WRI Stories Feed: Reefs at Risk

RELEASE: New Assessment Finds Management Efforts are Insufficient to Protect Mesoamerican Reef

Michael Oko — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:40:11 -0500

First-ever Eco-Audit of the Mesoamerican Reef Countries

Editor’s note: Online resources, including verification documentation, a description of the Eco-Audit indicators, summary results and more, are available at: www.wri.org/reefs and www.healthyreefs.org

The first-ever Eco-Audit of the Mesoamerican Reef (MAR) countries finds that despite some positive management efforts, more needs to be done to protect the region’s coral reefs. The evaluation, entitled “2011 Eco-Audit of the Mesoamerican Reef Countries,” was carried out by the Healthy Reefs Initiative (HRI), in collaboration with the World Resources Institute (WRI), and nearly 40 local organizations, government agencies and companies. The results are being launched simultaneously in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico.

The evaluation scored overall reef management as Fair (2.7 out of 5) across the region and for all thematic areas. This score indicates that, in general, the MAR ecosystem is not being adequately managed. The scores by country are: Belize 3.3, Honduras 2.7, Mexico 2.7 and Guatemala 2.2.

“Our evaluation has documented some positive steps in protecting reefs throughout the Mesoamerican region. However, there are many actions needed to protect the reefs that have been under discussion for decades. It’s time to complete and implement these actions,” said Dr. Melanie McField, director of the Healthy Reefs Initiative. “Reefs are a vital part of this region, providing both economic and cultural value to people in this area. We hope that this information will help to ensure that reefs can thrive for generations to come.”

The Mesoamerica Reef extends over 1,000 kilometers (over 600 miles), from Mexico to Honduras, and includes the Western Hemisphere’s longest barrier reef, located in Belize. Economies in the region are highly dependent on marine resources, especially from tourism and fishing industries. In Belize alone, the reef is estimated to contribute approximately $395 to $559 million (U.S.) in goods and services each year.

The Eco-Audit was developed and implemented using twenty-two standardized management indicators across seven thematic areas. This includes: Research, Education and Awareness, Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), Global Issues, Coastal Zone Management, Sustainability in the Private Sector, Ecosystem-based Fisheries Management, and Sanitation and Sewage Treatment. Over 300 supporting documents were provided as verification of the results.

“Through this highly collaborative process, involving diverse stakeholders, we have developed a collective understanding of reef management efforts supported by robust data,” said Benjamin Kushner, research analyst, World Resources Institute. “We hope that our transparently verified and publicly available results help coastal and fisheries managers, tourism operators, and others make smart decisions to create a healthy environment for reefs.”

“Stakeholders are now demanding unprecedented levels of transparency from organizations and governments, since our current economic and social conditions have been affected by unethical practices and a lack of transparency,” said Antonio Grijalba of PricewaterhouseCoopers Costa Rica. “This initiative has been a challenging process for HRI, but is a very important step to improve the transparency and accountability of the MAR region, align efforts to address the most critical issues, and share best practices to improve performance.”

To ensure the quality of the results, the financial and management auditing firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers Costa Rica reviewed the methodology and provided feedback on the processes and indicators, and the quality of the verification documentation.

The analysis revealed several key successes, including:

The extent of territorial sea included in MPAs is relatively high across the region;
Harmonization of regulations for the lobster fishery was a major regional success; and
There have been long-standing efforts to monitor reef health across the region, complemented by good availability of information on reef condition and threats.

However, it also showed key shortcomings, including:

A number of MPAs have been created, but their management is mostly inadequate;
Wastewater is not being treated at standards necessary to protect coral reefs; and
There is a lack of comprehensive coastal zone planning that has resulted in poorly planned and sited coastal developments.

This first Eco-Audit provides the foundation for subsequent Eco-Audits, which will be implemented every two years, assuring a routine accounting of efforts to improve the health of the MAR.

Read the analysis and find out more at: www.healthyreefs.org and www.wri.org/reefs

-END-

Contact:

Melanie McField, Director, Healthy Reefs Initiative (Belize City, Belize); email: mcfield@healthyreefs.org; tel: (501) 223-4898; or

Michael Oko, Director, Media Relations, World Resources Institute (Washington, D.C.); email: moko@wri.org; tel. (202) 729-7684

Exploring Threats to Coral Reefs with GIS Data Sets

Katie Reytar — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 16:55:52 -0500

This piece originally appeared in the Winter 2012 edition of Esri’s ArcUser Magazine. The full text, graphics, and GIS datasets are available here.

