Rainier III Protector of Environment

At the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, Prince Rainier III stressed the urgency of responses to the challenges facing humanity: the overuse of natural resources, pollution, climate change, erosion and land desertification, environmental refugees, growing inequalities and the degradation of seas and oceans. A scuba diver and sea lover, Rainier III initiated many actions, including opposition to the dumping of nuclear waste in the Mediterranean Sea, the hosting of high-level laboratories on the marine environment (IAEA and Monaco Scientific Center), or the launch of international agreements to fight against pollution and protect species. Monaco was one of the first signatories of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and at the initiative, with France and Italy, of the creation of the PELAGOS sanctuary in 1999 for the protection of marine mammals of the Mediterranean, the first marine protected area on the high seas. We should also note the signing of the RAMOGE agreement in 1976, ACCOBAMS in 1996, or even the action of the Principality within the framework of CITES in favor of the preservation of species.