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Blue carbon has been proposed as a nature-based solution for climate change mitigation; however, a limited number of published works and data and knowledge gaps hinder the development of small island developing states' (SIDS) national blue carbon resources globally. This paper reviews the blue carbon ecosystems of Seychelles as a case study in the context of SIDS, comparing estimations by the Blue Carbon Lab and recent blue carbon (mangrove and seagrass) evaluations submitted to the Seychelles national government. Mangroves (2195 ha, 80% in Aldabra Atoll) and seagrasses (142,065 ha) dominate in Seychelles, with coral reefs having the potential for carbon sequestration (169,000 ha). Seychelles is on track to protecting its blue carbon, but these systems are threatened by rising sea levels, coastal squeeze, erosion, severe storms, and human activities. The importance of carbon inventories, accounting institutions, and continuous monitoring of blue carbon systems is discussed. Blue accounting is necessary for accurate accounting of carbon sequestration and carbon storage, generating carbon credits, and representing impactful reductions in greenhouse gases for NDCs. Challenges and opportunities include policy legislation regarding ownership rights, accreditation and certification for carbon credits, sustainable financing mechanisms like natural asset companies and blue tokens, local engagement for long-term success, and carbon market dynamics following COP27. The restoration and regulation of blue carbon resources for optimal ecosystem services delivery, carbon inventories, and blue carbon policy are recommended development priorities. Blue carbon ecosystems have the potential to contribute to NDCs of SIDS while simultaneously offering sustainable development pathways for local communities through the multiple ecosystem services they provide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The successful design, implementation and management of the institutional arrangements for climate change adaptation are critical components of sustainable development. This is especially true for small island developing states (SIDS), a group of 58 countries spread across three main geographic regions, which are acknowledged as being disproportionately vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. In many instances, the dynamics of these arrangements in SIDS are poorly understood and documented. This study helps to fill this gap by identifying and analyzing "networks of action situations" through semi-structured interviews with 14 national and international climate change officials and practitioners in four SIDS (Comoros, Maldives, Seychelles, and Singapore) in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans region. We find that there are a few strategic actors involved in multiple, mutually reinforcing and sometimes conflicting arrangements, which are simultaneously being shaped and reshaped at different scales. We also find varying patterns of power, politics and participation that act as both drivers of and barriers to adaptation in these countries. By deconstructing institutional interlinkages and strategic feedback loops, this paper contributes to a broader understanding of the complexities of environmental governance in small jurisdictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seychelles' issuance of the world's first blue bond in 2018 represents a novel approach to financing sustainable blue economy activities. Consisting of socio-legal methodologies, this paper examines the implications of this financial innovation, particularly for the local fisheries sector, and explores how it shapes the implementation of international environmental law in Seychelles. The paper reveals that the ecological modernization trajectory based on the discourse that sees sustainable transition as a profitable opportunity prioritizes commercial interests over the needs of local communities and alternative fisheries proposals. However, the paper claims that such a strategy should be read in the context of low climate financing for adaptation to small island states that are pushed to come up with their climate financing solutions at the expense of becoming indebted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is now accepted that tourism is a significant contributor to global climate change, especially through air travel's high greenhouse gas emissions. This paper analyses the dilemmas facing tourism planning in many small island developing states and presents a model approach toward overcoming those dilemmas by adapting carbon neutral tourism policies. It researches the implementation issues facing carbon neutral tourism policies on the Seychelles Islands: tourism to the islands is energy-intensive, and current plans to increase tourist numbers will entail growing emissions of greenhouse gases. This paper analyses tourism's current levels of energy use and emissions, and explores ways to reduce them. Based on a survey of tourists and industry representatives in the Seychelles, it discusses options for tourism-dependent small island developing states to implement and finance carbon neutrality, while outlining the complexities and limitations of such an objective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Climate change is a major challenge for SIDS. • SIDS have used the Blue Economy to reframe ocean-climate governance. • Geopolitical imaginaries underpin Seychelles' Blue Economy construction. Climate change and ocean management are significant challenges for small island developing states (SIDS). Compounding these challenges, research suggests that the ability of SIDS to enact environmental governance, and their ability to mobilise international support, remain constrained by resource limitations and broader geopolitical discourses of marginality. However, Seychelles' Government has challenged these imaginaries via its engagement with the "Blue Economy" as a framing for ocean-climate governance. This paper argues Seychelles' construction, and utilisation, of the Blue Economy is built upon particular geopolitical imaginaries underpinning ocean-climate governance in SIDS. Drawing on elite interviews conducted in Seychelles in 2017, this