View the online mapping presentation

Assessing Threats, Raising Awareness

WRI has been using GIS to develop highly detailed maps of the threats to coral reefs worldwide since 1998. Coral reefs are vital to maintaining the diversity and viability of marine ecosystems. They provide livelihoods and food for coastal communities and shelter and protection for shorelines.

The goal of the Reefs at Risk project is to produce globally consistent data, maps, and reports that are hybrids of model results and observational evidence that can be used to raise awareness about the location and severity of specific threats to coral reefs. GIS is used to develop spatial indicators linking human activities and livelihoods to pressures on coral reef ecosystems.

Reefs at Risk in the Present, 2030, and 2050: The top map (A) shows reefs classified by present integrated threats from local activities. In the middle (B) and bottom (C) maps, reefs are classified by integrated local threats and projections of thermal stress and ocean acidification for 2030 and 2050

The project has spawned four publications between 1998 and 2011—a global analysis; two detailed regional analyses; and, most recently, a high-resolution update of the first global analysis.

Reefs at Risk Revisited improves on the 1998 global analysis in several important ways. It uses a global map of coral reefs at 500-meter resolution and benefits from improvements in the many global datasets used to evaluate threats to reefs. Most threat data is at 1-square-kilometer resolution. For the first time, it also includes an assessment of climate-related threats to reefs as well as an assessment of the vulnerability of nations and territories to coral reef degradation, based on their dependence on coral reefs and their capacity to adapt. Finally, it takes advantage of the many advances in online web mapping applications, such as ArcGIS Explorer Online, to reach a broader audience that is web savvy, but not necessarily GIS savvy.

Continue reading the full text of this article >>>

Lionfish Invasion Threatens Coral Reefs in the Atlantic and Caribbean

Richard Waite — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 10:30:47 -0400

Recent news reports from Texas to Jamaica to the Bahamas…

How to Reduce Your Coral Reef Footprint

Lauretta Burke — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 14:40:43 -0400

”Reeling Reefs,” a feature story in the August 15th issue of American Way magazine, showcases…

"Shocking" New Report Confirms Threats to World's Oceans and Reefs

Lauretta Burke — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 10:52:45 -0400

A new report on the state of the world’s oceans is gaining considerable attention this week. The report by the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature warns that combined threats to oceans are creating conditions where there is “a high risk of entering a phase of extinction of marine species unprecedented in human history.” Dr. Alex Rogers, scientific director of the IPSO, calls the new findings “shocking.”

While to some this language may seem extreme, the reality is that an unprecedented range of threats are coming together to challenge the health of oceans and underwater life. The report identifies the main drivers of these threats, including: climate change, overexploitation, pollution and habitat loss. The report also finds increasing hypoxia (low oxygen levels) and anoxia (absence of oxygen, known as ocean dead zones) along with warming oceans and increasing acidification are creating multiple stessors on the world’s oceans – and multiple stressors are, in their words, a precondition for other mass extinction events in the Earth’s history.

The bottom line is that these combined threats– much of it caused by human activity— are undermining the sustainability of our fragile ocean ecosystems, sea life and the value they hold. The World Resources Institute has been working on these issues over its 30 year history— particularly focused on the threats to coral reefs and issues around eutrophication and hypoxia (commonly referred to as “dead zones”).

Coral Reefs

Coral reefs are an essential part of ocean ecosystems – home to over 25 percent of all known species of marine life. The new IPSO report finds that in the past 50 years, activities related to “overfishing, pollution, and unsustainable practices” have led to severe declines in many marine species and an unprecedented level of degradation and loss of critically important habitat types such as mangroves, seagrass meadows and coral reefs. These pressures are being compounded by global warming, which leads to coral bleaching and related threats from ocean acidification.

These findings echo themes from WRI’s recent report, Reefs at Risk Revisited, which finds that 75 percent of the world’s reefs are already at risk. WRI found that the main local pressures include overfishing, destructive fishing and pollution are leading threats to coral reefs. Like the IPSO, WRI looked at global pressures as well, namely global warming, coral bleaching and ocean acidification. WRI found that unless these combined threats are turned back, more than 90 percent of coral reefs will at risk by 2030 and all the world’s reefs will be threatened by 2050. In addition, WRI found that in the past 10 years, threats to coral reefs increased by 30 percent – showing that the threats to reefs are increasing both in speed and intensity.

