SPGA receives UK-funded drones for a bird’s eye view of protected areas |24 June 2022
The British High Commission (BHC) has donated two Mavic Air 2 drones to the Seychelles Parks and Gardens Authority (SPGA) with the aim of
enhancing the latter’s capacity to effectively monitor their expanded terrestrial parks and ensure the preservation of protected areas.
The handover, which took place yesterday at the Salazie trail in the Morne Seychellois National Park, was attended by the deputy British High
Commissioner, Matthew Harper, and Lya Docteur, the chief finance officer of the SPGA.
Other SPGA staff also attended the ceremony.
With the aim of having visitors address their carbon footprints during their trips, the BHC initiated the Green Footprint Project in partnership
with the SPGA back in 2021. As part of their plans to help Seychelles build resilience against climate change, they organise regular tree-
planting activities to propagate endemic and native tree species in areas threatened by invasive plants.
Commenting on the donation, Mr Harper said:
“We are pleased to support the Seychelles Parks and Gardens Authority through this latest donation, which we hope helps the organisation
achieve its ultimate objective of maintaining the beauty and biodiversity of its protected areas.
“We chose this particular site to conduct the handover to reflect the ongoing work the SPGA has done to help in the reforestation of the Salazie
trail, supported by the British High Commission. The Green Footprint Seychelles project demonstrates the excellent cooperation between our
partners at SPGA and other local environmental experts. The donation builds on the British High Commission’s continued relationship with
SPGA. It is one small part of a much broader project – which has thus far culminated to around R400,000 – supporting sustainability
and conservation in Seychelles.”
On behalf of the SPGA chief executive, the chief finance officer, Ms Docteur, shared: “SPGA is immensely grateful for the donation of the
drones. With the added equipment, we are sure that our team will have the much-needed advantage in monitoring the vast Morne
Seychellois National Park, and we are also certain that it could also benefit the other protected areas under our mandate. Our team, who have
been involved with the Green Footprint Seychelles Project from the beginning, are especially appreciative of the donation. We recognise the
hard work which has been directed towards the project, and this donation further reflects the strong and fruitful ongoing collaboration
between SPGA and the British High Commission.”
The communications, information, events and customer care officer at SPGA, Geraldine Joubert, remarked that the SPGA already has a few
drones but that this addition will allow for more of their staff to be trained on how to use them.
“We realised that, even though we are planting trees, we also have to monitor and see what is happening to the plants once they have been
put in the ground,” she explained, stating that drones compensate for the small size of their team and allow this important work to be done.
Ms Joubert also mentioned that the drones will also be used by research students.
“This will help facilitate some of their work. It will make their lives a little bit easier when it comes to monitoring our parks.”
The drones will be used on many of the parks and trails managed by the SPGA and not just on the Salazie trail. The SPGA currently has drones being used on the other islands it is based such as Curieuse but should there be a need, the ones on Mahé can be sent there instead.
As for the restrictions enforced by the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA), the individuals operating the drones will still have to abide by them.
Following the handover, one of the drones was used for a live demonstration over an area along the trail which has been designated as the Green Footprint Seychelles Site.
The SPGA is responsible for protecting three terrestrial parks, five marine parks, and three gardens. These include the Morne Seychellois
National Park, the Praslin National Park, the Veuve Special Reserve on La Digue Island, and the Ste Anne marine park, to name a few. With
the newly acquired drones, the SPGA can expand its reach in such areas at a lesser cost.
The drones will further help the SPGA deliver on its mandate to protect habitats and ecosystems from anthropogenic and human threats.
The accompanying photos show some highlights of the handover ceremony.
Sylia Ah-Time/Press release from the BHC
Photos by Thomas Meriton/BHC
