About us
BlueSeeds was born in 2018 following an alarming observation: the existence of a financing gap of 700 million euros for Mediterranean marine protected areas which were operating with only 12% of their financial needs covered in 2015 (Binet et al., 2015).
In recent years, many economists and scientists have been warning about the lack of funding for conservation in general, and marine conservation in particular. Today, on a global scale, between 598 and 824 billion USD per year are needed to reach the 30×30 objective of protecting 30% of our natural terrestrial and marine environments by 2030: an imperative if we are to effectively slow down the loss of biodiversity. In other words, current funding only covers 16 to 19% of global conservation needs (Deutz et al., 2020).
BlueSeeds works with conservation practitioners to ensure the sustainability of their projects through two levers: long-term financing solutions, and increasing management effectiveness.
We are a multidisciplinary team with expertise in economics and finance, marine biology, management, international relations and education. These areas of expertise intersect and allow us to develop new conservation models.
Marie-Aude Sévin Allouet
Marie-Aude supervises the development and implementation of BlueSeeds' projects, and coordinates the activities.
Marie-Aude Sévin Allouet
Marie-Aude has been working on marine environment issues since 2009. She started working on the field, on the West Coast of Madagascar, with local communities and carried out scientific studies on MPAs for the BlueVentures NGO.
Her experience at the French Marine Protected Areas Agency on the French MPA policies or as manager for the 3rd International Marine Protected Areas Congress (IMPAC3) allowed her to acquire strong knowledge in international and regional objectives for protecting marine environments.
At the French Biodiversity Agency, she was working on MPA and climate change, cooperation with other countries and international institutions such as the IUCN, the UNESCO and the MPA networks.
In addition, in December 2016, she was elected for 3 years Chair of the “Sea and Coastal” Working Group of the Protected Area Commission at the French Committee of the IUCN. She left her mandate and joined the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation in May 2017 bringing her holistic and integrated approaches to tackle Mediterranean marine and coast conservation challenges: create dialogue, think differently, bring innovation and knowledge coming from the global programme of the IUCN, its membership and from partners from the Mediterranean and abroad.
Marie-Aude joined the BlueSeeds team as Director to supervise and coordinate the whole activities.
Thomas Binet
Thomas funded BlueSeeds in 2018. He defines the company's strategy.
Thomas Binet
Thomas holds a PhD in Marine Environmental Economics (Portsmouth, UK) and is an agricultural engineer from AgroParisTech. Specialised in the management of marine natural resources, he has worked as an analyst at the OECD and the Institute for European Environmental Policy in London on European fisheries policies.
He was a researcher at the Centre for Economics and Management of Aquatic Resources at the University of Portsmouth. His research focuses on innovative ways to reconcile nature and the economy, including integrating biodiversity into development strategies, bio-inspired economic approaches, and financing mechanisms for marine ecosystem conservation.
Already the founder and director of Vertigo Lab, an environmental economics consultancy, Thomas is also the founder of BlueSeeds.
Fanny Galibardy
Fanny is in charge of the administrative management. She coordinates the company's human and financial resources.
Fanny Galibardy
Fanny is a geologist by training and has practiced this profession for 5 years in Luxembourg. Groundwater protection, soil remediation, geotechnical soil investigation and natural risk management… She combined these many facets of the business with more administrative support for the management team around ISO 9001 and CSR certification.
Back in France, she decided to retrain and used her experience to take on the role of executive assistant in a young SME involved in agroecology.
Fanny joined BlueSeeds in January 2023 as an Office Manager, with the aim of supporting the team in its mission to empower conservation project leaders.
Guillaume Le Port
Guillaume advises and develops sustainable financing solutions for protected area managers.
Guillaume Le Port
Guillaume holds a master’s degree in Environmental Policy and Sustainable Development from the Institut Catholique de Paris.
Initially specialized in economic valuation of ecosystem services provided by coral reefs, he worked for four years in French Polynesia for IFRECOR and CRIOBE research projects, as well as for several international programs (BfN, IUCN). Thereafter, he focused on cost/benefit analysis of marine protected areas, notably through a Pew Charitable Trust project. At the same time, he also supervised a monitoring program for green sea turtle egg-laying sites and taught at the University of French Polynesia.