Dead Zones

The new IPSO report identifies hypoxia as one of the factors which is threatening ocean life. Last year, WRI worked with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) to identify and map areas around there world that are showing signs of eutrophication and hypoxia. The new research identified 535 low-oxygen “dead zones,” only 56 of which can be classified as improving; an additional 248 sites worldwide were identified as areas of concern that currently exhibit signs of marine eutrophication and are at risk of developing hypoxia. According to our analysis, the number of eutrophic or hypoxic areas have increased from 42 known hypoxic or eutrophic sites in 1950 to the 783 sites we’ve identified today. This represents an 1800% increase in eutrophic and hypoxic areas over the past 60 years.

Dead zones are the result of over-fertilization of our coastal areas from sources such as runoff from agriculture, discharges from industry, and human sewage. When a dead zone forms, oxygen in the water is severely depleted– threatening animals, plants, and other sea life with it. A combination of stressors from climate change, fisheries, pollution and habitat destruction are leading to more dead zones, further comprising our oceans, including the fragile world of coral reefs.

Cause for Hope?

While these findings are grim, there are reasons for hope. The IPSO identifies some key steps that could help reverse the dire direction for our oceans to help restore and protect ocean ecoystems. Their recommendations include:

Reducing carbon emissions,
Restoring the structure and function of marine ecosystems
Proper and universal implementation of the precautionary principle; and
Urgent introduction by the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly of effective governance of the High Seas

WRI’s research has made it clear that with growing awareness of the declining status of the world’s oceans and identifying the most urgent threats and primary drivers of ecosystem degradation, people can take steps to reduce our impact – especially at the local level. Engaging in sustainable business practices (including ecotourism), reducing local pollution (including the over-use of fertilizers), protecting coastal mangroves and establishing more fish sanctuaries and strengthening marine protected areas as well as improved fisheries management can all help to buy time for coral reefs.

Supporting comprehensive national assessments to identify the root causes of species declines and degradation of ecosystem services and mobilize support for urgently needed policy and institutional reforms, improvements in regulatory frameworks and market-led economic incentives can help to turn the tide.

On a global level, however, the threats from climate change looms large – more political will is needed along with more action by governments to prevent the worst possible forecasts of the State of Oceans Report. It is up to people, policymakers, and international leaders to make decisions today to ensure that the truly frightening predictions of mass extinction of sea life do not come to pass.

Jamaica’s Coastal Capital at Risk: Report from the Field

Richard Waite — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 09:17:14 -0400

A new economic valuation shows what Jamaica’s economy stands to lose if its coral reefs decline further.

Last week, I traveled to Jamaica with my colleagues Lauretta Burke and Benjamin Kushner to launch a new analysis called Coastal Capital: Jamaica – The Economic Contribution of Jamaica’s Coral Reefs. We spent several rainy days in Kingston, where we launched the report at two events, met with many members of Jamaica’s environmental community, and sampled delicious (but spicy) Jamaican cuisine. The sun came out near the end of the week, which allowed us to get out to the beach and see some coral reefs before heading back home.

Our first stop was the Jamaica Institute of Environmental Professionals’ (JIEP) bi-annual conference in Kingston. This year’s conference theme was “Balancing National Development and Environmental Protection,” and WRI officially launched Coastal Capital: Jamaica. We followed this launch event with a three-hour seminar on our results at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona Campus. More than 80 people attended the two events, including some of the key players in environmental policy and coastal management in the country. Two of Jamaica’s national newspapers also covered the report, headlining the importance of the country’s coral reefs to its tourism and fishing industries.

Read the summary of Coastal Capital: Jamaica

Coral Reefs are Valuable

Coastal Capital: Jamaica finds that coral reefs provide significant value to the Jamaican economy. Reefs help build and protect Jamaica’s beautiful white coralline beaches, which attract millions of international tourists each year. Reefs provide critical habitat for Jamaica’s artisanal and industrial fisheries, and they also protect Jamaica’s coastline—including coastal communities and tourist hotels—from the destructive force of tropical storms. Unfortunately, Jamaica’s reefs are severely at risk, from overfishing, poorly planned coastal development, and pollution from land and sea. Climate change—which triggers warming seas and ocean acidification—is also taking its toll and its impacts are likely to increase in the future. Jamaica’s economy stands to lose if its reefs decline further.

