By Dr Nirmal Shah
The 2026 IPBES Business and Biodiversity Assessment makes clear that biodiversity loss is no longer a niche environmental concern; it is a systemic risk to global economic stability—especially for vulnerable small island states like Seychelles.
Globally, an estimated US$7.3 trillion a year finances activities that drive nature’s decline—almost thirty times the US$220 billion invested in protection. The Report calls for a decisive shift from “business as usual” to “nature-positive” models, including transparent reporting through tools such as the Species Threat Abatement and Restoration (STAR) index, the removal of harmful subsidies, and the integration of nature’s value into corporate governance and financial decision-making.
In Seychelles, Nature Seychelles has long demonstrated what this transition looks like in practice. Partnerships with island resorts such as Fregate, Cousine and Denis helped rescue the Seychelles Magpie-robin, Seychelles Flycatcher, Seychelles Fody and Seychelles Warbler—showing how luxury tourism can directly underpin species recovery. By aligning the tourism product with measurable biodiversity outcomes, conservation became part of the business model.
These partnerships extend to global corporations. Canon has supported a coral spawning lab, advanced imaging technology, and international communications for the Assisted Recovery of Corals (ARC) facility. CMA CGM has funded aquaculture equipment and solar PV systems, strengthening both the ecological and energy resilience of coral restoration. Raffles Praslin continues to back reef restoration training and implementation. Wetland co-management with five-star hotels has likewise transformed coastal developments into partners in mangrove and wetland recovery.
By contrast, the industrial tuna sector and the Indian Ocean Tuna cannery (IOT) illustrate a persistent imbalance. While central to the economy, their conservation contributions remain modest relative to their ecological footprint as the country’s largest extractor of marine biodiversity. Generating substantial revenues, the sector reinvests too little in the ecosystems that sustain it. This underscores the urgency of the IPBES call for policy reform—ensuring major industries move beyond licence fees toward measurable, nature-positive accountability.
Photo: Finian Hawkins