Paying Off Our Debt to Nature: Marine Protection in the Seychelles
Location: SEYCHELLES
An island nation on the front line of climate change, the Seychelles is breaking new ground with this funding model for the expansion of its Marine Protected Areas.
Over $20 million that was once a debt to four European nations is now being channeled into a number of pioneering conservation and climate resiliency initiatives in the Seychelles, helping to mitigate the ecological, economic and human risks posed by anthropomorphic climate change.
PARTNERS
The Seychelles government received significant backing and support from The Nature Conservancy and The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation in bringing about this pioneering project.
AIMS
As part of this Blue Economy approach, the Seychelles government identified three key goals that would require significant fundraising:
Expanding the Marine Protected Areas in its ocean territory, going beyond international targets, to minimize unsustainable fishing practices and protect key habitats.
Producing a comprehensive, nationwide plan for the management of marine areas and resources, to ensure a holistic approach that brings together all stakeholders.
Developing the necessary infrastructure to sustain priority local marine conservation and climate adaptation activities over the long term.
CONTEXT
The Republic of Seychelles is an archipelago nation of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, about 1,000 miles off the coast of East Africa. In recent years it has been the subject of considerable acclaim for its ‘Blue Economy’ policy, an innovative, holistic approach to managing an economy that is intimately connected to the ocean. Operating in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Blue Economy is exploring ways to sustainably develop and maintain the Seychelles’ primary industries of tuna fishing and tourism, alongside smaller local industries and livelihoods.
Like many island nations, the Seychelles are at risk from climate change in a number of ways. Sea level rise threatens the integrity of the low-lying islands of the archipelago, with a real risk of reduced habitability in the near future. Increasingly severe storms are damaging the coastal areas that much of the tourist industry relies upon. Ocean warming is diminishing fish stocks, creating instability in local food provision and in the Seychelles export economy. These problems are being further exacerbated by the destruction of coral reefs as a result of rising ocean acidity. Extensive, healthy reefs would normally provide protection from the impacts of storms, as well as providing nurseries for a number of key marine species. The Seychelles does not have the luxury of ignoring climate change, and with its pioneering Blue Economy approach the nation is already well on the way to building climate resiliency.
METHOD
To obtain the funding needed to achieve these goals, the Seychelles government began working with two key partners. The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation (LDF) has a prestigious grant-making program which funds projects dedicated to protecting ecosystems across the world. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) was founded by grassroots campaigners in the US almost 70 years ago and has grown into one of the most expansive and effective environmental organizations in the world today.
With LDF leading on sourcing significant private sector investment for the Seychelles, TNC set up a unique opportunity to obtain international state funding. Through extensive negotiation, TNC was able to acquire $22 million of national debt owed to the UK, France, Belgium and Italy, at a discounted rate. This is the first ever debt-swap deal designed to fund marine protection and has contributed massively to the Seychelles Blue Economy.
The deal will support the creation of the second largest Marine Protected Area in the West Indian Ocean, an area of 400,000 square kilometers. At least half of this area will be declared a ‘no-take zone’, prohibiting all fishing to protect the breeding sites of species that are key to the local economy, as well as a number of scientifically identified priority biodiversity areas. In 2020, the protected area has already been extended across 15% of the Seychelles’ coastal and marine area, with plans to double this to its full extent of 30% in 2021. This significantly outstrips the international target of 10% set by the Aichi Biodiversity Targets at COP10 in Nagoya a decade ago.
With this rapid progress on the Seychelles’ first key goal, work is also turning to using the funds from LDF grants and the debt-swap deal to advance its other two goals. With a comprehensive national plan for marine management in the Seychelles underway, the outlook is positive for ensuring the continued success of local conservation and climate resiliency work.