MONACŒCOART® Interviews: Jacqueline Gautier-Debernardi, Director of the AMPN.
- M Abti
- Jul 18
- 11 min read
Updated: Jul 23
Jacqueline Gautier-Debernardi, Director of the Association Monégasque pour la Protection de la Nature (Monegasque Association for the Protection of Nature), in charge of the Aires Marines Protégées de Monaco – AMP - (Monaco Marine Protected Areas).
🗣️ "MPAs located in urban areas need to find a balance between limiting human pressure on the environment and maintaining sustainable economic development".
BIOGRAPHY
Graduated in Modern Literature and Psychology, Jacqueline Gautier-Debernardi taught in Monaco for many years before fully dedicate herself to the preservation of the Marine Environment, a commitment deeply rooted in her family legacy. Her father, Eugène Debernardi, Founder and first President of the Association Monégasque pour la Protection de la Nature – AMPN (Monegasque Association for the Protection of Nature), is behind the creation of two Monegasque Marine Protected Areas: the Larvotto’s in 1976, and Les Spélugues’ in 1986.
In 2014, after taking the Presidency of the AMPN, she quickly encouraged a new dynamic for the association, while relaunching environmental monitoring, scientific collaborations, and initiatives for public attention. In 2016, she left the Presidency to become Director of the Association, a full-time position which allowed her to strengthen her operational and strategic engagement.
In 2018, she boosted the creation of the Aire Marine Éducative de Monaco (Educational Marine Area of Monaco), an innovative initiative aimed at pushing children to the protection of marine biodiversity. This educational project is associated with AMPN scientific and management programs by involving young generations in the discovery and preservation of natural heritage.
This initiative contributes to make the AMPN a key player in the management of Monegasque MPAs in close collaboration with the Gouvernement Princier (Prince’s Government) and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation. Its effort led to the development of a targeted management plan for Marine Protected Areas, validated in October 2021.
MONACŒCOART® was pleased to collect personal feedback from Jacqueline Gautier-Debernardi who spoke about various challenges in the management of Monaco’s Marine Protected Areas, the importance of cooperation with key stakeholders and new generations, the added value to underwater ecosystems and future plans by the willing of her Association.
ℹ️ To know more about the Association Monégasque pour la Protection de la Nature, please visit the AMNP Official Website .
🔸KEY TOPICS = 🗣️ WHAT ARE THE MAIN CHALLENGES? >> 🗣️ WHO ARE YOU ADDRESSING TO? >> 🗣️ WHY DO YOU INVOLVE NEW GENERATIONS? >> 🗣️ WHAT ARE YOUR ACTIONS TO PROTECT MARINE ECOSYSTEMS? >> 🗣️ COULD YOU MENTION A FEW STRATEGIC PROJECTS? >> 🗣️ WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE CURRENT YEAR?
🎙INTERVIEW
MONACŒCOART®: What are the main challenges to address in the management of urban Marine Protected Areas?
🗣️ Jacqueline Gautier-Debernardi : The management of Monaco’s Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) by the Association Monégasque pour la Protection de la Nature – AMPN pursues specific challenges related to the importance of human pressures. The Larvotto MPA, the first to be created in an urban context, and that of Les Spélugues were created respectively in 1976 and 1986 to preserve remarkable and emblematic ecosystems, notably the Posidonia underwater meadows and the coral populations. Their targets are much more complex than traditional MPAs in the natural setting (i.e.: biodiversity conservation, safeguarding of species and habitats).
In the heart of a city, various matters must be addressed: artificialisation of the coastline, tourism, pollution or noise. The regulations are strict to deal with it, including a ban on fishing, navigation, and anchoring. In addition, a tighter control is put in place, supported by adequate technical, human and financial resources in order to ensure the MPAs success.
MPAs located in urban areas need to find a balance between limiting human pressure on the environment and maintaining sustainable economic development. It is about reducing the most impactful practices while allowing users to access certain services and continue their activities in a way compatible with natural conservation objectives. This also involves constant dialogue with stakeholders.
From an ecological point of view, it is essential to rely on regular scientific monitoring to assess the health status of ecosystems but also the disruptions to which they are subjected. The use of new technologies also makes it possible to improve the understanding, monitoring, and anticipation of changes in the marine environment. The data collected prove the MPAs accomplishment, encouraging to raise public awareness.
MONACŒCOART®: Who collaborates with the Association and who are your target addressees to?
🗣️ Jacqueline Gautier-Debernardi : The management of Monaco’s MPAs, carried out by the AMPN, is part of a close collaborative framework. We do not sustain our mission on our own; it is part of a global scheme led at the national level by the Comité National de Suivi des AMP (National MPA Monitoring Committee), with which we exchange regularly, by transmitting them detailed reports on the actions we undertake, with special regard to environmental studies.
