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Isabelle Autissier, Chair of WWF France

Isabelle Autissier, WWF Cap Cetaces, June 2014. rel= © F.Bassemayousse / WWF France

French solo yachtswoman, Isabelle Autissier is the first woman to have sailed around the world in a competition. An agronomist, writer, radio broadcaster, she is the Chair of WWF France (elected in December 2009).

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

WWF France has been active in protecting the Mediterranean Sea for the past 15 years, conscious of its fragility, of the pressures to which it is subjected.  
The Mediterranean represents a laboratory in which we can develop solutions to be replicated in other parts of the world.

WWF France has relaunched the MedPAN network, today an important institution in the Mediterranean. MedPAN has coordinated two major European programmes of MPAs and as a consequence is highly recognized in the region. They have significant experience and are known and trusted by a wide range of Mediterranean partners. France is one of the most advanced countries in terms of MPAs (Port Cros is the archetypal Mediterranean MPA) although much remains to be done in terms of improving MPA management.

As a major marine conservation presence for more than 15 years, in particular through work on cetaceans, WWF France has great experience and legitimacy in this area and throughout the network. WWF France has been closely involved with Mediterranean artisanal fishers to activate and encourage them to work towards the necessary fisheries reform.

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

Fish stocks are subjected to strong pressure in the Mediterranean for both demographic reasons and because the productive continental shelf is quite narrow. At the same time a number of important assets distinguish Mediterranean fisheries:
  • They are little industrialized, and have a high representation of artisanal fishing which is not principally focused on profit, is versatile and is therefore adaptable and well-disposed to sustainability.
  • They have developed original and ancestral (traditional) management methods (prud'homies and guilds for example) which facilitate the shift to co-management called for by WWF.
  • They are a social force, a regional means of employment thanks to a favourable ratio of tonnes of fish caught to jobs created. They are also a powerful cultural force throughout the basin.
The efforts of the fisheries teams of WWF national offices in the Mediterranean have made it possible for WWF today to be closely involved in the GFCM, leading to a reinforcement of WWF’s influence in the region.

Thanks to all these assets we have the capacity to develop exemplary fisheries in the Mediterranean. Experience has taught us, however, that that forces of inertia and resistance are strong and that politicians are not very courageous.

Having had the opportunity to sail around the world, solo, four times, Isabelle has been profoundly moved by her experiences, and shares some of the things that the sea has taught her.

You have spoken about the importance of observation in our relationship with the environment. What have you observed whilst sailing the Mediterranean Sea that can teach us the most?

Observation is at the heart of sailors’ lives, and also of those of us passionate about nature. There are visible things – large-scale pollution, coastal urbanization and degraded landscapes, waste discharged into the sea – but there is, above all, what we don’t see, the micro-pollution that will enter the food chain and contaminate all ecosystems. The danger of climate change is also very important because it will modify all food chains. We can already see a multitude of new species arriving, in particular from the Red Sea, which will compete with local species. The invisible threats are more dangerous than the visible ones.

How can we apply the lessons of solidarity that you have learned as a sailor to our combined efforts for the protection of the Mediterranean?

Against the hazards and the dangers of the sea, people have developed forms of solidarity that preserve human life. This is a message of hope, which means that when we want to we can be collectively efficient. It is indispensable that we extend these forms of solidarity to the entire web of life which sustains us by defining a true governance and an organization of human activities which do not impact negatively on the environment. WWF is working for that.

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It is indispensable that we extend forms of solidarity to the entire web of life which sustains us. WWF is working for that.

Isabelle Autissier