Seychelles explores its groundwater potential |13 October 2015

The Minister for Environment, Energy & Climate Change, Didier Dogley, was on a fact-finding mission to Sweden from October 7 -9 to learn more about groundwater abstraction from granitic areas.

He was accompanied by local professionals from the Public Utilities Corporation (PUC) and PetroSeychelles

During the visit, the minister had promising discussions with governmental, academic and private institutions to secure the support of the Swedish government to help in developing Seychelles’ capacity in accessing groundwater and to improve water security in the country.

Firstly, meetings were conducted with the Minister for Development Cooperation of Sweden in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Isabella Lövin and also with the state secretary to the Minister for Climate and the Environment Åsa Romson to discuss the potential collaborations in water management, waste management, marine research & monitoring, renewable energy and climate change. Present during one of these meetings was also the Swedish ambassador for climate change Anna Lindstedt with whom the minister discussed the potential support for Seychelles to implement its post-2020 climate actions for its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (NIDCs), through SIDS DOCK and the Green Climate Fund, which are two mechanisms that provide assistance in climate change mitigation and adaptation and towards which Sweden is making noteworthy contributions.

The minister also met the Swedish ambassador for oceans, seas and fresh water whereby the potential areas of collaboration within the fields under the ambassador’s purview were discussed, particularly in regards to the Sustainable Development Goal 14 which is to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development, as Seychelles is determined to augment the availability of its fresh water resources and also to develop its Blue economy.

Following the bilateral discussions with the governmental ministries, the delegation met several research institutes, private companies and consultancy firms with various expertise and experiences in the water sector especially in hydrogeology.

The key organisations included the Swedish Environmental Research Institute which is closely affiliated with the largest and oldest technical university in Sweden, the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) and the Atlas Copco Company which manufactures a wide range of equipment and machinery involved in earthworks and drilling and which provided information about operation techniques leading to groundwater and geothermal energy exploitation.

Another meeting of particular importance was at the Swedish Geological Survey (SGU) which reported on the survey and mapping techniques used to locate and manage the natural resources within the Swedish territory and advised on how these can be applied in the context of the Seychelles islands.

The other members of the Seychelles delegation were Franky Dupres, the principal engineer (water resources) from the Water & Sewage Division of PUC; Jean-Luc Mondon, geologist from PetroSeychelles; and Catherina Bonnelame, senior policy analyst of water from the department of energy & climate change.