Seychelles welcomes first US science envoy for the ocean |03 August 2015

Dr Jane Lubchenco, a world renowned environmental scientist with experience in the worlds of science, academia, government, and conservation, is the United States’ first science envoy for the ocean to visit Seychelles.

She is one of the prominent scientists who will serve as the US’ new science envoy, developing scientific partnership and cooperation between the United States and other nations.

Seychelles is the third country that she has visited in this capacity, after South Africa and Mauritius.

Dr Lubchenco is currently marine science professor at the Oregon State University.

To welcome Dr Lubchenco to Seychelles, a small reception was organised last Wednesday at Le Meridien Fisherman’s Cove Hotel at Bel Ombre.

It was attended by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Transport, Joel Morgan; the United States ambassador to Seychelles Shari Villarosa; principal secretaries Maurice Loustau-Lalanne of Foreign Affairs and Alain Decommarmond of the environment department; as well as other local and US embassy dignitaries.

Introducing Dr Lubchenco to the audience, Ambassador Villarosa described her as a very accomplished marine ecologist who has won all kinds of academic awards and has headed the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

She also noted that Dr Lubchenco has visited Cousin island and has seen the impressive work being done there and was to have several meetings with various ministers.

Dr Lubchenco said it is a great honour to be here as Seychelles has always been a magical place to her for very, very long.

She talked of her first expedition to Aldabra where she was impressed by the marine ecosystem there which she said really captured her imagination.

“I really want to underscore how important the ocean is to everyone on this planet. It provides every second breath of oxygen that you breathe, it provides amazing source of plants and animals and microbes that we are only just beginning to discover,” she said.

She also mentioned others that are important to our knowledge and to understand like the coral reefs, sea grass that helps prevent coastal erosion and especially with sea level rise and climate change, is critical that we take very good care of our ocean.

She said that Seychellois have really understood the connection to the sea for a long time but remarked that we are all being challenged by new things.

She mentioned some of the challenges like extra mouths to feed, the need for job creation, poverty alleviation which create more and more stresses on the ocean

“As we look to the future, especially in line with climate change, we need to be planning now, not just for today, but for tomorrow,” highlighted the doctor.

She thanked all for the warm welcome she has received here and where she got the chance to see the plants and animals, the Seychellois people and the wonderful relationships with one another which she described as a lesson to many other countries around the world.

Dr Lubchenco has a very distinguished scientific background.  To mention a few she was the under secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from 2009-2013.

Nominated by President Barack Obama in December 2008 as part of his “Science Team,” she is a marine ecologist and environmental scientist by training, with expertise in oceans, climate change, and interactions between the environment and human well-being.

To introduce her to his senate colleagues for her confirmation hearing, Senator Ron Wyden called Lubchenco “the bionic woman of good science”. Under her leadership, NOAA focused on restoring fisheries to sustainability and profitability, restoring oceans and coasts to a healthy state, protecting marine mammals and endangered species, ensuring continuity of the Nation’s weather and other environmental satellites, developing a Weather-Ready Nation, promoting climate science and delivering climate information and services to inform understanding and adaptation, strengthening science and ensuring scientific integrity at NOAA, and delivering the highest quality science, services and stewardship.