Representatives from the Government of Seychelles will be attending the first ever UN Oceans Conference in New York City, 5-9 June 2017.
The high-level United Nations Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development will be convened at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 5 to 9 June 2017, coinciding with World Oceans Day, to support the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14. The Governments of Fiji and Sweden have the co-hosting responsibilities of the Conference.
More information about the conference can be found here.
Seychelles featured in The Nature Conservancy magazine. Written by Ginger Strand, the magazine article describes the Government of Seychelles’ efforts to protect 30% of its ocean and develop the Blue Economy.
Seychelles will be hosting a one-week festival in December to celebrate its rich marine heritage.
The Seychelles Ocean Festival which will be held from December 2-9, will be replacing the Sub Indian Ocean Seychelles (SUBIOS), also known as Seychelles Festival of the Sea.
The official launch of the event taking place at The Wharf Hotel and Marina on December 2, against a backdrop of the sea and the Eden Island. For more information, visit the Festival’s Facebook page.
The Seychelles government will establish up to 400,000 square kilometres of marine protected areas by 2020 as part of a comprehensive marine spatial plan for its entire exclusive economic zone. This will be achieved via a debt swap of up to $27 million with its Paris Club creditors and the government of South Africa, with the support of the Nature Conservancy and private capital investors interested in marine conservation. The announcement was made by Rebecca Loustau- Lalane, the principal secretary in the Blue Economy Department, on the main stage of the recent ‘Our Ocean conference’ at the US State Department in Washington D.C. Also attending the two-day conference was the chief executive of Nature Seychelles, Dr Nirmal Jivan Shah, who said that the main aim of the conference was to galvanise countries and institutions to do something real to protect this lifeblood of humanity.
Seychelles featured in National Geographic Magazine! From the article: “Restoration efforts are giving vulnerable native species a second chance on islands in the Indian Ocean. Privately owned St. Joseph Atoll was once commercially exploited for fish and coconuts but is now prized for its marine biodiversity and seabird colonies. In 2014 the island was made a nature reserve with a marine protected area. Its conservation is managed by the Save Our Seas Foundation. High tide in Aldabra lagoon finds green turtles grazing on sea grass. Here and on other Seychelles islands, exploitation by humans has given way to admiration and a desire to protect and restore.
Photo: Manu San Felix/National Geographic, shot during Pristine Seas Expedition to Seychelles, March 2015.
On the occasion of World Oceans Day, President James Michel has launched his fourth book, entitled ‘Rethinking The Oceans – Towards the Blue Economy,’ during an evening reception at State House today.
The Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change, in collaboration with the University of Flensburg, Germany, is developing a roadmap for Seychelles to help move towards a low carbon economy and meet its commitments under the Paris Agreement.
Finance, Trade and the Blue Economy Minister Jean-Paul Adam shared Seychelles’ experiences at a specially convened event on the Blue Economy Framework by the World Bank and underlined the opportunities created by the recently concluded debt swap agreement, as well as the prospects of mobilising additional resources from international capital markets through concepts such as a ‘Blue Bond’.
Seychelles has successfully concluded the financial part of a debt buyback process and can go ahead with its plans for marine conservation and climate change adaptation works, the finance minister said Tuesday. Seychelles’ Minister of Finance, Trade and the Blue Economy, Jean-Paul Adam, told a news conference that the financial stage of the buyback of Paris Club debt is now completed.
Marine planning tools are being developed in Seychelles by adapting tools from other geographies and incorporating input, advice and recommendations from stakeholders. Tools need to be adapted to the specific needs, governance structures, politics, stakeholders, cultures, and styles of a new location. MSP practitioners should evaluate tools for local fit before they start using them, and they must be willing and able to adapt the tools to their specific planning process as it moves forward.
