C2O and MACCE have extended the period for online consultation for the three Sustainable Use Area DRAFT management plans by ONE WEEK.
Consultation will now close at 11:59pm on Monday 14 August 2023 (Seychelles time).
As a reminder consultation is open to all stakeholders and interested public to review and comment on three DRAFT management plans for Sustainable Use Areas (Zone 2) from the Seychelles MSP Initiative:
Amirantes to Fortune Bank Sustainable Use Area,
Cosmoledo and Astove Archipelago Sustainable Use Area, and
Farquhar Archipelago Sustainable Use Area.
This round of consultation is online-based only.
You can access the draft plans and feedback forms via: Management Plans
We look forward to your continued participation in this important process and to receiving your comments for the future management of these important marine areas in the Seychelles.
An update on the Seychelles debt-for-nature swap is provided by Convergence in their March 2023 publication on the impact of blended finance.
Convergence case studies are a knowledge product designed to provide a detailed and comprehensive dive into an individual blended finance transaction in order to build the evidence base for blended finance as a development tool and support practitioners and prospective investors in future blended finance endeavours. This report reflects on the portfolio of case studies on blended finance transactions that Convergence has produced since 2015
Report titled “Evaluating the Impact of Blended Finance” – link to report
The Ministry of Agriculture, Climate Change and Environment (MACCE) invites the public to review and comment on draft Management Plans for three Sustainable Use Areas.
Stakeholders and the public are invited to review and comment on three DRAFT management plans for these Sustainable Use Areas (Zone 2) from the Seychelles MSP Initiative:
Amirantes to Fortune Bank Sustainable Use Area
Cosmoledo and Astove Archipelago Sustainable Use Area
Farquhar Archipelago Sustainable Use Area
DRAFT Sustainable Use Areas management plans and the online comment form – click here
If you have any questions, please consult a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) document created for this consultation process – click here
Comment Period: 14th July to 7th August 2023. EXTENDED ONE WEEK to 14th August 2023.
Comment forms will close on: 7th August 2023 at 11:59 PM (Seychelles time). EXTENDED: Closes Monday 14th August 2023 at 11:59 PM (Seychelles time). See updated News Items
MACCE wants to hear from you and looks forward to receiving your comments for the future management of these important marine areas in the Seychelles.
(Seychelles News Agency) – The Seychelles Marine Spatial Plan (SMSP) is expected to be implemented this year, with the final works now being completed, according to a top official.
The SMSP Initiative is focused on planning for and management of the sustainable and long-term use and health of the Seychelles’ ocean. The SMSP is for the entire 1.35 million km² of Seychelles’ ocean and will support Seychelles’ Blue Economy in different ways.
The SMSP will be the first comprehensive marine spatial plan for the western Indian Ocean and will be the second largest ocean area covered by a marine spatial plan, after Norway.
“The SMSP is in the Zoning to Implementation phase and is aiming to complete the Marine Spatial Plan for public review and government approvals in 2023. Significant delays have been experienced due to the global pandemic from March 2020 onward. Work progressed during the pandemic using virtual meetings and several projects were completed during this time including SMSP Policy, ecosystem service values in marine protected areas, and communications materials to prepare for implementation” said Helena Sims, the project manager for the SMSP, who works for The Nature Conservancy, an international NGO.
The SMSP team is pleased to distribute a December 2022 update on the process and outputs. Updates provided on all aspects of the MSP from Feb-Dec 2022 including workshops, science, implementation steps, Cabinet decisions, conference presentations and media articles.
The Dec 2022 update can be downloaded below or from the Updates menu page that features twice annual updates from 2017 onwards.
The Seychelles MSP contributed to a discussion at the CBD COP15 on the use of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Ecologically and Biologically Sensitive Areas, or EBSAs, in MPA and ocean planning.
The SMSP has 3 EBSAs in the geodatabase, and they were incorporated as biodiversity features in the Marxan and Marxan with Zones outputs. These EBSA layers were used in the GoS-UNDP-Gef project for expanding marine protections in Seychelles (Klaus 2015). And, they were used in the Marxan with Zones during the SMSP to identify areas for Zone 1 and Zone 2 categories.
The website for the CBD EBSAs contains information for the three areas:
Seychelles Seatizens is a fish identification website and database. It is intended to support a wide cross-section of stakeholders and enhance their understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of the Seychelles marine environment. Whether you are a fisher or fishery technician working to improve fishery monitoring and co-management; a diver or sports/leisure fisher seeking to identify a fish; a student or researcher undertaking marine studies; or just a consumer who would like to know the name of the fish they bought at market that day, the Seatizens website can support and enrich your activities.
You can search by scientific, English, Creole or French name by species or taxon. You can also scroll through the image galleries.Information provided includes description, ecology, fishery and conservation status, plus references to further sources of information. All photos are taken in Seychelles. The website now has over 490 species described on it with new species added regularly.
For information on the fish in our waters and on our plates visit: www.seatizens.sc