Having joined Vertigo Lab in January 2018, Guillaume has actively worked on the development and structuring of BlueSeeds. Within the consultancy firm, he has worked on several projects related to marine conservation finance.
Camille Richer
Camille is in charge of our association BlueMove, which fosters the ecological transition of Mediterranean small-scale fishers.
Camille Richer
Camille gradauated from Kedge Business School in Bordeaux with a Master’s degree in audit, financial control and law. She started her career in the United States in investment banking in 2007. The subprime crisis made her realise that she wanted to contribute to a different kind of economy, one that respects people and the planet.
Within the Entrepreneurs du Monde’s network, a French NGO, she developped extensive experience in financial inclusion and a genuine belief in the power of entrepreneurship. She contributed to the creation and developpment of Microfinance Solidaire, which now finances 20 organisations in 14 countries with a total portfolio of €11 million.
Camille is driven by a deep sense of purpose to create lasting social and environmental impact.
Camille is now responsible for the development of BlueMove, a pre-financing mechanism for small-scale fishermen.
Timothée Cook
Timothée develops the scientific bases of BlueSeeds' projects and trains conservation managers in management effectiveness.
Timothée Cook
Tim is a marine biologist with a doctorate in ecology from the University of La Rochelle on the ecology of seabirds of the French Southern and Antarctic Territories.
He worked for five years at the University of Cape Town on the interactions between fisheries and marine predators in the Benguela upwelling. In parallel, he collaborated on other projects such as the study of the direct effects of global warming on seabirds, the study of sea snake ecology in the Pacific Ocean, or the identification of marine areas of high conservation priority in the Persian Gulf.
Back to France, Timothée lectured ecology for 3 years in Paris at the Marie Curie University, then to future wildlife technicians (BTS Gestion et Protection de la Nature at the EGPN). He then worked as a researcher for BLOOM, an NGO where he studied the role of European subsidies in the degradation of marine resources in southern countries. Timothée joined BlueSeeds in September 2020 as a Science Officer.
Yousr Ben Fadhel
Yousr is developing our mooring management tool BlueMooring and supports conservation site managers in its deployment onsite.
Yousr Ben Fadhel
Yousr has a Master’s Degree in Business Administration she obtained at the Franco-American Institute in Management in Paris. She also obtained a double degree in health management and clinical research.
She worked in the pharmaceutical industry on international projects such as the introduction of innovative technologies in information systems; then as a Business Developer, Country Manager and Sector Director for digital start-ups in varied sectors such as facility services and tourism.
Entrepreneur at heart, she obtained the 2019 Silver Eco Prize for her initiative on ageing well. Her project on transport solutions for persons with reduced mobility in Africa also won the Innovation prize.
The Mediterranean is part of her DNA. She spent her childhood in the Tunisian Sahel, where some fishers own parcels of the waters: this particularity is only found in Tunisia.
Yousr joined BlueSeeds in August 2021 as a Project Officer for BlueMooring, our mooring management solution.
Pierre Coan
Pierre oversees BlueSeeds' digital communications and visual design for varied productions.
Pierre Coan
Pierre holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communications Sciences from the Université Bordeaux Montaigne and a Master’s degree in Administration with a specialisation in marketing communication from the Université de Sherbrooke in Canada.
He worked for three years in the music industry, where he coordinated digital marketing for an independent classical record label in Montreal.
He joined BlueSeeds in May 2021 as a digital communication officer. Thanks to his multidisciplinary communication skills, including strategic communication, digital marketing and infographics, he works to develop BlueSeeds’ visibility both online and offline, and promotes the company’s conservation projects.
Margaux Janin
Margaux coordinates the secretariat of Together for the Med, a network of 50 organisations working to reduce fishing pressure in the Mediterranean.
Margaux Janin
A graduate of Emlyon Business School and holder of a Master’s degree in Marine and Coastal Conservation from the University of Akureyri / University Centre of the Westfjords in Iceland, Margaux combines expertise in project coordination, network mobilisation and communication with a strong understanding of marine conservation issues.
