Just weeks after the BESTLIFE2030 high-level event at the European Parliament, which showcased the depth and breadth of conservation action across EU Overseas, a significant political gesture reinforced this momentum. French Overseas Minister Manuel Valls visited Moorea, French Polynesia, where he was introduced to Ocean IA, a groundbreaking pilot project using artificial intelligence to detect whales and prevent ship collisions.
Ocean IA, builds directly on the earlier Ocean Watch programme, supported by Fonds Vert, Office Français de la Biodiversité, Direction de l’environnement de Polynésie française et entreprises, which placed marine mammal observers on ferries between Tahiti and Moorea. Now, with cameras and AI technology installed on island summits to monitor the Vaiare and Papeete passes, the project is enhancing manual observation with real-time, automated alerts for ship captains. This leap in local innovation holds promise as a world first and has until 2026 to prove its concept.
“This year, the AI will ‘learn’ to identify whales at the surface under various weather conditions, and we will collaborate with captains to determine the most effective communication channels.” explained Anaïs Pierre of Oceania, the NGO behind the project.
“It’s a world first,” says Anaïs Pierre. While a similar system has been implemented in Quebec to detect belugas, that project is limited to data collection and does not involve any follow-up action to prevent ship strikes.
The Ocean IA project, which runs until November 2026, will also explore, together with ship captains and operators, the feasibility and relevance of installing cameras directly on vessels.
The project is co-financed by the BESTLIFE2030 Programme of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the European Union.
Making biodiversity action visible, and political
The significance of such projects goes far beyond local impact. BESTLIFE2030 was created precisely to enable this kind of locally anchored, high-impact innovation. With over €32 million in funding and more than 150 projects launched, the programme is helping Outermost Regions and Overseas Countries and Territories contribute directly to the EU Biodiversity Strategy, the Nature Restoration Regulation, and the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).
And thanks to the visibility created by the interactive BESTLIFE2030 map and the recent policy brief launched in Brussels, these efforts are gaining traction.
The Ocean IA project is now part of this expanding narrative, showing how territories like French Polynesia are not just beneficiaries of EU biodiversity policy, but strategic contributors.