Our key findings include:

Coral reef-related fisheries contribute US $34.3 million to Jamaica’s economy each year, and that this number could be much higher if Jamaica’s fisheries were sustainably managed.
Reef-related fisheries support between 15,000–20,000 fishermen, and contribute directly and indirectly to the livelihoods of at least 100,000 Jamaicans (or nearly 5% of the population) island-wide.
Further loss of coral reefs could more than double beach erosion rates in Jamaica’s major beach resort towns. Beach erosion rates could increase by more than 50 percent in Montego Bay, 70 percent in Ocho Rios, and 100 percent in Negril over a 10-year period.
Increased beach erosion could drive between 9,000–18,000 foreign tourists away from Jamaica each year, costing the country up to US $19 million in lost tourism revenue per year, and up to US $23 million in lost revenues to the wider Jamaican economy.
Coral reef degradation leads to increased wave heights during storms and thus leads to more widespread coastal flooding. For example, in Discovery Bay, severe reef degradation could cause the number of buildings flooded to more than triple.

Not the Last Word

We do not see Coastal Capital: Jamaica as the last word on the economic value and importance of the country’s coral reefs. Quite the contrary, we hope that these results will contribute to the ongoing conversation within the country about how to effectively balance Jamaica’s long-term development goals with its need to protect its natural environment in order to sustain development long into the future.

To that end, we had lively discussions at both events, as participants raised questions that quickly got to the heart of Jamaica’s most pressing environmental issues. How should Jamaica deal with its current situation of too many fishermen and not enough fish? Is the tourism industry—a leading moneymaker in Jamaica—degrading the very ecosystems it depends on, and what can be done about it? The sessions ended on a hopeful note that analysis, debate and collaboration would lead to real action.

To the Beach

A glimpse of Jamaica’s degraded reefs. Photo credit: WRI

Our last stop, of course, was the beach. At first glance, it was a tropical paradise. The sun was shining, the palm trees waved in the breeze, and the Caribbean Sea was warm and relaxing. However, all was not well under the sea surface: the corals we saw were small and some were diseased, algae was widespread, and fish (save for the invasive carnivorous lionfish) were few. Later that evening, we sampled the lionfish at a local market—contributing to the Jamaican government’s plan to encourage citizens to “eat it to beat it”—and found it quite tasty.

The fates of Jamaica’s economy and of its natural environment are closely intertwined. Although the view under the water was sobering, we came home energized and cautiously optimistic. The enthusiastic participation and healthy debates at our two events in Kingston gave us reason for hope, and reassured us that meaningful change—driven by well-intentioned and better informed individuals from all sectors of Jamaican society—is indeed possible.

WRI produced Coastal Capital: Jamaica in collaboration with UWI’s Marine Geology Unit, the Mona GeoInformatics Institute, The Nature Conservancy and Texas A&M University, with generous support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. For a summary and the full technical reports, including the valuation methodology, please visit www.wri.org/coastal-capital.

WRI Warns of Threats to Coral Reefs at Capitol Hill Ocean Week

Katie Reytar — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 09:35:37 -0400

Despite their benefits to national economies, reefs around the world are at risk, including in the United States.

Last Wednesday, WRI participated in Capitol Hill Ocean Week (CHOW), a premier conference held annually in Washington, DC that brings together Members of Congress and Congressional staff, federal, state, and local government institutions, and experts from many different backgrounds to discuss current coastal and ocean issues.

The theme of this year’s event was “American Prosperity and Global Security: Ocean Solutions for the 21st Century.” The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation holds the event each year in conjunction with World Oceans Day, June 8th. This year, the event could not have been timelier. On June 2, President Obama declared June as National Ocean Month, and last week the White House’s National Ocean Council released nine draft action plans to serve as a foundation for implementing the U.S.’s first National Ocean Policy.

As part of a CHOW panel titled “How Dramatic are the Demands of a Changing Ocean?”, I delivered a global perspective on the threats to the world’s coral reefs based on WRI’s recent report Reefs at Risk Revisited. I emphasized the important ecosystem services that coral reefs provide to people in the U.S. and around the world, and the benefits of reefs to national economies. These include revenue from tourism (95 countries and territories benefit from reef-related tourism); shoreline protection (coral reefs protect 150,000 km of shorelines around the world, helping to defend against storm surges and beach erosion); and food security (a healthy reef can yield between 5 and 15 tons of fish and seafood per square kilometer per year).

