World Wetlands Day - Exhibition showcases importance of wetlands |03 February 2017

An exhibition aimed at raising awareness of the importance of wetlands was organised yesterday to mark World Wetlands Day (WWD).

The exhibition, organised by the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change (MEECC), took place at the Independence House lobby.

It was officially opened by the Minister for Environment, Energy and Climate Change Didier Dogley, in the presence of the principal secretary in the environment department Alain Decommarmond, partners of the MEECC and secondary school children.

Minister Dogley stated that every year the ministry joins together with other governmental and non-governmental organisations and private partners to raise public awareness of the values, benefits and importance of wetlands.

“In Seychelles, we have declared three Ramsar sites as Wetlands of International importance; they are the Port Launay mangrove coastal wetlands, the Mare Aux Cochon high altitude fresh water wetland and Aldabra Atoll, the Unesco World Heritage site. We have plans to declare more Ramsar sites of world importance,” he said.

He added that wetland plays a vital role in protecting our environment against disasters.

“They act as natural safeguard against disasters, which makes them important for protecting communities most at risk and vulnerable to the devastating effects of floods, droughts and storm surges. Coastal wetlands reduce the impact of storms, cyclones and tsunamis,” he said.

The minister also pointed out that global statistics reveal that wetlands are being destroyed or degraded at a faster pace than any other ecosystem.

“Latest figures show that 64 percent of the world’s wetlands have disappeared in the last century, and that every year we lose one percent of those remaining. This is very alarming, indeed. The government of Seychelles through MEECC, invests millions of rupees every year in restoration of wetlands, desilting of marshes, increasing their interconnectivities, flood mitigation, habitat enhancement through mangrove and other ecosystem restorations, construction of permanent culverts to support the wetland flow and flood mitigation. Over and above this the ministry is also implementing several foreign funded projects on Mahé, Praslin and La Digue,” he said.

Different partners such as the Ministry of Education, Ecosystem-Based Adaptation (EBA), Mangrove for Future (MFF), Sustainability For Seychelles (S4S), Roche Caiman Environment Action Team among others took part in the exhibition.

In addition, there were several presentations by students. Plaisance secondary school demonstrated an extract of their presentation during the National Public Speaking competition while Anse Boileau secondary school showcased their science fair project.

This year’s WWD is being celebrated under the theme ‘Wetlands for Disaster Risk Reduction’.

WWD was established to raise awareness about the value of wetlands for humanity and the planet, and each year a theme is selected to demonstrate the vital role of wetlands for the future of humanity.

WWD was celebrated for the first time in 1997 and has grown remarkably since then. Each year, government agencies, non-governmental organisations, and groups of citizens at all levels of the community have taken advantage of the opportunity to undertake actions aimed at raising public awareness of wetland values and benefits in general and the Ramsar Convention in particular.

Seychelles has been organising activities to mark the WWD since 2002 with the aim of sensitising the community on the importance of wetlands, based on the themes declared by Ramsar.

The accompanying photos show guests and members of the public viewing the exhibition.