Gouvernement Princier de Monaco
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Helping the natural environment to prosper

Managing the natural heritage is one of the pillars of the Prince's Government's sustainable development policy, in addition to the Climate and Energy Plan and other activities to foster a sustainable town.  Such initiatives take place in compliance with international conventions, and are part of a responsible and long-term approach.

Preserving natural environments

The Principality is a country that is deeply linked to the Mediterranean, especially through the protection of its marine environment . All of its territorial waters therefore form part of the Pelagos Marine Sanctuary. Since the 1970s, the Principality has been committed to protecting its marine environment, through the creation of a marine reserve in Larvotto that is 50 hectares in size. The coralligeneous ‘drop-off’ reef wall reserve, created in 1986, is one of the rare special protected areas in an urban environment hosting red coral.

This permanent initiative has been rewarded by the presence of a healthy area of Posidonia seagrass in the Larvotto reserve, which is also the home to 450 noble pen shell (pinna nobilis). Measures put in place from 1993 to protect brown grouper in Monegasque waters have seen the population grow from 15 individuals in 1997 to more than 100 today. These three emblematic Mediterranean species are indicators of the good quality of the marine environment in Monaco.

An unsuspected level of biodiversity

The Department of the Environment regularly runs inventory and monitoring programs for marine and land-based species, thus not only enabling the assessment of the quality of the environment, but also to monitor the relevance of the measures undertaken.

So that on land, the Principality hosts 880 species of plants, including 18 heritage species. It has exchanges with 552 gardens and museums worldwide. Various studies have carried out a census of flora and fauna, and brought to the light many insect species and rare invertebrates. It was discovered for instance that the Rock area of Monaco had become the refuge of a pair of peregrine falcons and their offspring.

https://en.gouv.mc/Policy-Practice/The-Environment/Helping-the-natural-environment-to-prosper