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SeyCCAT

SeyCCAT presents Blue Carbon in Seychelles’ NDC | 23 April 2021

As Seychelles reaches the final stretch of revising and updating its nationally determined contributions, COMESA has provided further support to ensure the contents of the NDC are now mainstreamed and integrated into priority sectors, existing climate change strategies and development plans in the Seychelles. Read more. 

 

Minister Flavien Joubert

Minister Joubert announces Seychelles’ blue carbon commitment for its next NDC |
20 April 2021

Leading up to President Biden’s Leaders Summit on Climate and hosted by the Friends of the Ocean and Climate, Minister Flavien Joubert, joined the ” How Ocean-Based Solutions Contribute to Net Zero” event and conveyed the Seychelles’ blue carbon commitments in its next NDC. He committed to protecting at least 50% of coastal wetlands by 2025, and 100% by 2030, should international support be provided.

Jeanne Mortimer

SeyCCAT quest to find a Seychellois Creole word for seagrass| 2 March 2021

To date, there is no Seychellois Creole word for seagrass. The absence of a specific word for a particular life form is very telling. SeyCCAT seeks to remedy this absence by starting a quest to find a Seychellois Creole word for seagrass and its 5 life forms. This will then be submitted to the Creole Institute of Seychelles for formal recognition. Read more.

Photo Credit: SeyCCAT

SeyCCAT launches online activity books| 4 February 2021

SeyCCAT launches two books, which can be downloaded freely and repeatedly, target two different categories; primary and secondary students. They both contain 20 pages of age-appropriate activities to provide a basic understanding of what seagrass meadows are and their role in the planet’s ecosystem. Download them here.

Minister Flavien Joubert

Seychelles reaffirms its commitment to the ocean-climate agenda at the Ocean-Climate Ambition Summit
28 January 2021

Following the Ocean-climate dialogue, ocean-minded countries keep up the pace and momentum as we head to COP26. Seychelles co-hosted the Ocean-Climate Ambition Summit with Minister Flavien Joubert emphasising the importance of coastal wetlands to climate action and the integration of blue carbon within the Seychelles’ NDCs. Read more.

Photo credit: SeyCCAT

The Voice of the Seagrass Meadows Art and Poem Competition winners rewarded
07 December 2020

Prize winners of the art and poem competition entitled ‘The Voice of the Seagrass Meadows’ launched in November by the Conservation and Climate Change Adaptation Trust (SeyCCAT) have been rewarded. They received their prizes during a small presentation ceremony at the Semi-Sub embarkation point, Eden Island Marina, on Saturday morning. Read more

Photo credit: SeyCCAT

Now 5 years old, SeyCCAT celebrates Blue Economy project successes
12 November 2020

Nearly three dozen “blue” projects worth a combined $1.4 millions have been financed under Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust (SeyCCAT) Blue Grant over the last five years.
The 34 projects which emphasised investment in women and youth in the Blue Economy are women and youth-led, have young people and women as beneficiaries and are supporting small-scale fishers. Activities are taking place this week to commemorate the fifth anniversary of SeyCCAT. Read more.

Photo credit: Matthew Morgan (ICS Seychelles)

Seychelles Champions Coastal Wetlands in Climate Commitments |

10 November 2020

Every five years parties to the Paris Agreement submit updated domestic commitments to combat climate change through an NDC. Coastal wetlands such as seagrass, mangrove, and saltmarsh ecosystems are currently the only nature-based marine solutions that can measurably contribute to a country’s emissions reductions, as recognized by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s methodologies. Seychelles is one of several countries considering the role that nature-based solutions can play within these collective efforts to achieve global reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. In particular, the Government of Seychelles is exploring the role that seagrass protections can play in its next NDC. Read more

Photo credit: Charlene Albert

Study to examine Seychelles’ seagrass meadows, a powerful carbon sink | 08 November 2020

 

A scientist from Oxford University is expected to start a mapping exercise in Seychelles next year in areas containing seagrass meadows as part of a project to collect data on their carbon uptake capacity. The mapping exercise will demarcate areas around the most populated island of Mahe, Praslin and La Digue containing seagrass meadows. It will later cover other islands including Desroches, Amirantes, Cosmoledo, Astove, Alphonse and Farquhar. Read more.

Photo credit: Marie-France Watson

Educating our children on the wonders of ‘gomon’ | 03 October 2020

 

What are seagrasses?”

“Aren’t they the same as seaweed?”

“Why do they matter?”

These are some of the questions which the Seychelles’ Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust’s (SeyCCAT) Seagrass Meadows team attempted to address in a pilot exercise with 13 children during the August school holidays. The Natural History Museum Club, under the department of Culture, hosted the event which took place over the course of an entire morning and is one of several events on the SeyCCAT’s Seagrass Meadows calendar under the two-year Coastal Wetlands and Climate Change project. Read more.

Seychelles’ President, Danny Faure’s statement to the 75th Session of the United Nations General Assembly | 23 September 2020

Statement for the General Debate by President Danny Faure to the 75th Session of the United Nations General Assembly;

“COVID-19 is not the biggest global challenge of our time. Climate change is the number one threat to humanity. The postponement of COP26 to November 2021 does not mean a postponement of climate action and of urgently-needed efforts to raise climate ambitions. Seychelles’ updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) or climate pledge to the Paris Agreement will accordingly have a whole chapter on harnessing the ocean that surrounds our islands for nature-based climate action. Seychelles’ NDC will champion blue carbon ecosystems such as mangroves and the vast expanses of seagrass meadows, which form part of our new marine protected areas.” Read more.

Seychelles prioritizes climate action in sustainable development | 27 August 2020

In response to climate threats, Seychelles has put climate change at the centre of its sustainable development strategy, addressing both mitigation and adaptation measures, while looking at green finance beyond the simpler option of relegating it to sustainable lending.

“We must advocate a holistic approach which includes public policies that promote a green economic transformation towards low carbon, sustainable and inclusive pathways, in close collaboration with all relevant local agencies,” said Jenifer Sullivan, the Central Bank of Seychelles Second Deputy Governor. Read more.

How the Seychelles is Setting an Example for Protecting Marine Biodiversity | 09 June 2020

In late March, the Government of the Seychelles announced that it will extend the protection of its seas to 400 000 sq km, an area twice the size of Great Britain, fulfilling its promise to protect 30% of its surrounding marine territory and biodiversity. What does this mean for the future of the archipelago’s marine biodiversity? Read more.

Photo credit: Matthew Morgan (ICS Seychelles)

New Grant: Seychelles’ Roadmap to Blue Carbon opportunities | 02 February 2020

In partnership with the James Michel Foundation and Seychelles’ Ministry for Environment, Energy and Climate Change,  the Blue Carbon Lab will develop a “Roadmap to Blue Carbon opportunities in the Seychelles” funded by a 2-year Blue grant from the Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Fund (SeyCCAT). Read more.

The James Michel Foundation carries out first Blue Carbon study for Seychelles | 01 February 2020

The James Michel Foundation, in partnership with Deakin University of Australia, Constance Ephelia Resort, the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change, and with the financial support provided through a Blue Grant that was facilitated through SeyCCAT, will be undertaking the first-ever study of Blue Carbon stocks within the Seychelles archipelago. Read more.