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Seychelles inner granitic islands
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Implementing agency: BirdLife Seychelles
Governmental agencies: the Ministry of Environment and Transport, the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Finance of Seychelles
Funding organization: the Global Environment Facility (GEF)
through the World Bank
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The “Management of
Avian Ecosystems in Seychelles”, a
three-year cooperative project, aims at improving the under-standing
of, and contributing to the management of, endan-gered
ecosystems and species of the granitic Seychelles
Endemic Bird Area (EBA). The project consists of several com-ponents
including island assessments, ecological studies of three of the four
critically endangered endemic birds, in addition to ecosystem restoration
activities. Many outcomes are expected once the extensive project is
completed in February 2002. First, the management and restoration of
the upland forest, coastal wetland, coastal plateau and their threatened
endemic bird taxa will improve. Secondly, the project will allow for
the assessment of threatened endemic biodiversity
globally. A short list will be compiled stating potentially restorable
islands, initial actions taken to restore at least one of these and
preparations made for the successful translocation of at least one of
the three endemic bird taxa. Thirdly, the project will result in replicable
management models for tropical island habitat and bird conservation.
Fourthly, training and partnerships are expected to increase the capacity
for field-based management of threatened ecosystems throughout the Western
Indian Ocean. Lastly, the project intends to create socio-economic models
and measures for island restoration and management.
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The project design identified certain
activities to ensure longterm sustainability of biodiversity conservation
management
(Chapter IX of the Barbados Programme of Action).
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• The project has led to excellent
institutional development. Recruitment of the project coordinator, lead
ornithologist, assistant ornithologist and field assistants, lead island
assessor and assistants resulted in the reinforcement of the scientific
and managerial capacity of BirdLife Seychelles. Skills in conservation
science, notably research and monitoring, biodiversity assessment and
database management have
also been improved.
• The project, to date, has been highly successful in building
capacity for the scientific community in Seychelles. Twenty-one staff
members, including 16 Seychellois from BirdLife Seychelles, the Ministry
of Environment and Transport as well as the Marine Parks Authority,
Ministry of Tourism, Natural History Museum and Seychelles Broadcasting
Corporation have been involved and received training. In addition, BirdLife
Seychelles has provided significant expert input into implementation.
• To date, all physical objectives have been met. A vehicle has
been purchased and is in operation. Office, scientific and field equipment
and materials have been acquired for project management, research and
island assessment work. Reports and papers have been released. Creation
and dissemination of awareness and educational materials
have matched project expectations.
• Key information on globally threatened bird species and their
ecosystems has been gathered and analysed. These activities will be
ongoing until the end of the second year and will then lead to better
management and information about necessary habitat improvements.
• Overall, implementation has been satisfactory. A steering committee
was set up and meets regularly to review implementation progress to
discuss future activities.
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• The importance of recruiting and
retaining an experienced project coordinator remains a keystone for
successful project implementation.
• The input of existing BirdLife Seychelles resources and staff
has proven to be indispensable. A significant lesson for any such future
operations is that implementing organizations can build expertise through
a project. These organizations should have existing capacity and intrinsic
institutional strengths with perhaps international links to support
the project at various stages.
• The implementation modality of the project seems to represent
a “paradigm shift” for Seychelles in that a local NGO is leading
the implementation of a major conservation project supported by significant
multilateral funding. The role of government as “facilitator”
in multilaterally funded project execution is perhaps novel for this
country and could be a successful model for the future.
• The above notwithstanding, the experience with implementing the
project has demonstrated that there is an insufficiently-developed legal
framework with regard to the nature, role and operations of NGOs which
has perhaps constrained progress of the project. This is maybe because
active NGOs are so few in number in Seychelles and none
have implemented such a multilaterally funded project previously.
Another lesson to be learnt is that enabling an environment for civil
society to develop and to participate in environment management is necessary.
• The project, to date, indicates that well directed and designed
activities remove barriers to successful and sustainable ecosystem management.
To ensure sustainability and momentum of the project, it is advisable
that a future project carries forward the capacity developed for island
assessment, conservation science and restoration. In addition, there
is a need to establish participatory processes to create
a common vision for sustainable island management amongst the wide diversity
of stakeholders in Seychelles.
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Kerstin Henri
Project Coordinator
BirdLife Seychelles
P.O. Box 1310
Victoria, Mahe
Seychelles
Tel.: (248) 225097
Fax: (248) 225121
E-mail: birdlife@seychelles.net
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