I also relayed the major findings of Reefs at Risk Revisited: that 75% of the world’s coral reefs are currently threatened by local human activities and past stresses from coral bleaching, and these threats will be exacerbated in the future by ocean warming and acidification caused by increasing greenhouse gas emissions.

In line with the symposium’s theme of American Prosperity and Global Security, I presented estimates of threats to coral reefs that are located within U.S. states and territories. The United States has jurisdiction over more than 14,000 sq km of coral reefs in about a dozen territories in the Pacific Ocean. Because many reefs within these states and territories, which include Hawaii and the Marshall Islands, are remote from dense populations, their reefs are at relatively low risk compared to others in the world. Overfishing is the greatest threat, affecting about 25% of U.S. Pacific reefs, followed by coastal development, which threatens about 15%. In total, we estimate that about 30% of reefs in the U.S. Pacific are threatened by local human activities.

In contrast, a much higher percentage of coral reefs in the U.S. Atlantic are significantly threatened. About 2,000 sq km of coral reefs are located within five U.S. Atlantic states and territories (Florida, Texas, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Navassa Island). More than 80% of these reefs are threatened by marine-based pollution and damage (such as shipping traffic, waste from ports, and oil infrastructure) and about 60% are threatened by overfishing. All of the U.S. Atlantic’s coral reefs are considered threatened by at least one local activity.

At stake are the important ecosystem services that these coral reefs provide. Degradation of reefs exposes our shorelines to greater storm surges, diminishes economic returns from tourism and fisheries, and jeopardizes our food security.

What we need is a greatly expanded and more concerted effort to reduce local pressures on coral reefs. Such actions include increased coverage of marine protected areas, sustainable coastal construction with more effort devoted to long-term planning, and more analysis of the tradeoffs between investing small amounts of capital in reef management today, versus having to invest much greater amounts in the future to restore and replace lost ecosystem services. We also need to address the global threats to coral reefs from ocean warming and acidification by taking actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Regional Ecosystem Protection and Restoration strategic action plan, proposed as part of the National Ocean Policy, specifically addresses mitigating local impacts to coral reef ecosystems and is a step in the right direction. Federally-funded strategic mitigation actions will buy us time until we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and will help reefs stay resilient in the face of climate change. To revisit the theme of the CHOW panel, it’s clear that the dramatic changes we’re seeing in the ocean are demanding this response from us.

Ocean Inspiration Events To Celebrate the Life and Legacy of Jacques-Yves Cousteau

Craig Hanson — Tue, 17 May 2011 12:32:09 -0400

This week, WRI is joining Céline Cousteau to celebrate the life and legacy of Jacques Cousteau – a man who opened the world’s eyes to what lies beneath the sea.

Jacques Cousteau helped usher in generations of ocean advocates, scientists, and explorers – people committed to understanding and protecting underwater life. I remember as a child watching his adventures as he dived and filmed in the world’s seas. I still have a copy of his classic The Silent World on my bookshelf, tattered by numerous re-reads. Until he came along, the mystery and beauty of the deep was hidden from but a few. After he was here, the value of the oceans was clear to us all.

Recognizing the value of the oceans has been a major motivation behind the World Resources Institute’s work to examine threats to the “rainforests of the sea” ― coral reefs. Coral reefs provide an array of benefits to people around the world, including jobs, income from tourism, shoreline protection, and much more. WRI’s original groundbreaking study of coral reefs, Reefs at Risk, was published in 1998 – just a year after Jacques Cousteau passed away. And, in March, WRI released an updated and even more thorough analysis of the threats to coral reefs – Reefs at Risk Revisited– using the latest satellite data and mapping technology.

The report found that 75 percent of coral reefs are under threat today from a mix of local and global pressures. Without further action, these threats are on course to rise dramatically in the coming years. Reefs at Risk Revisited also looks at the vulnerability of people living in reef dependent areas. As reefs degrade, the livelihoods of millions are at risk from declining supplies of reef-based food and lost income. The report has garnered considerable attention, but more needs to be done to raise awareness and motivate greater protection of reefs and the value they hold.

That’s why WRI is joining up with Céline Cousteau, the granddaughter of Jacques, to host additional events this week to raise awareness of the threats to reefs and oceans more broadly. These events, called Ocean Inspiration, are a once in a generation opportunity to celebrate the life of Jacques Cousteau and recognize ocean advocacy in all its forms. [Click here to read a new Q&A with Céline, and see a family slideshow.]

