| The world's oceans face growing problems, says Philippe Cousteau, but different conservation bodies jostling for cash and publicity is having a negative effect |
 |
GROWING UP AS A COUSTEAU WAS A MAGICAL EXPERIENCE. My father Philippe died in 1979, six months before I was born, but I was surrounded by friends and family who did their best to give me a glimpse of who my father really was: a man who believed strongly in the inherent goodness of humanity, and fought to educate people about the importance of preserving our planet.
My earliest memories of my grandfather, Jacques-Yves Cousteau, are of us buying a train set together. He had a wonderful quality that allowed him to communicate and relate to children; he never spoke down, and always knew which toys and gadgets were popular and which were not (an important gauge of character to an 8-year-old!).
He also taught me the importance of protecting and maintaining our world, and respecting all living things. I inherited a legacy that strives to create awareness and respect for our water planet.
My father and my grandfather devoted their lives to saving the oceans. Philippe was vital to the Cousteau Society, on par with my grandfather on every issue and sometimes even surpassing him in ardour and vision.
He dreamt up and realised a myriad of ideas and projects, led all the expeditions, was a leading film-maker and wrote one of the most popular Cousteau books, Shark. His life and work were cut tragically short when mechanical failure caused the beloved seaplane he had piloted all over the world to crash into the Taos river in Lisbon, Portugal.
My sister Alexandra and I feel it is our responsibility to carry on his work. Alexandra founded the Philippe Cousteau Foundation last year to do just that.
Since the era of the Cousteau Society, such issues as ghost nets, over-fishing and overpopulation continue to grow hotter.
Ghost nets are one of the worst problems facing our oceans. When a trawler encounters a storm, it often cuts loose its nets, sometimes miles of them.
These go on killing anything in their path until they are full. Then they sink until enough fish rot away for them to float back to the surface and kill again. In the past five years, world fisheries have declined by as much as 30 per cent, forcing many regions to curb their harvesting of the most popular species, and greatly affecting many economies.
This is typical of the ignorance of governments and industry about the effects of their actions, yet those likely to be hit hardest will be the fishermen who have no fish left to catch.
All it needs is simple legislation to ban ghost nets or, at least, GPS tracking devices for retrieving nets. Yet simple solutions are written off because of their expense or unpopularity with voters.
True change does not come with legislation. It can take decades, even generations. Laws imposed on oil companies or fishing boats are only expediencies created by politicians to satisfy the electorate and have no lasting effect if they are not enforced.
We're witnessing the dawn of a new world dominated by the Internet. Using computer technology, we can communicate with more people than ever before, through schools, universities and libraries around the world.
We have to educate everyone, but I believe in targeting the policy-makers of the future. We must instil in people the value of maintaining our symbiotic relationship with the oceans while they are young enough to develop the right habits first time around.
A perfect example of successful change is the small island of Bonaire in the Caribbean, where people have learned that co-operation with nature can lead to long-term economic growth and stability. Countries are realising that by protecting their natural resources, tourism (the staple of many developing economies) and, increasingly, eco-tourism, will flourish.
The Foundation believes that one of the problems facing our environmental community is lack of co-operation. Billions of dollars are spent worldwide every year, but split between organisations which have a common goal yet often fail to work together to increase their productivity, share knowledge or simply advertise their projects to a wider audience.
I understand that resources are limited, yet it saddens me to see some of the most successful organisations in the world competing for money or publicity.
My father did not believe in this approach. He provided a forum for countless scientists and researchers in his films and books, bringing their work to a wider audience. This is the kind of co-operation we must foster to make our projects that much more effective.
As we destroy the oceans, we destroy ourselves. We are inextricably tied to the aquatic world, economically, socially and spiritually. The ocean is not an inexhaustible resource, and its health affects all living creatures.
We must develop a sense of stewardship and create a future that is environmentally sustainable future.
|