After nearly five years working in communications, she shifted towards environmental project management, focusing in particular on small-scale fisheries in Guadeloupe with Ifremer, sustainable coastal management in the Baltic Sea with EUCC Germany, and responsible aquaculture with the Aquaculture Stewardship Council.
She joined BlueSeeds in 2023 to coordinate Together for the Med, a partnership that now brings together more than 50 Mediterranean organisations. She facilitates cooperation between NGOs, scientists, marine protected area managers and institutions to help develop collective projects and turn needs identified on the ground into concrete action. She contributes in particular to the development of a support programme for local organisations to strengthen the effectiveness of marine protected areas, to the Pelagos project aimed at improving cetacean protection in the Pelagos Sanctuary, and to the MPA4FISH project, which focuses on the socio-economic impacts of marine protected areas on fishing communities and the conditions needed to better reconcile conservation and fishing activities.
Gautier Lannelongue
Gautier contributes to the coordination of Together for the Med, a partnership bringing together 50 marine conservation organisations, as well as to the Pelagos Consortium project, which aims to strengthen conservation measures within the Sanctuary.
Gautier Lannelongue
Gautier is a graduate engineer from AgroParisTech and also holds a Master’s degree in Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution, specialising in marine biology (Université Paris-Sud and the French National Museum of Natural History).
His academic background has enabled him to work on a wide range of projects at the intersection of marine biology, sustainable tourism and fisheries, while developing strong experience in network coordination.
He began his career in Panama, where he contributed to awareness-raising activities for local communities and marine turtle conservation programmes. He then pursued his studies with research on the genetics of marine populations, helping to improve the traceability of species caught in Europe.
At the French National Committee for Marine Fisheries and Marine Farming (CNPMEM), he supported stakeholders across the sector on consultation and cooperation issues, particularly relating to shore fishing, aquaculture, and health and environmental challenges.
On the island of Bréhat, he worked as a project officer, leading projects related to local food systems and the interactions between tourism and the preservation of natural heritage.
Gautier joined BlueSeeds in January 2026. Together with our Network Coordinator, Margaux Janin, he works on the Together for the Med partnership, which brings together 50 partners around the protection of the Mediterranean Sea. He also contributes to the Pelagos Consortium project, which aims to strengthen conservation measures within the Pelagos Sanctuary.
Maricruz Calvo
Maricruz manages the implementation of WAM, our project supporting communities in Guinea-Bissau to benefit from the sale of carbon credits generated through mangrove conservation.
Maricruz Calvo
Maricruz holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Costa Rica. She has actively contributed to environmental projects such as the Culebra Reef Gardens and the Tropical Restoration Network, focusing on the biological aspects of coral reef and mangrove restoration and conservation.
She then pursued a Master’s degree in Marine Conservation at Université Côte d’Azur in France. She completed both of her Master’s internships at BlueSeeds in order to deepen her understanding of environmental finance. Today, she contributes to the development of the West African Mangrove Initiative, a blue carbon project dedicated to mangrove conservation through an equitable, community-based approach.
Joran De Gang
Joran works on the development and implementation of blue carbon projects, as well as scientific monitoring and modelling.
Joran De Gang
Joran holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Antwerp and completed four internships in Portugal focused on cetacean ecology, particularly the impact of whale-watching boats on their behaviour. He then worked as a research assistant, training interns in cetacean research and conservation techniques.
Joran went on to complete the MSc MARRES (Ocean Science, Conservation & Innovation) at Université Côte d’Azur in Nice, where he developed an interdisciplinary understanding of marine conservation, including law and economics. During an internship at the ECOSEAS laboratory, he contributed to the FORCOSEA project on Mediterranean macroalgal forests (Cystoseira), including monitoring harmful benthic algal blooms and conducting experimental work on their reproduction.
For his Master’s thesis, he joined the Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), where he co-developed a digital twin of Posidonia oceanica to model its growth cycle and the effects of temperature in Corsica.
Joran joined BlueSeeds in March 2026, where he works on the development and implementation of blue carbon projects, particularly those involving seagrass meadows such as Posidonia. He also contributes to scientific monitoring and modelling activities.
