Journalist, author and television personality, Donatella Bianchi is the newly-elected president of WWF Italy. Having begun her career in journalism at an early age, since 1994 she has conducted Linea Blu, a television programme dedicated to the sea and the communities that depend on it.

Each of the WWF offices, partners in the Mediterranean Initiative, brings their own strengths to the project. What is the particular role of WWF Italy in the conservation of the entire basin?

In over 50 years of activity, WWF Italy has developed as an organization of and for the people: we have been able to attract and mobilize hundreds of thousands of Italians, to appeal to their love for Italy’s nature, and with their support protect the bear, the wolf and many places of great beauty along the coasts or in the Alps and the Appennines.

We have also worked with fishers to teach them how to save marine turtles and to show them how precious their help is for this species. We have fought, alongside other WWF offices, to avoid the collapse of the bluefin tuna stock. We bring the same determination to the Mediterranean Initiative, to the promotion of which I pledge my decades of experience in the media, specializing in marine issues.

Knowledge is fundamental towards the creation of a new collective conscience – and that is what we need in the Mediterranean. We need public support, to strengthen the efforts of environmentalists and protected areas staff and to forge a ‘new deal’ for this region’s unique biodiversity, landscapes, art, culture and quality of life. We want to create a community of all Mediterranean countries that takes on the management of their Sea as a shared heritage. The Mediterranean requires a new geography of action, efficient and effective initiatives that go beyond each country’s national waters.  I consider it my personal mission to combat the concept of the Mediterranean as a space where indiscriminate economic gain prevails without rules. This is our space – mare nostrum – and it is perfect as a symbol of the environmental culture so vital to this new millennium.

The European Commission recently confirmed that 91% of Mediterranean stocks are overfished: what are your hopes for this situation in 10 years time?

My greatest hope is to see decision makers, environmentalists, protected areas managers and fishers – professional and recreational – united in a prudent management of fish stock, based firmly on the indications of the scientific community and with greater measures against illegality. I want to see consumers choosing to buy their fish from reliable sources, both buyers and sellers well-informed and ready to promote and support a Mediterranean product which is fished sustainably. I do not want to see a continuation of illegal fishing and conflict between marine stakeholders. I certainly do not want to see the collapse of any of the fish stocks which are currently over-exploited. The future is in cooperation, the coexistence of a variety of activities in a productive and healthy sea, where stocks are able to regenerate and new economic activities emerge that respect the environment.