Marc Duncombe, Director General, welcomes the national echo given to the actions carried out by the Port-Cros-Porquerolles National Park… thanks to golf.
The natural wealth of the French coast in the Mediterranean, the Posidonia Herbariums are under threat from the anchoring of ever-increasing number of boaters. These underwater meadows, which protect many species from predators and thus guarantee biodiversity, must be protected. This is one of the many functions of the Port-Cros-Porquerolles National Park – of which the Sisley brand is a patron – to which the golfers of the Women For Green 20021 operation provide direct financial support. Explanations with Marc Duncombe, general manager of the Park.
Marc Duncombe Port-Cros-Porquerolles National Park
THE FIGARO GOLF. – What is the general mission of the Port-Cros-Porquerolles National Park?
Marc DUNCOMBE. – The park is a monument of nature. It is a natural space that includes landscapes and biodiversity making up an exceptional place. The protection of the park is ensured by the State. It has been defined in a terrestrial environment since 1963 on the island of Port-Cros, then since 1972 on the island of Porquerolles. The park has also extended between Toulon and Saint-Tropez over 50 km of coastline. And it has become a constellation, since other missions have been added on the Mediterranean coast. Thus, we are animators of the Pelago sanctuary, Italy-Monaco France convention, operator of the Mediterranean botanical conservatory.
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What is the Posidonia herbarium?
It is an extremely important natural habitat, consisting of a flowering plant, not an algae. Underwater microflowers allow the transformation into oxygen by photosynthesis and store a lot of carbon. They are home to a large number of living organisms: fry, fish, etc. which are sheltered from predators. We are lucky in the bay of Hyères to have one of the largest seagrass beds in the Mediterranean. The water is very clear, with shallow bottoms. We defend the desire for very strong protection which is a necessity because of pollution from the continent or plastic pollution, as many mechanical attacks linked to the anchoring of boaters who are not careful. We are making it a great cause with information and education programs, as well as scientific actions.
How did it become the cause of Women For Green 2021?
We approached Sisley to identify actions to be taken. The Herbarium has established itself among the various programs that we follow. We have produced playful documents to raise awareness through play. The playbooks speak to young people. And when we touch the young, we also touch the parents. We plan to produce these little notebooks to deal with the coastline and the dunes. On the seagrass beds, we are also carrying out an action which prohibits boats from anchoring and mooring to mooring buoys.
What do you think of the golfers who are going to help protect the Posidonia meadow in the National Park?
For us, this partnership is an opportunity to get out of the local sphere: we must broaden the concern at the national level through sports practice by the women concerned. The Posidonia Herbarium speaks to the greatest number because it is something concrete, green, visible. He also talks to female golfers. We have some very beautiful images to show, which in fact attract a large number of visitors to the park. This operation is an opportunity to recall the need to regulate peaks of high attendance, to regulate overcrowding at sea. And to remember that the Port-Cros Porquerolles National Park has 600 floral species, 8 species of marine mammals, 144 species of birds, 180 species of fish and 1560 hectares of Posidonia meadows … Since its creation, the grouper population has multiplied by 100. This is an excellent indicator of the protection efforts that are made and are working.
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