Seychelles joins global climate change march |02 December 2015

A group of about 30 people took part in a march on Sunday to show their concern about climate change, and commitment to action.

The march, which was part of a global campaign organised by AVAAZ and 350.org, was staged locally by the non-governmental organisation Sustainability for Seychelles (S4S) in partnership with the Citizens Engagement Platform of Seychelles (Ceps) and other civil society groups.

The Seychelles Climate March took place on the same day as hundreds of other marches taking place at thousands of sites around the planet.

November 29 marked the day before the start of the Paris Climate Summit, where world leaders are gathered to agree to a new and binding international agreement to control climate change.  The photos and videos of all of the marches were expected to be screened as heads of state walked into the Paris conference centre on Monday November 30, as part of a global message to world leaders that civil society wants them to make an effective and binding deal in Paris.

The various groups who took part in the Seychelles march included S4S members, SYAH, Plant Conservation Action group, and other concerned local citizens and tourists.

The groups marched along the Beau Vallon promenade past the Coral Strand Hotel and out toward the main coastal road and looped back again towards Beau Vallon beach and the car park.
 
“Our event was small, as we were competing with many concurrent political rallies, but it was important that Seychelles was included in this huge international demonstration to tell world leaders to do the right thing in Paris,” a spokesperson for the organisers said.

“Thousands of similar (but much bigger) events were held in cities and countries all around the globe over the weekend, and S4S is proud to say that in Seychelles we also did our part. After all, the global agreement on climate change to be signed in Paris over the next few weeks will probably have a much greater impact on the future of Seychelles and other small island developing states than our local politics, as important as the upcoming election is to us locally,” added the spokesperson.