Seychelles
Stepping into the Seychelles Islands
The Seychelles archipelago is globally recognized as one of Earth’s biodiversity hotspots, both in terms of its terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Thus, the archipelago is known for its natural beauty and pristine environment. Levels of biodiversity are known to be high, with the most recent overview estimating the presence of 850 plants and 2,426 insect species, although noting that, for at least some islands, insect diversity may be 3 times higher than the available estimates.
The Seychelles economy depends on tourism and fisheries and to a lesser extent on agriculture. However, Seychelles’ forests have been affected by several factors including invasive alien species, forest fires, and development of infrastructure.
While the tourism and fisheries sectors bring benefits in terms of economic growth and development, they represent challenges in terms of biodiversity conservation. All key stakeholders are aware of the need to promote sustainable tourism and sustainable fisheries.
1. To provide incentives (e.g. business tax concessions, greater awareness re use of CSR) to tourism operators investing in biodiversity conservation.
2. To Promote Bio-security by Change Behaviors by Enforcing and Aligning Fines and Penalties with Other Environmental Legislation
3. Biodiversity Finance Unit (BFU) be set up in order to institutionalize the coordination of all biodiversity-related projects and their mainstreaming into the economic planning andz annual budgetary planning processes
