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2014

TARA Méditerranée Science and sharing

From May to November 2014, the Tara Méditerranée expedition had a double objective: scientific research on microplastic pollution floating on the surface and the raising of awareness to the environmental challenges linked to the Mediterranean Sea. The Tara exploration schooner sailed 15,000 kilometres across the Mediterranean.

TARA Méditerranée 2014

Teaser

Teaser

TARA Méditerranée 2014

The highlights

Plastic pollution, from science to action!

1/6

The Tara Méditerranée Workshops: an open dialogue on local challenges

The Tara Méditerranée expedition represented an amazing opportunity to stimulate public debate and discussion around the challenges essential for sustainable development. Organised during stopovers in six cities, the Tara Workshops helped start a discussion between actors who, despite their shared interest in the sea, don’t often get the chance to talk to each other.

La goélette tara lors de l'expédition Tara Méditerranée.

©Spencer Lowell

The highlights

Plastic pollution, from science to action!

2/6

Beirut, 7 August 2014 – Facing the pressures on the coastline

Dr Gaby Khalaf of the Lebanese National Council for Scientific Research states that the country’s coastline is subject to significant pressures. Firstly, it is very urbanised: 2.5 million people live along the coasts, which represents more than half of the Lebanese population. As a result, it is subject to serious pollution due to household waste and domestic waste water which are discharged onto the beaches.

Représentation de la pression sur le littoral à Beyrouth, œuvre Triptyque Beirut par d'Emmanuel Régent.

Beirut Triptych: work by Emmanuel Régent

The highlights

Plastic pollution, from science to action!

3/6

Bizerte, 4 September – An appeal for better management of phosphates

Tunisian society rewards itself and is ready to work together. At the end of the workshop, the participants expressed their desire to work together – researchers, non-profits, experts, public officials – to ensure that the ecological challenges facing the Mediterranean are not swept under the carpet but, on the contrary, serve as a vector for engaging local people, in these political times which are so important for Tunisia.

The highlights

Plastic pollution, from science to action!

4/6

Tangier, 5 November – The call from Tangier for cooperation between the two shores of the Mediterranean.

Tara Expéditions’ stopover in Tangier approached the invisible aspect of plastic waste, unknown to the public: the tiny particles of microplastic which are polluting the Mediterranean and which are appearing in the food chain. Marine pollution has no boundaries, hence the need for trans-Mediterranean mobilisation based on cooperation and exchange of experiences.

Escale à tanger, les Ateliers de tara à l'origine d'une coopération transméditerranéenne.

©Sharif Mirshak

The highlights

Plastic pollution, from science to action!

5/6

Passing through the Corinth Canal

Wednesday 23 July 2014, Tara passed through the Corinth Canal which separates the Peloponnese from the rest of Greece, a shortcut that allowed us to reach the Cyclades without having to sail right round the Peloponnese. The six-kilometre-long canal is only around 20 metres wide and is overhung by impressive 50-metre-high cliffs.

The highlights

Plastic pollution, from science to action!

6/6

Beyond Plastic Med

Founded in 2015 by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, the Fondation Tara Océan, Surfrider Foundation Europe, the MAVA Foundation and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). BeMed’s objective is to develop and coordinate a network of local actors committed to combating plastic pollution in order to promote the sharing of experience and knowledge and strengthen the effectiveness of action in the Mediterranean

Tara Méditerranée Expedition 2014

A net filled with plastics, a nasty surprise off the coast of Bastia

A net filled with plastics, a nasty surprise off the coast of Bastia

Tara Méditerranée Expedition 2014

The major discoveries

Plastic of every shape, kind and condition in the Mediterranean

Plastics, real sponges for persistent organic pollutants (POPs)

Microplastics, inextricably linked to biodiversity

Microfibres, a little-known form of pollution

By immersion

Passing through the Corinth Canal

Passing through the Corinth Canal

By immersion

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