We therefore work closely with the Prince’s Government, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and many institutions of the Principality. These historical synergies were reinforced during the development of the MPA management plan, finalised in 2021. This strategic document set out the major objectives to be achieved by promoting a shared approach at the territorial level.
On the territory, we rely above all on a community of scientists to whom we address ourselves according to the required skills in order to make environmental monitoring and innovative research programs possible. Among our partners, we can mention Dr Alexis Pey and Dr Patricia Ventura (Thalassa Marine research and Environmental awareness), Dr Elisabeth Riera (Octopus Garden) and Heike Molenaar, or even Stéphane Jamme (Aquanaute Expertise), Marine Biologist and Photographer. They all actively participate in the monitoring of artificial reefs, fish populations or even the Posidonia, a marine plant which is protected in the Mediterranean Sea. In parallel, we carry on further close collaborations with French or international laboratories, according to the programs implemented.
The private sector also plays a key role. Local cooperation programmes have been established, in particular with hotels located near the Larvotto AMP, like Le Méridien Beach Plaza and the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort, which actively support the awareness and preservation programs carried out by our association.
Finally, it is important to highlight the importance of financial aid, which is essential for implementing our actions, and which is based on strong and long-lasting trust relationship. Alongside the Prince’s Government and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, several private actors also accompany us. Lately, the Rotary Club of Monaco, that has chosen to support one of our latest initiatives on the study of ecosystem services provided by MPAs.
MONACŒCOART®: Why do you often involve the new generations?
🗣️ Jacqueline Gautier-Debernardi : Involving new generations in our actions to raise awareness and protect the marine environment is a crucial lever for building a sustainable future. Today's children and adolescents will be tomorrow’s decision-makers, citizens, scientists, and users of the sea. By raising awareness from an early age, we give them the keys to understand environmental challenges and to act with awareness.
Young people are naturally curious, open, and enthusiastic. They like to discover, learn, observe. Their fresh perspective and innocence sometimes allow them to better grasp certain realities than adults. And above all, they in turn become relays in their families: many parents become aware of certain issues thanks to the messages carried by their children.
Moreover, their strength of conviction is often remarkable. They do not hesitate to defend causes with determination and to change the behaviours around them.
Finally, it is easier to anchor values of respect for the environment in those who are still being built. It is a long-term investment: every young person who is aware today becomes an engaged adult tomorrow.
That is why we place education and transmission at the heart of our approach, through concrete projects like the Aire Marine Éducative (Educational Marine Area).
Photos >> The 7th grade class students attending workshops at Monaco Oceanographic Museum in partnership with the Oceanographic Institute © Institut Océanographique de Monaco - Frédéric Pacorel.
MONACŒCOART®: MonacoEcoArt: What is your action to protect the Posidonia and Fish Populations?
🗣️ Jacqueline Gautier-Debernardi : Larvotto’s AMP was created to safeguard the only existing seagrass meadows on the Monegasque coast. This marine plant acts as a true refuge for a multitude of species, it offers shelter, food and breeding sites to marine fauna and flora. Thus, it plays a major role in stabilising the coastline by damping wave energy, while limiting erosion, as well as producing oxygen and storing carbon dioxide.
In 1977, shortly after the creation of the submarine reserve, the AMPN marked the lower limit of the Posidonia meadows, that is its deepest part. This marker allows us to evaluate its evolution over the years, by detecting signs of progression or regression. For about ten years, the Association has also set up regular monitoring of its health status based on specific indicators.
We are also committed to restoring this valuable habitat. A cutting test has been recently carried out by experts, picking up fragments taken from the edge of the seagrass meadows. The results were remarkable, and it witnessed the success of the operation.
The Monaco’s Posidonia meadows is currently showing good vitality. Its preservation remains pivotal to ensure the continuity of the numerous ecological services it provides.
Our commitment includes even the study of fish stock within MPAs. Indeed, the conservation measures we implemented aim to promote the development of populations, allowing an increase in their number, size, and species diversity. This is what is called the 'Reserve Effect'.
To measure its effectiveness, we have been conducting a twice-yearly monitoring, since 2016. This consists of comparing the communities present within MPAs with those in non-preserved peripheral areas. The data are collected on two types of habitats, the Posidonia meadows and rocky bottoms.
The results are clear: the total quantity of fish is much higher within MPAs. This positive assessment has given rise to a publication in an international scientific journal*, showing that small-sized MPAs, located in urban areas, can generate significant ecological benefits when properly managed and protected.
* P. Ventura, J. Gautier-Debernardi, E. Di Franco, P. Francour, A. Di Franco, A. Pey, Habitat-specific response of fish assemblages in a small fully protected urban MPA, ICES Journal of Marine Science 2024, Vol. 81, Issue 8, 1575–1583, pages 9.
MONACŒCOART®: Could you mention a few projects you consider strategic?
