Mario Passoni

Background

About Mario Passoni

I graduated in Natural Sciences from the University of Milan with a thesis on bat bioacoustics and I’m a rescue scuba diver. I have always been passionate about travel, exploration, and nature, and over time these passions have become my work. Over the years, i worked in rescue centers in Italy and Thailand for endangered animals (such as sun bears, Siberian tigers, gibbons, red pandas, etc.). I then spent more than 7 years in the field in the world of scientific research, tourism, and habitat restoration. I therefore worked in the Maldives, Mexico, Seychelles, Egypt, Mozambique, Madagascar, and Italy, contributing to census projects of whale sharks, manta rays, sea turtles, coral, and seagrass restoration. In the following years, i devoted myself to sustainable tourism and the organization of ecotourism trips, which led to the first ultrasound scan of a pregnant manta ray, in Socorro, Mexico. Finally, i landed at the World Sustainability Organization (WSO), where i initially managed the technical and scientific department of Friend of the Sea, in the area of sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, and later began running the non-profit arm of WSO, the World Sustainability Foundation (WSF), whose aim is to protect terrestrial and marine biodiversity through conservation and awareness projects on endangered species and threatened ecosystems and support local communities. Part of this work involves organizing and conducting special trips for tourists to discover conservation projects, biodiversity, and local culture. Part of the cost of these trips is used to subsidize the projects themselves. I was appointed to the Advisory Board of 10 % for the Ocean, whose goal is to protect the marine ecosystem.