The events kick-off on May 18 with “Celebrating the Oceans,” a gala at the Sea Grill (Rockefeller Plaza) in New York City from 6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. Emceed by Today Show anchor Amy Robach, the event will include the presentation of Ocean Advocate Awards by Céline, a tribute film to Jacques by his son Jean-Michel, and a profile of WRI’s Reefs at Risk Initiative. The gala will include a live auction of an exclusive Patagonian Eco-Adventure, a private whale watching excursion in Massachusetts, a La Prairie spa package, and more. You can register for the event here (your donation will support Ocean Inspiration and WRI’s Reefs at Risk work).

Ocean Inspiration continues on May 20 with “Looking to the Future,” a public forum in at WRI’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. from 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. The forum, moderated by Céline Cousteau, will kick-off with a conversation about the future of the oceans featuring world-renowned marine scientists and advocates, including Dr. Carl Safina and Dr. David Guggenheim. It will follow with three Calypso alumni sharing inside stories of Cousteau expeditions. The forum will be a unique opportunity to hear from top ocean advocates and first-person stories from people who worked alongside the world’s most famous ocean explorer.

Jacques Cousteau’s passion for oceans and exploration still serves as an inspiration for everyone who cares about our blue planet. We hope that these events will honor his legacy and help inspire a new generation.

Slideshow from Céline Cousteau

Click here to read a Q&A with Céline.

Aboard the Calypso

Here I am sitting on a Zodiac raft while it hangs on the Calypso docked in port somewhere. I’m about 5 or 6 years old and that’s my brother Fabien in the background. The Zodiac is an inflatable boat the crew would use for diving and making runs if you couldn’t bring the ship into port.

Simone, Céline, and Fabien

This is my grandmother Simone, my brother Fabien and me walking out of to the mess hall on the Calypso. You can barely see, but my grandmother’s dog Ulysses is coming to greet us on the dock.

Capturing the Sea

I love this picture of my mother photographing a dolphin on expedition with the Calypso crew. She’s standing on the Zodiac and could be just about anywhere in the world. She was an expedition photographer for 13 years and a lot of my inspiration came from seeing her photos when she would arrive home.

My Grandfather and Mother

This is a great picture of my mother and grandfather in France; the well known public figure and the one who often captured his face on film.

On the Amazon

When I was 9 I spent two weeks on an expedition with my grandfather and the crew in the Amazon. Each day they would take me on “child-approved adventures.” Since that trip, the Amazon is a place I hold very dear to my heart. I worked on a documentary called “Return to the Amazon” with my father and brother about my grandfather’s expeditions there. I also returned to film my own project about a non-profit bringing medical attention to remote areas of the Peruvian Amazon.

Sanary, France

This picture of my grandfather and me was taken in the south of France at our home, in Sanary. My grandparents built that house in the early 1940s and it is still in our family. We spent some summers there when I was growing up, my family lived there for a year, and I’m actually moving back there this summer to work on various projects for a few months.

Céline and Albert Falco

Here I am with Albert Falco, my grandfather’s right hand man, at the Antibes film festival a few years ago. He is still diving today - we just went diving together on my grandfather’s 100th birthday in the South of France with Fabien, Jean-Michel and members of the original Calypso crew.

Ocean Inspiration: Carrying on the Legacy of Jacques-Yves Cousteau

Lauren Zelin — Fri, 13 May 2011 14:07:58 -0400

A conversation with Céline Cousteau.

On May 18, Céline Cousteau will host Ocean Inspiration, a cocktail reception and fundraiser to celebrate the 100th anniversary of her grandfather, Jacques-Yves Cousteau, in New York City at The Sea Grille. The World Resources Institute sat down with Céline to talk about her grandfather, his legacy and what inspired her to become an ocean advocate.

To purchase tickets visit www.wri.org/oceaninspiration

WRI: Tell us about Ocean Inspiration and why you’re hosting this event.

Céline Cousteau: My grandfather, Jacques-Yves Cousteau, would have turned 100 last June. As his 100th anniversary was coming up, people kept asking if the family was doing something to celebrate. Having traveled all around the world, I kept hearing people say “your grandfather inspired me to start diving” or “I got interested in ocean conservation because of him.” There’s this incredible uniting force that one person has the capacity to generate, and I want to give an opportunity to celebrate and reward those who care deeply about this cause and deserve recognition.

The goal of Ocean Inspiration is to honor Jacques Cousteau on his 100th anniversary by recognizing people who are ocean advocates in so many different forms – scientists, filmmakers, dancers, jewelers, designers, musicians and more.

