Blancpain and The Economist launch a new programme called "Beyond the Surface"
As part of its Blancpain Ocean Commitment programme, which aims to explore and preserve the oceans, the Manufacture de Haute Horlogerie Blancpain has supported The Economist's World Ocean Summit since 2012 as a Founding Partner. Following on from the World Ocean Inititative, created in 2018 to bridge the gap between the need to develop a blue economy while preserving the health of the oceans, Blancpain is pleased to announce the launch of a new programme called "Beyond the Surface", which aims to create a scorecard to assess the effectiveness of marine protected areas (MPAs) around the world.
Exploring and preserving the oceans has always been a key concern for Blancpain. Throughout the more than 70 years of existence of its Fifty Fathoms, the first true diver's watch, the Manufacture has forged close links with the ocean community. Through the Blancpain Ocean Commitment, it actively supports The Economist's World Ocean Summit, which this year took place from 11 to 13 March in Lisbon, Portugal.
Actively involved in finding solutions for preserving our oceans, this summit was the opportunity to present the new "Beyond the Surface" research programme, launched with Blancpain's support. With its highly symbolic name, this programme is designed to measure the effectiveness of certain MPAs, both in terms of the level of protection provided and the economic and social outcomes derived from them. To this end, "Beyond the Surface" has developed an interactive mapping tool listing 100 MPAs around the world, 10 of which present in-depth analyses of their design, implementation and results, using films, articles, case studies, infographics and short videos to identify good practice and areas for improvement.
Intended to help governments in their decision-making and to inform the wider public, this tool aims to identify effective MPAs and those where work needs to be optimised, thus going beyond the surface.