To raise awareness among boaters about simple actions, the Écogestes Méditerranée Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur campaign is intensifying. The objective: to change and encourage responsible behavior.
Every year, since 2002, the Écogestes Méditerranée Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur campaign has raised awareness among boaters about eco-responsible practices. The intervention calendar needs to be organized, according to Jamila Poydenot, deputy director of the Permanent Center for Environmental Initiatives of the Lérins Islands and the Pays d’Azur and coordinator of Écogestes Méditerranée.
The campaign targets small pleasure boating, vessels from 5 to 20 meters. “This small boating, close to the coast, is near important ecosystems, shallow rocky areas, with considerable diversity and issues, such as the Posidonia oceanica meadows,” argues the coordinator. The Écogestes Méditerranée Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur wants to change the behaviors and practices of boaters to preserve the Mediterranean Sea. Meeting them during their leisure time is one of the project points discussed. Exchange is prioritized to understand boaters’ behaviors and daily equipment.
“Experience in social psychology shows that commitments are maintained over time, and several factors prove it. When we implemented this engaging communication method in 2007, we compared a population of boaters with this communication and a classic method,” specifies the coordinator. According to her, the conclusions of this new strategy are encouraging. People commit more and on a long-term basis.
The complementarity of ports
“We work directly with the Union of Leisure Ports Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and Monaco, the organization unites all those in the region. They themselves encourage them to call on our campaign, to use its materials,” insists Jamila Poydenot. Created in 2018, the clean ports certification is a voluntary initiative on their part to preserve coastal and marine spaces. The process includes five phases.
Among these are the diagnosis, means of combating accidental pollution, water and energy savings, port staff training, and user awareness measures. To date, according to the Union of Leisure Ports Provence-Alpes Côte d’Azur, 77 ports are certified clean ports, 47 are active in biodiversity, 124 have the sustainable development charter, and 19 are engaged in the posidonia alliance (an initiative by public, private, and association actors to preserve Posidonia, ed.). In the Alpes-Maritimes, by August 2025, about ten ports have not yet obtained the certification.
Consolidating the program
“The concept was created about twenty years ago, consolidated in 2007, in 2022, and in 2024. In 2017, there was a new step. That is to say, its generalization along the entire Mediterranean façade with the support of the Interregional Directorate of the Sea and the French Biodiversity Office as part of the marine environment action plan,” clarifies the deputy director.
According to her, there are 23 ambassador structures and a hundred ambassadors mobilized every summer in Occitania, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, and Corsica. Continuing boating and nautical activities without harming marine spaces and protected species is possible, according to the regional program manager. In 2024, 17 ambassador organizations participated in 228 operations at sea and in ports. As a sign of their dedication, 1,440 vessels raised the Écogestes flag.
You can follow the awareness campaign at the end of August. Various locations are scheduled, including August 21 from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm in Cannes at Font de Veyre. The same goes for Mandelieu, the next day, at Robinson Beach, from 9 am to 4 pm. Other dates are available via the program.
