The 50th anniversary of the RAMOGE Agreement was officially launched in Genoa this week with the opening of a travelling exhibition celebrating five decades of cooperation between Monaco, France and Italy in protecting the Mediterranean Sea…
Hosted at the city’s historic maritime terminal, the exhibition marks the beginning of a year of commemorations for one of Europe’s longest-standing marine conservation partnerships.
Signed in 1976 at the initiative of Prince Rainier III, the agreement covers nearly 23,000 square kilometres of sea between Marseille, Genoa and Monaco. Over the past half-century, RAMOGE has become a benchmark for regional environmental cooperation, bringing together governments, scientists and maritime stakeholders to safeguard marine ecosystems and combat pollution.
The exhibition, titled RAMOGE: A Pioneering Agreement for Over 50 Years, traces the organisation’s history through photographs, archive material, press coverage and interactive displays. It highlights key milestones including the signing of the agreement in the Throne Room of the Prince’s Palace, major scientific campaigns carried out aboard the research vessel Ramoge, and the creation of the RAMOGEPOL emergency response framework following a major oil tanker accident off the Ligurian coast in 1991.
RAMOGE’s work continues today through deep-sea exploration programmes and biodiversity protection initiatives. A new scientific campaign is planned this summer to assess underwater ecosystems in the Ligurian Sea and identify opportunities to expand marine protected areas in support of international conservation targets.
The anniversary celebrations will continue in Monaco on June 25 and 26 with an anti-pollution exercise, a conference at the Oceanographic Museum and an exhibition attended by HSH Prince Albert II and representatives of the three partner nations.