MONTREAL, June 2, 2026 /CNW/ - To celebrate World Oceans Day on June 8, Espace pour la vie is proud to announce the launch of the comic book The Ocean and Human Rights by author and illustrator Alexandra Dion-Fortin, created in collaboration with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment. The comic is an adaptation of the report by the same name.
Explaining environmental justice through art
The comic was designed to raise awareness in an accessible and engaging way and to illustrate our right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. It draws from the Report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur Astrid Puentes Riaño and shows the close ties that exist between the protection of ocean environments, environmental justice, and human rights.
As a forum for dialogue between science, the environment, art, and society, the Biosphère, worked in close collaboration with the Laboratory for Environmental and Climate Justice (LabJAC) to make the subject matter as clear and accessible as possible, especially for youth aged 10 years and older.
The comic is available in French, English, Spanish, and Portuguese, and aims to reach a broad and diverse audience.
Don't miss out on your copy!
A printed edition of The Ocean and Human Rights (in French only), printed on 100% recycled paper, will be handed out for free at the Biosphère during the Festival Eurêka! from June 5 to 7. Because quantities are limited, the public is encouraged not to miss this opportunity to pick up a copy.
The English version of the comic book is available online.
The Report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur Astrid Puentes Riaño, The ocean and human rights, can be consulted in full online.
Quotes
Gabrielle Rousseau-Bélanger, Responsable de l'environnement, de la transition écologique et des espaces verts
"The Ocean and Human Rights uses art to make the critical issues surrounding ocean protection, environmental justice, and human rights more accessible. By collaborating with the United Nations Special Rapporteur to create this comic, Montréal and Espace pour la vie have demonstrated their commitment to the UN and to educating the public, and especially youth, via this free and engaging medium."
Astrid Puentes Riaño, United Nations Special Rapporteur
"As a mother and as a Special Rapporteur, one of my greatest commitments is to ensure that the information in the reports produced during my mandate is accessible to future generations, as they will inherit the planet. Young people must know that they have the right to a healthy environment and, particularly with this report, why protecting the ocean is a human rights issue. We have only one ocean, and a wide variety of the planet's ecosystems, the climate, food, people, and life systems depend on it.''
Festival Eurêka! From June 5 to 7 at the Biosphère and at Parc Jean-Drapeau Free event Come enjoy exhibitions and take part in various activities including science workshops and interactive shows in a fun, festive atmosphere! |
ABOUT
Espace pour la vie
Protecting biodiversity and the environment is at the heart of the mission of Espace pour la vie, which is made up of the Biodôme, Biosphère, Insectarium, Jardin botanique and Planétarium. Together, these museums located in Montréal form Canada's largest natural science museum complex, welcoming over 2.5 million visitors each year. In view of the challenges our planet is facing, Espace pour la vie is working to increase its impact by fostering dialogue with communities and taking actions aimed at mobilizing the public behind the socio-ecological transition.
Alexandra Dion-Fortin
Alexandra Dion-Fortin is a multidisciplinary visual artist whose practice, inspired by living things and both natural and built landscapes, combines watercolor, graphite, and colored pencils. As an illustrator, comic book artist, author, and architectural designer, she develops projects at the intersection of art, sociology, and the environment. Her collaborations with universities and organizations focus in particular on making research accessible through comics. Dividing her time between the Iles-de-la-Madeleine (Menagoesenog) and the Haute-Gaspésie region, her work is infused with ecofeminist, social, and poetic concerns.
Astrid Puentes Riaño, the UN Special Rapporteur
Astrid Puentes Riaño, United Nations Special Rapporteur
The Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is an independent expert mandated by the United Nations Human Rights Council to help protect this right worldwide. This mandate promotes best practices of the use of human rights in environmental policymaking, identifies challenges and obstacles to the global recognition and implementation of the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, conducts country visits and responds to human rights violations. Astrid Puentes Riaño was appointed Special Rapporteur of this mandate on 5 April 2024.
LabJAC
The Laboratory for Environmental and Climate Justice (LabJAC) serves as an external office that supports the activities of the Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, at Universidad Iberoamericana's Law Department in Mexico City. The LabJAC aims to offer key solutions from an environmental justice perspective to effectively address the triple planetary crisis--referring to climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution--which is exacerbated by structural inequality and discrimination.
SOURCE Espace pour la vie Montreal
Media inquiries: Roy & Turner, Chloé Rossi, 514 652-6478, [email protected]; Source: Espace pour la vie, Isabel Matte, 514 250-7753, [email protected]
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