Initiatives

Seychelles Marine Spatial Planning

The Seychelles Marine Spatial Planning (MSP)Initiative is a process focused on planning for and management of the sustainable and long-term use and health of the Seychelles Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The EEZ encompasses 1,374,000 km2 of ocean and 115 islands. The MSP Initiative is a Government-led process, with planning and facilitation managed by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and TNC Canada in partnership with Government of Seychelles – UNDP GEF Programme Coordinating Unit (PCU). Funding for the Initiative is being provided through a number of grants to Government of Seychelles and an Oceans 5 grant awarded to TNC. The MSP Initiative is an integrated, multi-sector approach to address climate change adaptation, marine protection and support the Blue Economy and other national strategies. The process includes input from all major sectors of the Seychelles including commercial fishing, tourism and marine charters, biodiversity conservation, renewable energy, port authority, maritime safety, and no-renewable resources in order to develop a comprehensive marine plan with stakeholder input. For more info http://seymsp.com/

 

#seyfreefromplastics

In January 2017, the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change introduced a restriction on the importation on certain plastic items such as single-use plastic bags, plastic utensils (cups, plates, spoon, forks and knives) and polystyrene takeaway boxes. Importers and retailers were given 6 months (Grace Period) for the exhaustion of stock thus by the 1^st of July 2017 the commercial use, distribution, manufacturing and importation of these plastic items will come to an end. As a result of a characterization study in 2016 the preliminary findings showed that approximately 33% of all the waste that enters the landfill consists of plastics.  Plastic carrier bags affect wildlife and pollute the environment and it needs almost 1000 years to disintegrate.  It is clear that there is an urgency to rethink the way in which the country tackles the importation and utilisation of plastics so as to help curb the rate at which the Providence landfill 2 is filling up and to limit the impacts of non-biodegradable plastics on the environment and the Seychelles living standards.

 

100% Renewable

The Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change is keen to promote the use of renewable energy resources for energy production and implement energy efficiency measures as a way to reduce the country’s reliance on imported fuel. The Seychelles Energy Policy has set targets for Seychelles to produce 5% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020, and 15% by 2030. Seychelles has also committed itself to becoming 100% renewable by 2050 through Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMA) under the UNFCC framework. There has been several projects (for e.g. Curieuse 100% and Solar School Programme) launched to achieve this target in collaboration with different stakeholders such as Seychelles Energy Commission, Public Utilities Corporation, GOS UNDP GEF Programme Coordination Unit (PCU) and Ministry of Education to name a few.

Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy Initiative

The Queen’s Canopy Canopy Initiative is committed to raising awareness within the Commonwealth of the value of indigenous forests and to saving them for future generations. It was launched in Malta, in 2015 and involves 52 commonwealth countries.  As part of the Commonwealth, Seychelles gave its commitment to plant 20,000 trees by December 2017. Since 2015 the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change in partnership with the Seychelles National Parks Authority (SNPA) have organized multiple tree planting activities with different organizations to achieve the aim. Tree planting activities are throughout the year; if you are interested in participating in one of our tree planting activities contact us.For more info about the QCC worldwide visit https://queenscommonwealthcanopy.org/