Discover the winners of our call for projects ‘Taking action for the ocean: riding the wave of innovation and resilience’.

Last January, to mark the Year of the Sea, the Artelia Foundation launched its annual call for projects entitled ‘Acting for the ocean: riding the wave of innovation and resilience’.

Back to the call for projects

The aim of this call for projects is to support projects aimed at protecting the oceans and conserving marine biodiversity in conjunction with the fight against marine pollution, including projects that combat against marine pollution (initiatives to clean up beaches and oceans, awareness-raising actions), the alteration of marine biodiversity (projects to protect endangered species, restore coral reefs, preserve marine habitats) while educating and raising awareness among populations and strengthening the resilience of communities in the face of oceanic and coastal risks.

The winners

After two rounds of selection and interviews with the project promoters on 17 April and 16 May, 6 projects were selected for the final round from 100 applications received.

We are delighted to announce the 6 winning projects:

• Plastic Odyssey (Philippines)
  This project aims to support local entrepreneurship and develop 7 decentralised recycling units, divert 3,500 tonnes of plastic a year from the oceans, and train 100 students in the circular economy. It is expected to create almost 370 direct and indirect jobs.

• Pala Dalik (New Caledonia)
  The association is developing an innovative protocol for observing coral reefs using photogrammetry to assess their resilience. It also offers educational activities and the creation of an immersive virtual tour.

• Blutopia (Charente-Maritime)
  Through its ‘Les chantiers iodés’ project, Blutopia uses seaweed to preserve marine biodiversity, combat erosion and raise public awareness through participatory work camps and cookery workshops.  The association is also helping 500 young people in precarious situations to adopt a healthy diet.

• Septentrion Environnement (Western Mediterranean)
  The association deploys the POLARIS platform to promote citizen diving and collect data on marine ecosystems. It trains more than 80 divers a year and sets up a network of observers in several Mediterranean areas.

• Le Partenariat (Saint-Louis, Senegal)
  The aim is to preserve and restore coastal ecosystems, particularly mangroves, by creating a local observatory, reforesting 40 hectares and raising awareness of environmental issues among 5,000 people, including 2,000 schoolchildren.

• Le GRET (Sainte-Marie Island, Madagascar)
  The ‘Miaro’ project involves restoring two coral reefs using artificial structures, while training local communities in reef restoration and participatory ecological monitoring.

Acknowledgements

Congratulations to the winners, who convinced the jury on the subjects of participatory science, resilience, restoration and the fight against plastic pollution. These projects will benefit from a total budget of €100,000, allocated according to the needs and scale of each project.

We would also like to thank all the project leaders who submitted projects, to whom we offer our warmest encouragement.

Finally, our warmest thanks go to the jury, comprising Aurélie LEDISSEZ, Marine BOURSAULT, Francis STAUB and Marie ROMANI.