🗣️ Jacqueline Gautier-Debernardi : All the projects we carry out are important because each contributes to the protection of ecosystems. But if we had to retain some for their strategic scope, I would mention for sure two emblematic initiatives: the research work on artificial reefs carried out with a 3D printer and the Marine Educational Area. Each plays a fundamental role to preserve our environment: one through science, the other through education and awareness.
The 3D Programme is one of the most ambitious that we have dealt with in recent years. It was born from the original idea of a Dutch company specialised in underwater dredging with the aim at designing artificial sand habitats using 3D printing. Presented to H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco, this concept was relayed by His Foundation, which requested the AMPN for its implementation.
In 2014, we embarked on a real human and scientific adventure, mobilising a large community of experts. The core objective was to develop innovative tools by creating environmentally friendly structures that mimic natural complexity, capable of attracting and hosting abundant and varied biodiversity.
This study explored many aspects, notably: the choice of material (i.e.: the non-polluting Dolomite), the structural complexity of the design (optimised via 3D printing), the analysis of biofilm (i.e.: essential phase for biodiversity), but also the colonisation by fish and further species, observed notably through advanced technology, the use of a hyperspectral camera.
These six reefs, immersed at a depth of about thirty meters, each weigh 2.5 tons and measure 1.20 meters high and two meters in diameter, have already been the subject of numerous publications in specialised journals, notably those by Dr Elisabeth Riera. MPAs management was therefore considered as a model of ecological engineering in the Mediterranean Sea, and beyond.
The Educational Marine Area (EMA) is an initiative designed to raise awareness among the young generation about environmental protection. Born in 2012 in the Marquesas Islands, this concept was introduced in the Principality in 2018 by the AMPN, in collaboration with the Prince’s Government and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.
The EMA is located between the floating dike of Port Hercules and the entrance to the port of Fontvieille, while extending towards the sea. This area, rich in marine and terrestrial species, also presents a great diversity of habitats, thus offering an ideal field of study. Each year, a 7th grade class (CM2), accompanied by its teacher, the AMPN team and a pool of biologists, define management objectives and implements concrete actions to protect this site.
As an example, for the 2024-2025 school year, schoolchildren conducted a real research programme by studying environmental DNA, applying fish census protocols, and using innovative tools such as BRUVS (=Baited Remote Underwater Video System) cameras to identify carnivorous fish present in the EMA. The results obtained allowed the students to formulate recommendations to limit the impacts of human activities.
At the end of June, they presented their conclusions and recommendations to a selected audience within the "United Children for the Ocean Conference", a key moment to share their achievements and their commitment to safeguarding the sea.
This project allowed children to become real actors in the preservation of the marine environment, thus strengthening their ecological awareness and their civic responsibility.
MONACŒCOART®: What are your plans for the current year?
🗣️ Jacqueline Gautier-Debernardi : This year, the Association Monégasque pour la Protection de la Nature celebrates its Fiftieth anniversary. Our association was created in 1975 to respond to the wish of Prince Rainier III to preserve the coastline of the Principality, which is why we created both Larvotto and Spélugues MPAs.
Besides the issue of commemorative stamps in March, a photographic exhibition from November to December 2025 will acknowledge AMPN at the iconic Galerie des Pêcheurs (Fishermen’s Gallery). This will highlight the constant desire of the AMPN to preserve the natural heritage of the Principality.
Moreover, besides our continuing commitment in support of Fish Populations, Posidonia and Artificial Reefs, we will launch a thorough analysis of ecosystem services provided by MPAs. This pioneering project aims to identify, characterise, and enhance the benefits that marine ecosystems provide to civil society – whether they are ecological, economic, or socio-cultural. Led by the AMPN, in collaboration with the Centre Scientifique de Monaco (CSM) and the research office Thalassa Marine Research & Environmental Awareness, this project will mobilise specialists in marine ecology and environmental economics. It will allow a better understanding of the ecological functions of marine habitats (Posidonia meadows, coralligenous formations, etc.), while evaluating the associated economic and cultural benefits. Therefore, the outcome will thus provide a valuable scientific and strategic basis for strengthening the effectiveness of the measures put in place, as well as a better understanding of the value of Monaco’s Natural Capital by the target audience and decision makers.
Last but not least, a publication on fish colonisation of 3D-printed artificial reefs is underway in view to be submitted to a panel of experts in 2025. Led by Dr Alexis Pey and Dr Patricia Ventura (Thalassa Marine Research & Environmental Awareness), it required the collection and analysis of numerous data since 2018, one year after the immersion. It will highlight the positive effects of these structures on marine biodiversity, confirming their potential as an innovative tool for ecological restoration. It will also illustrate the leading role of the AMPN and its partners in promoting research for marine conservation, combining technology, science and sustainable coastal ecosystem management. ***
By Maurice Abbati
Journalist; Editor; Communication, Media and Public Relations Specialist
Lecturer and Author in English language of Technical Articles and the Manual: "Communicating the Environment to Save the Planet, a Journey into Eco-Communication" by Springer International Publishing.