I really enjoy meeting people who are problem solvers, everyday heroes who might not get public recognition because they are out there doing amazing work day in and day out without the means to get their stories told. It motivates me to help them get the attention they deserve and the resources they need to move their projects forward. People like Patty Webster of Amazon Promise, Peter Luswata of the Uganda Rural Community Support Foundation, Michael Kaufmann of Green Chimneys, and Amy Greeson of Healing Seekers. And there are so many more!

WRI: What makes your grandfather’s legacy so enduring today?

CC: A really incredible aspect of his legacy is that so many family members are still involved with environmental causes, most of us with oceans. My own work focuses on creating a bridge between humans and the environment, both above and below water, much like my relatives have in some way continued on with their own form of his work. I think that says a lot. You don’t often see the children and grandchildren of the world’s great minds all becoming scientists, or artists, or musicians. There is something special about that power of the environment and the power of inspiration that has created this incredible legacy that we’ve all followed through with in our own incredible ways.

I think on a very personal level, Jacques-Yves Cousteau was a very charismatic, engaged person who was so passionate about what he did that he spoke of it in a very powerful way. I believe a great attraction for all of us is the exploration and adventure, like it was for him, but more importantly we have a desire to protect those areas that we know are fragile. In my family, we have been taught that we are active participants in the whole system that is the planet, not just what happens in our homes and our backyards.

Aboard the Calypso

Simone, Céline, and Fabien

This is my grandmother Simone, my brother Fabien and me walking out of to the mess hall on the Calypso. You can barely see, but my grandmother’s dog Ulysses is coming to greet us on the dock.

Capturing the Sea

My Grandfather and Mother

This is a great picture of my mother and grandfather in France; the well known public figure and the one who often captured his face on film.

On the Amazon

Sanary, France

Céline and Albert Falco

WRI: How did your grandfather inspire you?

CC: He didn’t necessarily push me to choose this path, but he opened up doors and my mind to the possibilities. It was really the whole family that inspired me – in addition to my grandfather, my father, Jean-Michel Cousteau, has continued ocean work since the 1970s. Less well known are my mother and grandmother, both of whom were a part of the family legacy – my grandmother was aboard Calypso more than any other crew member; my mother was an expedition photographer for over 13 years. I was inspired by a lot of the field stories they told, and as female figures they really influenced me to believe that I have an opportunity to carry on the legacy in whatever way I chose. I was never coerced into this…my family just allowed me to be whoever it is that I chose to be. I went off and studied psychology and intercultural relations (so again there’s the human angle) – but my experiential education was out in the field, in the river, in the jungle, and in the ocean. The experiences with my family came together with my formal education to define my part of this legacy.

WRI: Why are reefs and ocean conservancy issues so important to you?

CC: Oceans play a role in my life personally, in a very individual way. To be able to get into the ocean is an incredible feeling: it’s meditative, it’s an escape, it’s another world, it’s inspiring, it’s wondrous, and it’s surprising.

In a bigger way, the oceans are fundamental to the health of our planet. Coral reefs are particularly important because they are a foundation of many ocean ecosystems. If we don’t protect coral reefs, everything that depends on them will suffer. Our own health and our own well-being depend on it too. There’s not one person on this planet that’s not somehow connected to the ocean, no matter how far you live from it. And I hope to raise awareness through Ocean Inspiration as well as demonstrate concrete support for a great initiative, Reefs at Risk.

WRI: As an institute, we have a similar mandate to look at both the environment and how it affects people. Why did you choose to donate a portion of proceeds from Ocean Inspiration to WRI’s Reefs at Risk?

CC: I first got to know WRI a few years ago when I donated two days of diving with me for an auction at their annual dinner in New York. Meeting the people who work there and learning about the different kinds of work they do was very powerful for me. Because instead of competing with conservation organizations, WRI focuses on creating the content and analysis by which we can actually move forward and implement solutions.

Specifically Reefs at Risk interested me because I was drawn to the 10-year assessment of threats and recommendations for protecting coral reefs. I liked the level of detail, the research, the fantastically clear and tangible maps that went into it, and I thought this is something I want to support and help move forward.

WRI: What can people expect from the May 18 Ocean Inspiration event at The Sea Grill in New York?

