Wetlands of Hope – LEAP 2

Project: Improving Climate Adaptation and Environmental Governance through Local People and Co-Management in Seychelles

Duration: 1 March 2024 – 31 March 2026
Coordinated by: European Commission represented by the Delegation to the Republic of Mauritius and to the Republic of Seychelles
Implementing Partner: Ministry of Agriculture, Climate Change and Environment (MACCE)
Funding Amount: €218,000
Implemented in Seychelles by: Nature Seychelles

Seychelles has experienced the loss of mangrove and wetland coverage in the past two decades due to development along the coastline. Those remaining are inadequately managed due to lack of capacity, resources and knowledge. With the increasing importance placed on mangroves and wetlands as a climate adaptation strategy, significant effort is required to improve institutional capacity and collaboration to effectively coordinate wetland management and conservation efforts across Seychelles.

Local communities, private sector and the general public have a limited understanding of the importance of the ecosystem services provided by wetlands, leading to increased solid and chemical pollution of the low altitude wetlands. While social media is main platform for knowledge sharing and sensitisation; information on the wetland ecosystem and its benefits is limited in accessible places such as schools and on-site locations.

This project aims to bridge these gaps in management and knowledge, promoting the value of wetland ecosystems through participatory and inclusive planning processes. Nature Seychelles will work with government agencies, alongside key civil society and private sector stakeholders, to support governance and conservation actions that they would be otherwise unable to undertake. Nature Seychelles will establish an alliance between MACCE, the local people and tourism establishments, building capacity to participate in mangrove monitoring and restoration. The ‘Wetlands of Hope’ label will be introduced to recognise and promote wetland management efforts by private sector and communities. A strong advocacy effort will underlie all project activities – for the review of key wetland documents, and the development of conservation and management action plans.

Project target groups:

• Department of Climate Change and Energy
• Department of Environment
  Wetland management practitioners
• Tourism establishments
  Community members, environmental groups and school clubs.
• Local entrepreneurs and private sector interested parties

Project Objectives:

• Improve mangrove research and management for ecosystem resilience in wetland sites in Seychelles.
• Increase the number of local people with knowledge and capacity required to participate in active conservation and restoration.
• Increase community participation that promote good governance for the Co-Management of the target site.
• Strengthen and support national mangrove policy and regulatory frameworks for ecosystem management, with a recommendation for legal status for the target site.

This project is a continuation of previous LEAP project, which sought to explore the modalities for the Co-Management of two marine national parks by improving collaborations between the local authority and a multi-stakeholder community group from the district of Port Glaud.

This new project builds on these existing efforts by focusing on environmental rights, climate justice and good governance through engagement with local stakeholders.