Message from Minister for Agriculture, Climate Change and Environment, Flavien Joubert, on International Day for the Conservation of Mangrove Ecosystem 2022 |26 July 2022

‘Let’s protect mangroves’ habitat through sustainable use of our wetlands’

“Today is World Mangrove’s Day and Seychelles joins many countries around the world in commemorating this important day, highlighting the importance of mangroves in the wetlands ecosystem and the challenges it faces.

“Known as the green coastal barrier, protecting hundreds of thousands of kilometres of coastal areas, mangroves provide a number of products, and ecosystem services, from timber, food, and medicine to carbon absorption from the atmosphere, protecting other ecosystems such as sea grass and coral reefs from pollutants and providing habitat for many species from fish to crustaceans.

“The day was adopted during the Unesco Conference in 2015 with the main objectives of bringing forth the importance of mangroves within the coastal wetlands’ ecosystem and highlighting the ever threats to the mangrove ecosystem globally.

“Mangrove crops cover large coastal areas of Seychelles islands with Aldabra having the largest area covering a total surface of 1283 hectares. Seychelles as a small island developing state faces adverse climatic weather events due to climate change such as tidal surges, sea-level rise, storms, coastal degradation, and mangroves play a vital role in mitigating these climatic impacts.

“As part of its updated 2020 National Determined Contributions, Seychelles has committed itself to lowering the amount of GHGs in the atmosphere and mangrove crops will contribute significantly in achieving this target.

“Of the three declared Ramsar sites within the archipelago, two of them are coastal mangrove habitats, ‒ Aldabra and Port Launay coastal wetlands. Many activities have been organised, all aimed at better protection and management of the mangrove areas around the islands, through various programmes, with local and foreign organisations such as Mangroves For the Future, China South-South Cooperation, Strass, Constance Ephelia, Mahé Seychelles, Eco-Schools, Wildlife Clubs and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

“Some organisations/businesses, schools, and other institutions have adopted coastal mangrove areas within their premises, with the recent adoption by the National Assembly of part of the Ile Du Port Mangrove area during the World Wetlands Day celebration this year, which shows the ever-growing public awareness of the importance of mangroves in the wetlands ecosystem.

“This year’s commemoration is a time to reflect on the achievements and the challenges Seychelles faces as a small island developing state in the protection and management of the mangrove ecosystem and what each one of us can contribute in protecting mangroves’ habitat through sustainable use of our wetlands.”

Press release from the Ministry of Agriculture, Energy and Climate Change