Request to make D’Arros Island and St Joseph Atoll special reserves |11 November 2016

Assembly objects to proposal

The National Assembly has voted against a request to make D’Arros Island and St Joseph Atoll special reserves as per notices published in the Official Gazette dated September 23 and 30as well as October 7, 2016.

The leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, Wavel Ramkalawan, tabled  a motion expressing his objection to the project and also called on the Assembly to set up a select committee to study the general situation of all our outlying islands before submitting their report to the said institution.

In his presentation on the motion Mr Ramkalawan thanked Gilbert Victor who knows the island very well and provided him with a lot of crucial information as well as Nirmal Shah, an environment expert and many other people who have contributed in the formulation of the motion.

Mr Ramkalawan explained that under the national parks and nature protection  laws the definition of special reserve is stated as an area set aside in which characteristic wildlife requires protection and in which all other interest and activities are subordinated.

“Based on the definition the questions that therefore beg are what characteristic wildlife and what special wildlife are found on D’Arros, St Joseph Atoll and the designated sea area of more than a kilometre. What is it that are special and need protection there?” Mr Ramkalawan queried.

“There is nothing because the birds, fish and turtles that are found there are also found on other islands,” he pointed out. He noted though that there once was an endemic pelican on the island but which is long extinct.

He further went on to stress that this is why the request for protection in the notices is not justified.

“The fact that there are no special wildlife, protection is being sought for what?” he asked.

“I believe we should be very careful and if government makes a decision without properly following the law we could end up in serious problem and in a situation where our own people will only know Mahé, Praslin and La Digue,” Mr Ramkalawan warned.

He went on to detail the various reasons why this would be the case giving examples on Mahé and other islands where Seychellois are not allowed to use the beach, fish in certain areas close to some islands, or visit some islands like Ste Anne, Round Island, Long Island, Denis, Frégate, Silhouette, Anonyme, Félicité, to name but some.

“Beaches are public domain and should be accessible to any member of the public. All our islands are surrounded by beaches and all Seychellois should be able to access these beaches up to the high water mark,” Mr Ramkalawan stressed.

Mr Ramkalawan deplores the fact that no research or investigation has been carried out to identify the wildlife relating to the notices.

“The attitude of the people behind the notices is for them to enjoy their privacy,” Mr Ramkalawan pointed out.

He warned that if the authorities do not act promptly, gradually our local fishermen’s livelihood will be severely affected.

He said there should be a well-structured plan on fishing methods with demarcated areas for local fishermen.

Mr Ramkalawan went on to stress that the Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA) should step up its effort to address the issue of illegal fishing methods which are being practiced.

He said these are very detrimental to corals, different fish species, other marine life and threaten fishing vessels and these have been brought to the SFA’s attention but to date no action has been taken.

Mr Ramkalawan went on to stress that Seychelles, an ardent conservation champion, also needs to relook at the size of tuna fishing vessels that ply our waters so as to bring smaller ones in order to better control and manage this type of fishing.

Mr Ramkalawan also called on the authorities to look into what is taking place on other outlying islands. He said a lot is happening on these islands which is posing great threats to our corals, marine life and fish species.

Furthermore Mr Ramkalawan stated that it is currently common knowledge that flights from Mauritius are going directly to Farqhuar without passengers going through immigration at Seychelles International Airport.

“As the people’s representatives in the National Assembly we need to know what is happening in our territory and we have the responsibility to ensure our citizens have access to and can also enjoy our islands,” Mr Ramkalawan said.

“This is where the select committee comes in – to do a report on the situation – and I believe it would also be good for members of the Assembly to have a chance to visit all the islands to have a better understanding of the different activities taking place there and to increase our understanding and also interact with different stakeholders who work on these islands to know what they feel about the situation,” Mr Ramkalawan said.

While he insisted that we should continue to place emphasis on conservation, Mr Ramkalawan stressed his objection to have D’Arros declared a special reserve.

The motion was seconded by the leader of government business Charles de Commarmond who supported the idea to have a select committee.

“We need to look into what is happening on our islands. People talk and some of what they say are unfounded but we need to give benefit of the doubt to those people who have been to these islands and are talking,” Mr De Commarmond said.

He went on to add that the Assembly has an oversight role to play and it should carry that out in a positive manner.

Mr De Commarmond said the proposed select committee would look at the different issues at hand and make the necessary recommendations.

Other members from both parties also stressed on the importance to protect the marine resources, biodiversity and natural environment of our islands.

They talked about the need for more information from government with regard to different conservation projects taking place and being planned for the different islands.

“Seychelles is an environment champion which wants to develop and bring prosperity to its people while at the same time preserve our environment,” LDS member for Les Mamelles Bernard Georges said, stressing on the need for relevant information on different conservation projects.

Members recognised all the efforts being made to step up conservation efforts, highlighting the different achievements in that area noting that marine reserves remain state property.

They highlighted the challenges surrounding conservation efforts, the need for more environment education but at the same time they also recognise and support the need to look into activities taking place on our islands in order to better reinforced conservation efforts.