After Ocean Inspiration, “I want people to walk away feeling empowered to use their talents to be proactive ocean advocates,” says Céline Cousteau. Photo credit: Sara Stathas

CC: May 18 is the cocktail celebration and fundraiser in New York, emceed by Today Show anchor Amy Robach. We have put together an incredible program with many diverse elements during the evening. For example, there will be a sensory room where you can immerse yourself in ocean sounds. An incredible composer, Henri “Scars” Struck, is composing the piece for that room. And Derek Stratton of Pilobolus has choreographed a special dance performance just for this evening with Henri’s music, as well.

In terms of programming, there will be a presentation by WRI on Reefs at Risk Revisited. My father, Jean-Michel, will preview an excerpt from his new film “My Father the Captain” which hasn’t shown in the United States yet. He’s also going to speak about his life and his inspiration from his father. We will honor our award recipients, including Dr. David Guggenheim, who has done incredible work in educating others about the importance of healthy oceans.

The live auction includes a one-of-a-kind, ocean-inspired dress by CFDA award-winning designer Sophie Théallet. There will also be a one-week trip to an exclusive members-only property in Patagonia. It includes horseback riding, rafting, canoeing, helicopter rides, mountain biking, access to amazing chefs and great food, plus there is a research stations where you can see blue whales. It’s fabulous; I want to go!

We will also auction work by top photographers, including Ernie Brooks, Chuck Davis, David Doubilet, Brian Skerry, Scott Frier, Stephen Wilkes, Carrie Vonderhaar and more.

WRI: What would you like people to take away from Ocean Inspiration?

CC: Although the event is a tribute to my grandfather and his mission, it is not just about him, but about the power one person has to influence many. I want people to walk away feeling empowered to use their talents to be proactive ocean advocates. I want people to know that they can have an impact every day from the food they eat, to where they choose to spend their vacations, to supporting non-profit organizations, to volunteering their time. So I hope that people will walk away with something tangible to do and have the inspiration to move to action beyond that evening.

To purchase tickets to Ocean Inspiration, visit www.wri.org/oceaninspiration
(Note: the fee is waived for credentialed media, email lcole@wri.org to register)

MEDIA ADVISORY: Ocean Inspiration and WRI Celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Captain Jacques-Yves Cousteau

Lauren Zelin — Thu, 12 May 2011 15:12:44 -0400

May 18 event at Sea Grill is a tribute to Captain Cousteau and our fragile ocean world

Explorers, filmmakers, scientists, dancers, artists, musicians, and ocean advocates will come together for this once in a lifetime event: Ocean Inspiration. The event, hosted by Celine Cousteau, granddaughter of Jacques, will be held on Wednesday, May 18, at the Sea Grill in New York City.

When asked why she created this event, Celine Cousteau explained, “The best tribute that I can give my grandfather is to unite the people who have drawn inspiration from him, those who have an abiding respect for our oceans and are exemplary ocean advocates.”

The Ocean Inspiration reception, which begins at 6:30 p.m., will be emceed by NBC’s Amy Robach, Saturday anchor for the TODAY show. Experts from the World Resources Institute will present information about the Reefs at Risk initiative. Four individuals will be honored with Ocean Advocacy Awards, and the winners of the Captain Cousteau “100 Second Tribute” videos will be recognized. Additionally, Jean-Michel Cousteau, son of Jacques-Yves Cousteau, will preview a clip from his new film “My Father the Captain” for the first time in the United States.

Rounding out the event will be silent and live auctions, including a one-of-a-kind dress by Sophie Theallet worn by Jessica Alba, and an original piece choreographed and performed by Derek Stratton of Pilobolus dance company, with music by Henri ‘Scars’ Struck.

A portion of the proceeds benefit the World Resources Institute’s Reefs at Risk project. Sponsors of the event include: La Prairie, Contiki, Code Blue Foundation and NOAA-NMSF.

Ocean Inspiration is open to the media and the public. Visit: http://www.oceaninspiration.net to purchase tickets. (Note: the fee is waived for credentialed media)

WHAT:
Ocean Inspiration event celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Jacques Yves-Cousteau

WHO:
Celine Cousteau, other members of the Cousteau family, explorers, filmmakers, scientists, dancers, artists, musicians, and more

WHEN:
Wednesday, May 18, 2011

TIME:
Starting at 6:30pm

WHERE:
The Sea Grill, Rockefeller Plaza, 19 West 49th Street, New York City

RSVP:
http://www.wri.org/oceaninspiration

For more information or to set-up interviews, please contact: Lauren Cole, lcole@wri.org, (202) 729-7736