The Indian Ocean Expedition restitution in Monaco, in the presence of the Mauritian and Seychellois delegations

Several participants of the Saya de Malha oceanographic campaign, members of the DIDEM team on the High Seas, Distant Seabed, Deep Seabed and Area Beyond National Jurisdiction component, met on March 21, 2023, invited by Monaco Explorations, for an official day of restitution of the Indian Ocean Expedition at the Oceanographic Institute of Monaco.

This day rich in interventions and marked by the attendance of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco was filmed live. You can watch the event on the facebook page of the Explorations de Monaco:

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Representatives of the two States concerned by this campaign had been invited. For the Republic of Mauritius: Rezah BADAL for the Prime Minister's Office, Dass BISSESSUR and Priscilla COOPEN from the Department for Continental Shelf, Maritime Zones Administration & Exploration (CSMZAE), Ranjeet BHAGOOLI from the Faculty of Science of the University of Mauritius (UOM), Prerna ROY from the Mauritius Oceanography Institute (MOI). For the Republic of Seychelles: Jean-Francois FERRARI, Minister of Fisheries and the Blue Economy, Sheena TALMA, Civil Society Consultant, specialized on deep sea, Nuette GORDON, teacher at the University of Seychelles within the BERI (Blue Economy Research Institute). French scientists involved in the campaign were also present: Francis MARSAC, mission leader, Jean-Francois TERNON Florence GALLETTI and Fréderic MENARD for the IRD, Philippe BOUCHET for the MNHN.

Press briefing on 22 March 2023 on the BBNJ Treaty and its implications for the bilateral management of remote marine areas such as Saya de Malha 

Francis MARSAC and Florence GALLETTI, from the DIDEM project, took part in a two-part interview conducted by Nicolas Gehin for Monaco Hebdo. Many questions focused on the outcome of the international negotiation in New York on March 4, 2023, which sets the final text of the new "International Legally Binding Instrument on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity beyond National Jurisdiction(BBNJ)", or BBNJ Treaty. They recalled, from the perspective of developing States, what this Treaty implies in terms of responsibility for marine science researchers, who are at the forefront of information for public decision-making in their States. This is a strong cooperation issue to which the BBNJ Treaty has tried to respond globally, but for which it will be up to the research structures and institutes to implement. This will be done on the occasion of concrete case studies, for example transboundary or remote areas like Saya de Malha, especially during marine spatial planning projects, marine protected areas or the extension of the law of impact studies at sea. It is a reform of the law of the sea which implies an increase of the dialogue between marine sciences and the sector of public or private decision making in the Western Indian Ocean.

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