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Seychelles Blue Carbon

Background

Seychelles, classed by the United Nations as a Small Island Developing State (SIDS), has a total landmass of 459 km2 and an Exclusive Economic Zone of 1.35 million km2. Seychelles’ residents rely heavily on marine tourism and fishing revenue, however coastal wetlands have declined dramatically as a result of coastal development, and face added pressures with future sea level rise, increased storm surge, and salt water inundation. In 2016, Seychelles completed the world’s first ocean debt conversion for $21.6 M with support from The Nature Conservancy.  Seychelles created a new independent trust for conservation and climate change after a new Act was passed and is called the Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust (SeyCCAT). The debt conversion allowed Seychelles to write off a portion of its national debt and convert remaining debt to support conservation of its marine ecosystems, also known as “debt for nature swap”. This was followed in 2018 with Seychelles government announcing the launch of the world’s first sovereign blue bond, supported by the World Bank. SeyCCAT was created to fund marine conservation and climate adaptation projects annually over the next 20 years.

In partnership with the James Michel Foundation, the Blue Carbon Lab is developing a “Roadmap to Blue Carbon opportunities in the Seychelles” funded by a 2-year Blue grant from SeyCCAT. This project seeks to explore the Seychelles’ Blue Carbon future, by developing a first-pass assessment of potential Blue Carbon opportunities in Seychelles and building local capacity on Blue Carbon through a series of on-site workshops. Accounting for the ocean’s carbon offsetting capacity can help Seychelles remain a net carbon sink and achieve its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).

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Outcomes

Literature review: Blue Carbon Research in the Tropical Western Indian Ocean

The research identified 131 studies examining the biomass or carbon stored in the Western Indian Ocean’s (WIO) mangroves and seagrass beds. Of these, 101 contained unique datasets, which were used in the study, 82 were based on mangrove ecosystems and 49 explored seagrass meadows, despite their higher distribution extent. This is likely to be because of mangrove’s higher carbon storage potential and easier access to sites and sampling. Almost half of the studies were published in the last 10 years, showing an increase in blue carbon research interest. Most studies were conducted along the mainland East African coast and only 4 in the Seychelles: 1 on mangroves, 3 on seagrass meadows.

The main conclusions from the report:

1

This literature review highlighted the tropical WIO is a blue carbon hotspot with significant carbon stocks being stored in its diverse and extensive coastal ecosystems. However, it also revealed that despite the increasing regional interest on blue carbon research, there are still major knowledge gaps to be addressed.

1 (1)

The key research gaps include: (1) the lack of blue carbon datasets from seagrass ecosystems, specifically habitat distribution and belowground plant measures; (2) little information on soil carbon stocks on mangrove and seagrass ecosystems (particularly along deep soil profiles); and (3) a significant lack of soil accretion rates (only 3 studies).

1 (2)

Most blue carbon datasets have been collected in the mainland coast of East Africa, leaving a major geographical gap in Small Island Developing States such as Seychelles. With only 4 relevant studies identified within the Seychelles archipelago, there is an urgent need for blue carbon research in the country.

Download the full Literature Review

Stakeholder Questionnaire: Blue Carbon Context in Seychelles

This report depicts the results of a stakeholder questionnaire intended to solicit local knowledge on the current social, political, ecological and scientific context of blue carbon ecosystems in Seychelles (i.e., mangrove forests and seagrass meadows). To achieve this, the questionnaire was distributed among stakeholders working in close connection to Seychelles’ coastal ecosystems. In total, 103 stakeholders from 56 organisations responded the questionnaire.  Our analysis of the questionnaire identified key points about the local attitudes, knowledge, and frameworks around Seychelles’ coastal ecosystems.

StakeholderInfographic_BlueCarbonLab
Download the full report

Selected Media and Outreach

  • First Blue Carbon study for Seychelles, Seychelles Nation
  • Roadmap to Blue Carbon opportunities in the Seychelles, SeyCCAT
  • Seychelles Blue Carbon Journey, SeyCCAT
  • New Grant: Seychelles’ Roadmap to Blue Carbon Opportunities, BCL
  • How much blue carbon does Seychelles have? Local experts work on monitoring and awareness, Seychelles News Agency
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Funding & Program Partners

This work has been led by Deakin University’s Blue Carbon Lab, funded by SeyCCAT (Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust) and done in collaboration with the James Michel Foundation.

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090d4421e73f16447419bb8debf5a135SeyCCAT_logo

#SeychellesBlueCarbon

Follow this program on social media using #SeychellesBlueCarbon

Contact

Dr Maria del Mar Palacios (m.palacios@deakin.edu.au)

Deakin University
  • Home
  • About
    • What we are about
    • Who we are
      • Professor Peter Macreadie
      • Dr Paul Carnell
      • Dr Stacey Trevathan-Tackett
      • Dr Maria del Mar Palacios
      • Dr Pawel Waryszak
      • Dr Melissa Wartman
      • Dr Micheli Duarte de Paula Costa
      • Dr Noyan Yilmaz
      • Dr Christina Birnbaum
      • Dr Martino Malerba
      • Dr Tiffany Sih
      • Dr Taryn Laubenstein
      • Dr Christina Asanopoulos
      • Dr Tanveer Adyel
      • Dr Valentina Hurtado-McCormick
      • Dr Elodie Camprasse
      • Dr Sabiha Marine
      • Melanie Bok
      • Interns and Volunteers
      • Alumni
  • Research
    • Wetland Carbon
      • Blue Carbon
        • Seychelles Blue Carbon
        • Queensland Blue
        • Victoria’s Blue Carbon
        • Blue Carbon Management
      • Teal Carbon
        • Farm Dams
        • Teal Wetlands for Carbon Offsetting
        • Victoria’s Teal Carbon
      • TeaComposition H2O
    • Ecosystem Services
    • Ecosystem Restoration
      • Wetland Restoration
      • Kelp & Seagrass restoration
      • Maximising Teal Carbon capture
    • Citizen science
      • HSBC citizen science
      • GeelongPort citizen science
    • Microplastics
    • Marine Biosecurity
    • Decommissioning Infrastructure
  • Services
    • Wetland Carbon Assessments
    • Environmental Assessments
    • Environmental Restoration
    • Citizen Science
    • System of Environmental Economic Accounting (SEEA)
    • Feasibility Assessments
    • Remote Sensing
    • Microbial Analysis
    • Marine Biosecurity
  • Publications
  • Vacancies
  • News
  • Donate
  • Contact
Blue Carbon Lab