Cousteau leaves rich legacy

The heritage of French oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau, the 'father of the environmental movement' who opened the mysterious world beneath the sea to millions of landlocked television viewers, is to continue following his death last month at the age of 87.

'Cousteau never thought he would disappear. He had so many plans. He left us a tremendous amount of work to do,' his widow, Francine, said.

Pledging to carry on his projects, she said top priorities were to build a new ship, Calypso II, to keep exploring the world as 'a look-out to tomorrow's problems' and to launch with United Nations and World Bank funds a television channel called The Human Voice, recording the culture and languages of endangered people.

A fund-raising campaign has also been mounted to repair The Calypso, the former British minesweeper aboard which he shot The Silent World earning world-wide fame.

The ship was rammed by a barge in Singapore last year and there are plans to moor it in Paris as a floating 'monument to future generations' exhibiting the life's work of France's favourite son.

Tributes poured in from heads of state and children around the world following the death of this century's best-known undersea explorer.

US President Bill Clinton hailed him as a man of 'rare insight and extraordinary spirit' who 'enabled mankind to truly become part of the sea and the creatures that live there'.