H.S.H. Prince Albert II visited Lisbon on Tuesday 28 and Wednesday 29 June for the United Nations Ocean Conference.
The Sovereign arrived in Portugal on Tuesday afternoon, June 28th, to take part in an interactive dialogue dedicated to the "Management, protection, conservation and restoration of marine and coastal ecosystems". During this session, the Prince insisted on the necessity of not neglecting local approaches to maritime issues, in particular by promoting the development of marine protected areas to safeguard and preserve ecosystems.
Later in the day, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation co-organized a side-event dedicated to the Polar Oceans, the driving force of the world ocean, with the Oceanographic Institute and the Océano Azul Foundation. Under the presidency of H.S.H. Prince Albert II, scientists, experts, artists and filmmakers discussed not only the importance of the polar oceans as vectors of global ocean and climate change, but also the need to contribute towards raising the profile of scientific messages.
On Wednesday, June 29, the Prince attended a side-event organized by the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI), before addressing the plenary session of the United Nations Ocean Conference. In front of the assembly, Prince Albert recalled that the Principality is committed to a number of concrete initiatives in favor of the oceans, mentioning in particular Medfund, the Monk Seal Alliance and BeMed. During the day, H.S.H. the Prince also took part in several events organized on the sidelines of the UN Conference, including an initiative of the Post Conflict Development Foundation, a conference of the Ocean Innovators Platform and a meeting of the Global Fund for Coral Reef.
