Twenty Years of Planetary Health: Monaco celebrates People shaping Our Future.
At the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation’s 20th anniversary, science, Indigenous knowledge and ocean innovation converged around a shared vision: protecting the Planet means safeguarding Humanity.
What does it take to change the future of our relationship with the natural world? Scientific discovery, technological ingenuity and the wisdom of communities that have lived in harmony with their environment for generations. Above all, it takes a shared commitment to turn knowledge into action.
These ideas came together in Monaco on Friday the 16th October, as the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation celebrated its twentieth anniversary at the Planetary Health Awards Ceremony. Held in the presence of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco at the Salle des Étoiles of the Sporting Monte-Carlo, the event welcomed nearly 400 guests to honour two decades of environmental action and the people helping shape a more sustainable future.
More than an anniversary, the evening offered a compelling reminder that planetary health depends on connecting scientific evidence, responsible innovation and collective responsibility.
Twenty years of environmental commitment.
Opening the ceremony, the Sovereign Prince, in the role of the President of His Foundation, reflected with emotion and pride on the Foundation’s achievements, highlighting more than 850 projects supported over the past twenty years across diverse regions and challenging circumstances.
From the Amazon to the United Nations, from communities in the Sahel to international financial centres, the Sovereign Prince recalled encounters that had reinforced his conviction that people committed to making a difference are far more numerous than we might imagine.
He paid tribute to his teams and to the hundreds of thousands of volunteers, activists and environmental advocates working worldwide to protect ecosystems, restore habitats and support local communities.
Drawing inspiration from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s reflection that fraternity emerges through a shared commitment to something greater than oneself, the Prince captured the spirit underpinning the Foundation’s mission: environmental progress is a collective endeavour, capable of uniting people across borders, disciplines and generations.
Three laureates, one interconnected vision.
The 2026 Planetary Health Awards recognised three outstanding contributions to environmental protection: scientific research into coral reefs, innovation in renewable energy and the defence of Indigenous knowledge.
Together, the laureates illustrate why the future of planetary health requires more than technological progress or scientific understanding alone. It demands solutions that also recognise social realities, cultural heritage and the needs of communities.
Dr David Obura: bringing science closer to action
For more than three decades, Kenyan marine ecologist Dr David Obura has studied coral reef biodiversity, resilience and vulnerability to climate change. These ecosystems sustain extraordinary marine life while providing food security and livelihoods for millions of people worldwide.
As founder of CORDIO East Africa and, since 2023, Chair of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), he has helped connect scientific research with conservation and international decision-making.
Receiving the award in the Science category, Dr Obura highlighted the accelerating decline of coral reefs and the urgent need to align economic and financial systems with nature’s limits.
His message extends beyond marine conservation: scientific knowledge can identify the challenges and potential solutions, but meaningful progress depends on society's willingness to act.
CorPower Ocean: unlocking the energy of the waves.
The Innovation and Solutions award recognised Swedish company CorPower Ocean, which is developing wave-energy converters designed to generate renewable electricity while withstanding demanding ocean conditions.
Its patented WaveSpring technology aims to advance wave energy towards commercial-scale deployment. In 2025, the company secured support from the European Union’s Innovation Fund for VianaWave, a proposed 15 MW wave-energy farm off the coast of Portugal, expected to generate approximately 46 GWh of electricity annually.
For CEO and Co-Founder Patrik Möller, wave energy offers Europe the opportunity to develop a homegrown industry, create sustainable jobs and produce clean, competitive power while protecting marine life.
The ambition is significant: to transform an abundant but largely untapped natural resource into part of a more diversified, resilient and sustainable energy system.
Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim: the knowledge of those closest to nature.
Chadian Indigenous rights advocate Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim received the award in the Awareness category for more than fifteen years of work defending Indigenous peoples and promoting the recognition of their ecological knowledge in climate-change responses.
A member of the Mbororo pastoralist community and founder of the Association of Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad, she combines international advocacy with practical initiatives, including participatory mapping of natural resources that draws on local communities’ knowledge.
Her work highlights the essential contribution of Indigenous peoples to understanding environmental change and developing effective adaptation strategies, particularly in vulnerable regions such as the Sahel.
Upon receiving her award, Ibrahim reaffirmed her mission to make Indigenous knowledge heard, defend community rights and ensure that no one is left behind.
Her message is clear: environmental solutions must include the voices and experience of those whose lives are most directly connected to the ecosystems at stake.
Sylvia Earle: protecting the blue planet.
One of the evening’s defining moments was the keynote address by renowned oceanographer Dr Sylvia Earle, National Geographic Society’s Explorer and a longstanding friend of H.S.H. Prince Albert II and his Foundation.
Known affectionately as “Her Deepness”, Earle delivered an urgent appeal to protect the ocean as though humanity’s survival depended on it — because it does.
Emphasising the risks facing planetary boundaries, she nevertheless offered a message of hope: greater understanding can inspire care, and care can lead to meaningful change.
Her words resonated with the contributions of all three laureates. Whether through science, engineering or Indigenous knowledge, each demonstrates that understanding the natural world must be the starting point for protecting it.
The anniversary also celebrated the Foundation’s wider contribution to scientific research, species conservation, sustainable innovation and the development of future generations of environmental leaders.
Its achievements demonstrate the value of bringing together research, philanthropy, international cooperation and practical action. The three award recipients embody this approach, showing how scientific evidence, clean-energy technologies and traditional ecological knowledge can contribute to a common purpose.
As the evening concluded with a group photograph bringing together the Sovereign Prince, the Foundation’s governing bodies, international branches and permanent staff, the celebration became a moment of collective reflection on what lies ahead.
The next twenty years will demand even greater ambition as humanity confronts climate change, biodiversity loss and mounting pressure on natural systems.
For the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, the anniversary was therefore not simply an occasion to celebrate past achievements, but an invitation to strengthen the collective commitment to planetary health.
Ultimately, progress will be measured not by awards or declarations, but by the ecosystems restored, the communities empowered and the solutions brought to life.
Twenty years of action have demonstrated what collaboration can achieve. The challenge now is to turn that legacy into a future in which both nature and humanity can thrive.
✒️ Maurice Abbati
Strategic Communication Specialist, Editor in Chief, Journalist, Executive.
Lecturer and Author in English in the field of Environmental Communication to foster Circular and Blue Economy
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