Amazing marine wildlife in Gabon’s waters. © Enric Sala, National Geographic. For the fourth consecutive year, Davidoff Cool Water joins forces with the National Geographic Society to support the Pristine Seas Expeditions. The initiative is committed to explore, scientifically document and protect the Ocean worldwide, with the global ambitious goal of fully protecting 10% of the ocean by 2020.
2014 & 2015 marked a resounding success for Pristine Seas. As a direct result of the 2012 expedition in Gabon, President Ali Bongo Ondimba announced the creation of a huge new marine sanctuary, encompassing over 46,000 square kilometers of ocean, which represents no less than 23 percent of Gabon’s territorial waters. This reserve will be home to more than 20 varieties of sharks and rays, including several endangered species. In March 2015, a new landmark was achieved, as the world’s largest single marine reserve was created in the Pitcairn Islands in Pacific. 
Last year, Davidoff Cool Water’s support also made possible three Pristine Seas missions in Mozambique, Palau and Rapa Iti. Pristine Seas Teams carried out a comprehensive assessment of the marine life in the studied areas, paving the way for the creation of further marine protected areas in the future. This year, they will continue their ocean discovery and protection efforts with a Pristine Seas missions to Seychelles, Greenland and Chile with many more exciting expeditions yet to come.
To celebrate these promising achievements and pave the way for future endeavors, Davidoff Cool Water launches a new Love the Ocean campaign this summer. Now for each Davidoff Cool Water bottle sold, Davidoff Cool Water helps to protect 10,000 m² of Ocean.
Davidoff Cool Water’s new spokesman, American actor Scott Eastwood, is actively involved in the Love the Ocean campaign. An enthusiast surfer, swimmer and Ocean lover, he has always been passionate about the protection of the marine environment. ‘Ocean conservation is really important to me, it’s often overlooked. It’s a global problem that we all should be supporting. It should be a top priority. There are islands of trash in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, there’s contaminated water in fishing grounds, in places that we fish for food! It’s a global problem that we need to be ahead of the curve on.’ says Scott Eastwood. 
Enric Sala, National Geographic Explorer in Residence, insightfully observed that “people protect only what they love and people love only what they know.” This inspired Love the Ocean’s new tagline: ‘Protect the ocean you love’. In that spirit, a worldwide Love the Ocean communication platform has been launched, encouraging people to post why they love the ocean with the #LoveTheOcean hashtag.
By: voices.nationalgeographic.com
