Projections, photo exhibitions and conferences reminded us how important it was to understand and act for the protection of underwater ecosystems .
Before his conference entitled " The secrets of the Mediterranean-The continuous journey ", Pierre-Yves Cousteau was kind enough to respond to an exclusive interview yumping france , on the steps of the Cristal Palacio in Madrid!
Yumping France - Hello Mr. Cousteau, and thank you for granting us a few minutes! In two words, can you tell us what you came to present today at the Dive Travel Show 4th edition?
Pierre -Yves Cousteau - I come to present the Various cousteau project . I chose English, because it is a global project. The idea is to bring together all these people who were motivated by my father to dive, all these people who were inspired, to give them the means to become agents of protection and study of the marine environment.
y.f. - What exactly does this project consist of? p.y.c. - Yes then, there are 3 parts to Various cousteau project:
- Party Participatory Science : people who are not scientists are asked to bring back their observations made during their dives, and who will make a diagnosis of the health of the health of Ecosystems where the observations were made and to follow up on this health. The overall idea is to have information that goes up permanently and therefore, a diagnosis of ocean health. This will then make it possible to act as an immune system on alert areas where we have sudden drops of biodiversity or biomass.
- Participatory multimedia : people can post their photos and videos as they are used to doing on networks social. The photos are all geolocalized and chronos and marked, which allows us to know which species was where, what day ... and it is relevant scientific information that we can compare to archive images to have an idea of what happened in time.
- And community part , which is a community site like so many others.
*writing note: the project consists in making a comparison "before/after" by comparing the current images taken by divers, with archive images left by the commander Cousteau .
y.f. - So everything goes by your page?
p.y.c. - That's it, everything goes through page .
y.f. - You make shipments at the four corners of the globe, what are your next shipments? p.y.c. - Currently, I don't know. I am focusing on the development of affiliated diving centers. we are developing a network of diving centers that will act as permanent observatories Biodiversity on their diving sites. A little bit like gardeners of the sea. It's called " cousteau dive centers ", cousteau diving centers. I am focusing on this, it's no more administration. It's less sexy than expeditions, but I would like to go back underwater in not long! The earliest will be best!
writing note: a cousteau diver center is much more than a label, it is a way of organizing its diving lessons, protecting the surrounding coast and Participate in the outcome of the Various Cousteau project.
y.f. - You are finally a goodwill ambassador of the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature), what does that represent for you?
p.y.c. - uicn is the oldest and the largest association of nature protection. It brings together all the NGOs that we hear about, including National Geographic, including Cousteau, including WWF ... And in fact, it is the only organization that sits on the UN as an observer. So they are a loud voice. They have a network Scientific experts, more than 60,000 experts around the world who give their expertise for nature conservation projects. It is a fantastic network to give a boost to nature protection projects.
y.f. - A few small questions about your personal experience as a diver ... at what age have you started diving? p.y.c. - at 9 years old!
y.f. - Memories, a special anecdote to share? p.y.c. - My first dive, I had my mask was removed, I freed and went back to the surface like a buoy ... as so many people do! I discovered it later by becoming a instructor.
My second dive, I had the chance to see a shark! I was really afraid, I moved away, I did not go on the surface, I understood that it was not good. And then I saw that the instructor was not frightened, that the shark did not move, it was a nanny shark that did not move, who was sleeping, finally ... I don't know what he was doing! So, I approached, I found the animal fascinating. And then it was he who saw us and who got off! Because ultimately, I think they are much more afraid of us and they are right.
y.f. - Projects for the future? p.y.c. - Yes! I think that in the future, I will see myself opening a diving center somewhere. Because I need to be near the sea, and to be underwater as often as possible.
y.f. - Thank you Pierre-Yves Cousteau! And good luck!
A great initiative for the environment, in which we invite you to participate if you are diver or diving center . We often hear that water is life. Working actively in the protection of seas and oceans is working to protect this fragile balance that allows us to exist ...
Find all the photos of our meeting on Yumping France page .
