heritage List are facing existential threats, and their loss would be devastating ecologically and economically” explains Dr. Mechtild Rossler, Director of the World Heritage Centre. Full article on UNESCO website: Assessment World Heritage Coral Reefs

20 years! Twenty years ago, Captain Cousteau set sail to explore new shores. Today is not a time to mark a ceremony for what was the saddest day of my life, but instead to pay tribute to this wonderful man. Twenty years ago our two teenage children saw their father, the magician who illuminated their childhood, disappear. That day millions of people realized that a long absence was taking hold, a great void, one of those moments that leaves the planet orphaned. For twenty years, through the difficulties we have had no choice but to pull through, the Cousteau team patiently built a body of work aiming toward a future true to the travail of its founder Jacques-Yves Cousteau. I had the joy and luck to spend 20 years by his side, sharing his life through it’s enchantments but also its most difficult tests.

The Cousteau Society has partnered up with The Wave: Project Zeroto produce a stunning piece of art which is currently on display in New York at 125th Street and Park Avenue, NY.

UNDP and Cousteau Society have joined hands to protect and restore oceans for sustainable development The UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Cousteau Society signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Thursday June 15th in New York. The aim of this UNDP-Cousteau partnership is to undertake a range of ocean-related joint and coordinated activities at the global, regional and national level. UNDP and the Cousteau Society run programmes which share a number of geographic areas such as the Black Sea, Red Sea and the Comoros Islands. Francine Cousteau, President of the Cousteau Society, signed the agreement on behalf of the Cousteau Society, said, “I thank UNDP and the devoted team for having shown confidence in our capacity to join forces to carry forward the work of Jacques Cousteau in the quest of excellence for the health of our Oceans and for the well-being of people on the water planet. On the eve of the twentieth Anniversary of Captain Cousteau’s passing, it is the most beautiful tribute we can offer to his work and to future generations, I am very enthusiastic and grateful.”

On June 8th 2017, World Oceans Day, his Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco was the first to sign #MyOceanPledge. The pledge was launched by children who come from over 12 UNESCO marine World Heritage Sites in front of 40 Heads of State during a high-level event at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, organized by the UNESCO World Heritage Marine Programme.

 UNDP honour Jacques-Yves Cousteau’s memory and announce plans to work with the Cousteau Society to help achieve Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG 14), which aims to “Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development“. Full article on the UNDP website: Honouring the memory of Jacques Cousteau. Follow The Cousteau Society: Facebook @CousteauGlobal Twitter @CousteauTCS 

 The Arctic is turning green and it’s a bad sign for the future. A new study has confirmed that the vegetation in the Arctic is increasing due to global warming and human activities. Recently, NASA released a studythat says that almost a third of the Arctic Tundra across Alaska and Canada is getting warmer. Now, a new research supports the study, revealing that the Arctic getting greener could be attributed to human activity and greenhouse gas emissions. The research published in the journal Nature Climate Change conducted a “detection and attribution” study, which involves creating climate models for different events or change, such as the Arctic greening, and see how these events will impact the climate models when mixed with human greenhouse gas emissions. The results of the simulations showed that the Arctic greening trend can be mainly attributed to “anthropogenic forcings, particularly to rising atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases.” The study also notes that even in the areas where there is not much greening, precipitation has been declining as well. Another reason of the said greening in the Arctic is due to the increase of nitrogen in the atmosphere due to the human use of fertilizers and fossil fuels. Reported by Nature Climate Change   

 To answer this question, Cousteau supported a Training Workshop about Sustainable Tourism, which was held on March 20th-23rd 2016 at the El Khabeer International Conference Hall of The Red Sea University in Port Sudan, Red Sea State of Sudan. The Red Sea was explored by Cousteau since in 1956, during the filming of “The Silent World” (Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival; Oscar in Hollywood) and “World without Sun”. In the early 2004, the Cousteau vessel Alcyone anchored on the atoll of Shaab Rumi for an expedition in Sudan, which provided the opportunity to revisit sites where, 50 years earlier, Cousteau had passed through. In 2007, Cousteau has gathered a multidisciplinary team of scientists to carry out the most comprehensive survey of the Sudanese coast and underwater environment ever to be attempted in this region. From there the Society have been supporting and promoting projetcs of sustainable development to follow the Cousteau’s legacy. The workshop, as one of these projects, had its opening ceremony chaired by the Representative of the Wali and Minister of Ficance as well as by The Red Sea University Vice Chancellor and by The Red Sea University Faculty of Marine Science & Fisheries Dean. The Head of the Department of Biological Oceanography Faculty of Marine Sciences & Fisheries of Red Sea University was the master of ceremony.

On 25th February 2016, Cousteau and the Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage (Unesco) organised a meeting of experts convened at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. This meeting aimed at strengthening local management capacities and scientific partnership for two marine protected areas: Sanganeb Atoll and Dungonab Bay-Mukkawar Island. Another important goal was encouraging sustainable development and ecotourism to the benefit of local communities. Moreover, the concentration of charismatic species such as manta rays, sharks, dugongs, sea turtles and coral reef ecosystems is a remarkable support to develop ecostourism and to protect its unique marine life. The meeting gathered a group of international and Sudanese experts representing the Sudanese Red Sea University, the Sudanese Wildlife Conservation General Administration, the Sudanese National Man and Biosphere (MAB) Committee, the Sudanese National Commission for UNESCO, the Regional Organization for the Conservation of the Red Sea & Gulf of Aden (PERSGA); the Sudanese NGO Sudia, The Deep Aquarium (UK), the University of Windsor (Canada) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).  

Take this opportunity to show off your art skills for the chance to have your artwork featured on the cover of the summer edition of Cousteau Kids! Springtime is baby time for many in the animal world, and the ocean is full of adorable aquatic infants. We want you to create a picture of your favorite marine animal as a cuddly, squishy, fuzzy, slimy, lovable baby. The winner will receive:• 10 copies of the magazine with their winning artwork• A feature on our website• A feature in one copy of our direct mail solicitationSelect runners-up will be featured on the inside of the magazine and given two free copies. Send submissions unfolded in a sturdy 9×12 envelope to:4 East 27th StreetP.O. Box 20321New York, NY 10001 Not subscribed to Cousteau Kids yet? Sign up here to get started on your underwater adventure! Please be sure to include the artist’s full name and age (if under 18). All artwork needs to be your original imagery. Submissions must be received no later than February 9th, 2016* to be considered. Artwork should be 8.5×11 in size (no lined paper, please). Good luck and have fun getting creative!