Presenting Topic: "Dony : Ethnologist or ambassador? Reflections from a biologist."
Gauthier Chapelle started his professional career as an Agricultural Engineer with a PhD in Biology. A thesis on cold water crustaceans led him to 5 Antarctic expeditions and to an increasing awareness about the effects of climate change. Since then, Gauthier has worked as scientific officer at the International Polar Foundation (IPF), where he was responsible for the scientific validation of all materials produced for the educational and public outreach sector. Working daily with climate change issues has only increased Gauthier's desire to work on solutions.
Seminars at Schumacher's College over a three-year period inspired Gauthier to launch, together with Raphaël Stevens, the non-profit platform "Biomimicry Europa" in 2006. Since October 2007, he has worked full time for Biomimicry Europa and the associated consultancy. Biomimicry can be defined as taking inspiration from the living world to reach sustainability and a post-carbon society.
Gauthier has been an amateur naturalist since the age of 10, and eventually became 'addicted' to cetaceans. He got particularly interested in "non-human intelligence", and became familiar with the ambassador dolphins literature (especially Horace Dobbs and Wade Doak at that time). In 1994, he became a member of the Cetus Association, a French NGO bringing people on 3 to 8 day cruises to see Mediterranean whales and dolphins from sailing boats . "Cetus" allows interactions in the water between humans and cetaceans when conditions are suitable. After having been the president of Cetus for 6 years, Gauthier has now withdrawn to an advisory role. Since 2001 he has met Dusty, Dony and Jean-Floc'h several times. In close contact with Sandra Guyomard from Réseau-Cétacés, he followed Dony's odyssey in particular through the Internet between 2002 and 2006.
Gauthier Chapelle’s Specialties:
Biomimicry, climate change, polar science & sustainable development popularization, scientific validation of popularised papers, environmental education, conferences.
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