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UN GLOBAL GOALS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

10% by 2022 Goal for MPAs

4.700.000 Km2

PROTECTED WITH BLANCPAIN'S SUPPORT

The Protectors

Since 2018, the World Ocean Summit has expanded into a wider and more ambitious World Ocean Initiative with an agenda focused on accelerated measures and tangible results on behalf of viable stewardship of the oceans. It is within the framework of this new initiative that the Manufacture Blancpain – creator of the first modern diving watch – and The Economist Group have set up The Protectors program which is designed to support a series of individual projects that contribute in an innovative and significant manner to the objective of having 30% of the planet’s oceans classified into marine protected areas by 2030.

The Protectors ocean film series examines the cutting edge science and radical thinking at work in tackling the crisis facing the world’s seas. This series reflects the passion of those at the front line of marine biology, and tells the story of the challenge now confronting us as we explore the world’s oceans.

Season 3

Can deep-sea mining help the environment?

Mining companies and governments will soon be allowed to extract minerals from the deep-ocean floor. These rare metals are vital for a more environmentally sustainable future on land, but at what cost to the health of the ocean?

$1bn to save the ocean

The Economist asked Sir David Attenborough and four other leading thinkers on ocean conservation how they would invest $1bn to protect the ocean. Some of their answers may surprise you.

 

Surviving climate change: the amazing resilience of horseshoe crabs

Horseshoe crabs predate the dinosaurs and have survived mass extinctions and major climatic shifts. Meet the biologist who is researching these living fossils to see if they could hold evolutionary secrets for marine species in the face of climate change.

How to stop plastic getting into the ocean

Plastic pollution poses a major threat to ocean life. Meet the engineers who are using rubbish-guzzling boats to stem the flow at its source.

 

How noise pollution threatens ocean life

Noise pollution has led to multiple whale-strandings and poses a threat to thousands of ocean creatures. Meet the scientist who is mapping ocean noise in a bid to dial down the volume.

Mangroves: How they help the ocean

Mangrove forests are vital for the health of the planet, but they're rapidly disappearing. Meet the pioneering scientists who are harnessing the hidden power of mangroves to help tackle climate change.

Season 2

Secrets of the deep ocean

Deep beneath the ocean’s surface lie vast areas of seabed that have never before been explored by humankind. Now state-of-the-art technology is giving scientists an unprecedented opportunity to conduct research that is vital to protecting the ocean. And to uncovering the true nature of damage being done to it.

How sea cucumbers can help the ocean

Sea cucumbers are under threat. Like many coastal species they have been chronically overfished. One remote community in Madagascar has started a pioneering coastal-farming project with astonishing results.

This is the most over-fished sea in the world

This is the extraordinary story of one man's dream to save the most over-fished sea in the world. Zafer Kizilkaya has almost single handedly turned a ravaged bay in Turkey into one of the most effective and thriving marine conservation areas in the Mediterranean.

Season 1

Can tourism help save the ocean?

Indonesia’s Coral Triangle is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet. But in recent years destructive fishing practices and illegal poaching have been threatening entire species. Eco-tourism could provide a way of protecting and conserving these waters.

Can technology save the rarest creatures on the planet?

A “Facebook for fish” is being used to try and save the critically-endangered Giant Sea Bass. This is just one of the pioneering experiments being carried out by marine biologist, Douglas McCauley, in his mission to protect ocean life.

Exploring and protecting the Antarctic

The Antarctic is one of the least explored places on the planet. For the first time ever a marine biologist has ventured to unexplored parts of the seabed in a submarine. Her discoveries have shocked the scientific community and could pave the way for the biggest no-fishing zone in the world.

Troubled Water

Worldwide thousands of sea species are under threat. How can we protect them, the ocean itself and the millions of people who depend on it for survival?