In a concerted effort to build up and sustain their advocacy of “saving the oceans and feeding the world,” Oceana Philippines’ senior advisor Alexandra Cousteau has continued the work of her renowned grandfather, Jacques-Yves Cousteau and her father, Philippe Cousteau.
Cousteau is a globally recognized advocate on water issues. It is evident that Cousteau has mastered the remarkable art of storytelling handed down to her by her forebears, with a unique ability to inspire people on such weighty issues like policy, politics, and action.
“I call on people to realize the importance of conservation and sustainable management of water in order to preserve a healthy planet. We have often heard of the saying that water is life and, indeed, this is certainly true,” Cousteau emphasized, adding that her initiatives go beyond mere inspiring and empowering individuals to protect not only the ocean and its inhabitants, but also the human communities that rely on freshwater resources.
Confessing to having the Philippines as one of her most favorite places in the world to conduct water expeditions, including diving, Cousteau has built upon the more than 60 years of credible environmental information from her lineage of pioneering explorers. For millions around the globe, the name Cousteau is synonymous with discovery and protection of our natural world.
When Alexandra’s grandfather earned the first of his three Oscars for Le Monde du Silence in 1957, he paved the way for leveraging film and media to teach environmental stewardship. In the television series, “The Underwater World of Jacques Cousteau,” Alexandra’s father, Philippe and Captain Cousteau produced the most popular documentary series in broadcast history, setting a record at the time for Emmys and, eventually, showing in more than 100 nations – from the Soviet Union to Brazil and Japan. To date, the Cousteau family is widely known for their National Geographic fame and still holds the publications record for cover stories.
Relating how she started her first expedition at just four months old when she joined her parents in Easter Island, Cousteau said that by the age of 3, she had toured Africa and explored Egypt, Tunisia, Uganda, and Kenya while being cradled in the arms of her father. Like her father, she is also one of a few who learned to dive with SCUBA under the tutelage of her grandfather himself at the age of 7.
Today, Cousteau walks the talk as she teaches her daughter, Clementine – the first member of the fourth generation of Cousteaus – aged 3 to scuba dive in the waters of Palawan, Apo Island, the Tubbataha Reef, and other beautiful seas in the country. Together with her husband, Fritz Neumeyer, the family shuttles between Washington, D.C. and Berlin, Germany.
No less than the United Nations in a General Assembly Resolution dated December 7, 2010, “finally recognized the need to determine the current state of our oceans, most especially in relation to sustaining human well-being in the hope that member-states will take appropriate action.” Moreover, the United Nations has established a regular process of global reporting of the state of the marine environment, including its socio-economic aspects.
The world now bears the effects of climate change, facing increasing frequency of disasters and of food shortages. It would certainly make a difference if we have a well-informed public who can influence policy makers, especially now that there is an urgent need for action.
Oceana Philippines is commended for its efforts at preservation and protection of the oceans for more than 20 years now. It has achieved dozens of concrete policy victories for the marine life and habitats, from stopping bottom trawling in sensitive habitat areas to protecting sea turtles from commercial fishing gear all over the world’s oceans. | NWI
