The documentary on Monaco Explorations' Indian Ocean Mission is available online until January 4, 2024, on the Arte.tv channel: https://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/114183-000-A/au-coeur-des-atolls-de-l-ocean-indien/
For those unable to access Arte, other versions are available online:
- a short English/French version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8mzPygDwUs
- a longer German/English version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRVodW7Vj54
An international team of scientists sets out to study the impact of climate change on the ecosystems of the Indian Ocean, in an attempt to understand the future of the planet.
In the vastness of the Indian Ocean, numerous atolls, little known to man, conceal secret treasures, starting with the incredible biodiversity of their seabeds. Leaving Cape Town, South Africa, the ship Agulhas II embarks on a six-week scientific expedition to explore these isolated regions, with dozens of biologists and oceanographers from around the world on board, determined to better understand the consequences of pollution and global warming on these fragile ecosystems. On Aldabra atoll, north of Madagascar, the team is studying giant tortoises and rare coral species nestling in the heart of the reefs. Further east, zoologists and taxonomists are delighted by the Saya de Malha shoal: with the help of aquatic robots, they explore an underwater meadow at a depth of 400 metres to discover never-before-seen living creatures.
Raising political awareness
In addition to enriching scientific knowledge, the main objective of this expedition is also eminently political: the data collected at the end of the project should raise awareness among the younger generations of the richness of the oceans, but also convince the states in the region to set up nature reserves and sustainably regulate the exploitation of resources. While the Aldabra atoll has been a Unesco World Heritage site since 1982, the Saya de Malha Bank has not yet benefited from any protection measures, despite the environmental upheavals that have been linked to human activity for decades.
Several DIDEM members took part in this oceanographic campaign, financed by Explorations de Monaco, one of the project's main donors.
Find out more about the campaign :
