Our Manifesto for Life

Every organism on Earth is the result of billions of years of interactions with its natural environment and coevolutions with other living beings. Its ability to live depends on the quality, stability, and diversity of its environment and its relationships with it. Humans, like all other species, are no exception to this rule.
We are part of Life.

Yet, never in Earth’s recent history have so many changes occurred in such a short period of time. Freshwater resources are severely degraded, and emissions of novel entities⁽¹⁾ into the environment threaten the integrity and functionality of ecosystems. The overexploitation of natural environments and species has led, in just 50 years, to a nearly 75% decline in wild animal populations⁽²⁾, while the trajectory of greenhouse gas emissions is leading us towards an increase of +2.9°C in average global temperature by the end of the century. Human activity is disrupting living conditions on Earth so rapidly and intensely that the global health of species and ecosystems is threatened, and, consequently, human health as well.

Our planet has already embarked on an irreversible transformation, but the extent of this change still entirely relies on the scale of our mobilisation and our ability to understand that the various upheavals we are experiencing (climate, water, biodiversity, pollution) are just faces of the same problem: the crisis in our relationship with Life.  

For over 20 years, the scientific expeditions led by the Tara Ocean Foundation, alongside international and multidisciplinary partner laboratories, have been studying the complexity of Life and its future. Such science is crucial to understand the links between biodiversity, climate change, and pollution. The Tara Ocean Foundation’s commitment to defending Life and protecting the Ocean is based on the recognition of these connections and the will to provide systemic solutions.

No action aimed at reducing our impact on one of the planetary boundaries⁽³⁾ should result in increased pressure on another. Every action should ultimately contribute to a single objective: preserving Life. Otherwise, there is a great risk of failing to address the right questions and tackling the urgent challenges we face at the expense of the future.

We observe that political, economic, and societal responses are developed separately and hierarchically. Policies to tackle climate change have long overshadowed the issue of biodiversity or the consequences of the presence of novel entities in the environment. But how can we address the climate issue without considering plastic production, a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions? And how can we ignore the crucial role of marine living organisms in the global carbon pump?
This leads us to call for a renewed dialogue between fundamental, human and social sciences, civil society, and the political sphere, to enable informed decisions structured around a global vision.

While many are awaiting technological solutions that would allow us to maintain a societal model that is itself the root of the problems, we believe that basing all our hopes on hypothetical new technologies alone would be unreasonable.
Indeed, solutions and innovation are primarily to be sought in our production and consumption patterns, as well as in the values of our society, which are currently incompatible with planetary boundaries. The infinite complexity of biodiversity will long remain an endless field of discoveries, intellectual enrichment, and wonder that we must continue to explore. Knowledge, ethical considerations, and democratic debates must enable a fair assessment of the relevance of technological solutions. We need to be both ambitious, with a long-term vision, and humble, to address the issues of biodiversity protection and preservation in the best way possible.

Defending Life, protecting global health, and ensuring environmental and social justice must be the priorities in each of our responses to current challenges.
It is about building together a new vision of society in harmony with Life.

Together,
Let’s defend Life.
Let’s protect the Ocean.