Signing of a partnership agreement between the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and Corporación municipal de Isla de Pascua
Monaco
Following Our Ocean conference in Valparaiso, Chile, on October 5th and 6th 2015 – where H.S.H Prince Albert II of Monaco met the representatives of the Easter Islands - and the tour of the island on October 7th and 8th 2015, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation represented H.E. Bernard Fautrier and the environment adviser of the Municipality of Easter Island Mrs Ana Maria Gutierrez, signed a partnership agreement on June 29th 2016 at the headquarter of the Foundation.
The Foundation and the Corporación municipal have already identified the following fields of interest that will be further explored within the framework of this Agreement as possible tangible projects: the establishment and sustainable management of Marine Protected Areas, the conservation of terrestrial and marine ecosystems, the development of sustainable fisheries, the fight against plastic pollution on land and sea, the development of innovative and sustainable solutions, the exchange of information in the field of oceanography.
Under this agreement, the Foundation could finance a project to reintroduce the Sophora Toromiro on the Easter Islands. Nowadays, the island is home to numerous endangered species and the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) classify them as species recently extinct in their natural habitat, and this is the case for the famous Sophora Toromiro.
This project will jointly be implemented with the Val Rahmeh Botanical Garden in Menton that owns a Toromiro seedling from seeds collected on the island before its complete extinction. The Botanical Garden will provide technical support and expertise to reintroduce this species.
This partnership is also an excellent opportunity to promote the Rapa Nui culture in the Principality of Monaco through an exhibition on the traditions of the Easter Islands and its relationship with the Ocean. The exhibition will take place at the Oceanographic Museum in Monaco in spring 2017.
