Up Close … with forestry pioneer Willy Andre |21 August 2018
‘The country has lost its backbone of discipline’
By Roland Duval
With the ongoing global effort to ‘save our planet’, protecting the last remaining habitats of critically endangered species has become a vital strategy for preventing extinctions.
A major area of the endeavour is environment education which is now taught at an early age, including primary schools, getting the young generation to be more conscious about conservation.
But, back in the old days, it was a different story as conservation work required devoted people with the issue at heart, as it was not treated with much importance.
One of them was young Willy Andre who went on to spend 43 long years in conservation, precisely in the field of forestry.
Well known for his commitment and devotion towards the cause, Mr Andre, a devout member of the local Baha’i community, cannot be left out of any conversation involving forestry.
Now retired, Mr Andre still makes time to visit Fond Ferdinand on Praslin on a regular basis, a place where he spent many years during his working days.
Firm, but friendly, Mr Andre, a resident of Sans Soucis, agreed to meet up with me after his Saturday market trip to share some of his life stories.
Early life
Born on Praslin on December 13, 1935, Mr Andre, the son of a police officer who was posted on the island at that time, started his primary education on the island, before moving back to Mahé.
In 1946, aged 11, his father was posted back on Mahé and Mr Andre joined the St John Bosco School in Victoria
He then joined the first cohort of the newly founded Junior Secondary School, along with the late Catholic Bishop Felix Paul.
After two years, he was selected, along with Bishop Paul, as the best performers, gaining entrance to the King’s College.
The event clashed with his father’s retirement whose pension money was not enough to sustain his college fees.
This forced Mr Andre to abandon his studies and look for other avenues in life, where he joined technical school to study carpentry and joinery for three years.
Mr Andre recalls the period – post World War II era – where the ex-servicemen were getting preferential treatment when it came to getting jobs.
After leaving school in 1953, Mr Andre did a couple of odd jobs, until March 16, 1956 when Archbishop Makarios was sent into exile here in the Seychelles, when he joined the police force, following his father’s advice.
Life as a police officer
During the 13 months of Bishop Makarios’ exile, Mr Andre served as a police officer, but due to his inquisitive nature, he soon realised that it was not the right job for him.
Mr Andre also explained that, even within police work, he was always against the use of excess force, or malpractice.
He remembers an incident at the Victoria Bar where the police were involved in an incident with a man who had a little bit too much to drink.
“I was in my room when I heard a banging noise and upon rushing down the corridor, I saw three fellow officers assaulting the drunk,” Mr Andre recalled.
“I immediately confronted them, giving them a telling off for their action, even if they were not happy,” he added.
It was other similar situations that got Mr Andre to think about his policing career, as he was being seen as a rebel by his peers.
Trevor William, who was the Police Commissioner at that time, called him into his office in September 1957 and asked him to choose any other job in the public service and promised his full backing.
The Police Commissioner acknowledged Mr Andre’s potential, but advised him that policing was not the ideal career for him.
On November 1, 1957, Mr Andre joined the environment field and the rest is history.
Willy Andre, the forestry specialist
He started his career under Robert Du Buisson, who was the chief forestry officer at that time and was based at Sans Soucis, before being transferred to Grand Anse Mahé.
In 1961 at the age of 26 he was promoted and was transferred to Praslin where he was in charge, until 1964 when he was transferred back to Mahé.
Mr Andre described his 43 years in forestry as a very good experience; as his superiors were very cooperative and were always ready to take on board his ideas.
He spent 19 years as the director of the Forestry department.
During that time, the father of five – three sons and two daughters – carried his family along with him during his different postings between the two islands.
With his wife being a teacher, there were no major issues for the Andre family during their island hopping days.
Mr Andre was also actively involved in the running of Aldabra, as a founding member and treasurer of the Seychelles Islands Foundations (SIF).
As a leader, Mr Andre described himself as very lenient and understanding, taking into account the nature of the job.
Commenting on the ongoing conservation campaign, Mr Andre said despite all the effort, a lack of discipline will always slow down the little progress being made.
He explained that even if we try to follow the global trend, such as banning plastic products, we will not see any results, unless we come up with programmes and plans to fit our context.
“The attitude of our nation nowadays, especially school students, is something that puts me off completely,” noted Mr Andre.
“Trying to convince people to learn, or practice something is not something I am good at and that is why I chose a career that I will not deal with amateurs, but only professionals in the field,” he added.
Mr Andre the retiree
Other than his frequent trips to Praslin, either for visits, or to share his expertise, Mr Andre is presently working on a project to set up a garden of some of the endangered local plants, such as Zanblon, Vavang, Rousay among others.
This, he said, means a lot to him as it is evidence, also heritage of how people in the past used those products in their daily lives, while it is also a form of therapy.
“The two main purposes of any plant are either for nutrition or medicine,” he added.