paper explores how the Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust (SeyCCAT) acts as a mechanism that incorporates ocean governance and climate adaptation. It argues the Blue Economy serves as a geopolitical imaginary that underpins Seychelles' ocean-climate governance. Moreover, elites have drawn upon three separate geopolitical island imaginaries to justify Seychelle's role within the Blue Economy, Seychelles as: a pristine island state, an island of experimentation, and a large oceanic state. This paper will argue that such geopolitical imaginaries underpin ocean-climate governance through the Blue Economy and highlight the significance of considering them in analysing the Blue Economy. Further, it highlights the important insight of elite perspective in uncovering the geopolitical logics underpinning ocean-climate governance in SIDS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a Small Island Developing State, Seychelles is disproportionately affected by climate change, and enhancing her adaptive capacity is a national priority. Identifying and integrating local capacity needs into policy measures can improve multilevel governance and the effective implementation of National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), given that local governments have contextual knowledge about their territories and the climate change challenges affecting them. Based on the Capital Approach Framework (CAF), this study carries out an analysis of local governance capacity needs for implementing climate change adaptation in Seychelles. Data were collected using two methods: (i) questionnaire-led interviews among twenty-four district administrators (DAs), and (ii) an interactive workshop involving thirty-one participants, of which twenty-six were DAs and five were members of the National Climate Change Committee. The CAF was measured in two ways: (i) through descriptive statistics such as frequencies based on interview data, and (ii) through the ranking of types of capital to assess their weightings across four categories using a consensus approach during the participatory workshop. The findings of this study indicate significant political, financial, and human resource capacity gaps, which collectively hinder local adaptation. The critical shortcomings identified include the low participation in national-level decision-making processes, the inability to access external funding sources, and the lack of technical know-how. Through a participatory approach involving the local government representatives and the National Climate Change Committee, ten recommendations for policy measures that can enhance the effectiveness of local governance in climate change adaptation were co-developed. Seven of these recommendations partly address issues related to political capital. These recommendations highlight that a siloed approach cannot effectively address the impacts of climate change. For example, one of the recommendations stated that land-use planning should be guided by location-specific vulnerabilities, as these differ across districts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Societal Impact Statement: Ecosystem‐based adaptation (EbA) is increasingly being used to reduce the impacts of climate change on vulnerable people and landscapes. The international EbA South project implemented EbA interventions across three countries (Mauritania, Nepal, the Seychelles), piloting the restoration of mountain, desert and coastal ecosystems to enhance the climate resilience of local communities. The experiences of the EbA South project across these distinct ecosystems and socio‐economic environments provide unique insights into the adaptive management invariably required within EbA initiatives. This analysis also provides lessons on how to share knowledge among different stakeholders and countries to advance South‐South cooperation. Summary: Climate change is having an increasingly negative impact on the world's most vulnerable societies. Ecosystem‐based adaptation (EbA) uses biodiversity and ecosystem services to help local communities adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change. This approach, which has the potential to be implemented across a wide range of ecosystem types and scales, is increasingly being adopted by governments and international donors within climate change adaptation initiatives. The objective of the EbA South project was to enhance the climate resilience of communities in Mauritania, Nepal, and the Seychelles by building institutional capacity, mobilizing knowledge and transferring EbA technologies based on China's experience in successfully implementing restoration. The project implemented EbA interventions in the drylands of Mauritania, Himalayan forests in Nepal, and the coastal zone of the Seychelles. All interventions were carefully monitored by researchers to generate scientific evidence of the impacts of EbA. Here, we provide implementers of EbA with the major lessons learned from the EbA South project, namely: (a) quantifying the full suite of ecosystem goods and services generated through EbA at a landscape scale; (b) budgeting in advance for management of time‐consuming complexities related to socioeconomics and ecology such as land‐use conflict, ineffective government structures, disagreements regarding intervention options, and challenging environmental conditions; (c) undertaking long‐term research for adaptive management and documenting the project's successes; (d) providing platforms for effective communication and collaboration among stakeholders with different first languages; and (e) regularly adjusting exit strategies for maintenance of the EbA landscapes after closure of the project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The giant tortoises (Aldabrachelys or Dipsochelys) of the Indian Ocean Islands have been in decline since the first human settlement of the islands. They retain only a single natural population on Aldabra Atoll (and possibly Ile aux Cerfs, where tortoises are descendants of a mixture of indigenous and imported animals). Several additional wild populations are known, resulting from reintroductions to the historic range and introductions outside of that range. The historical distribution of tortoises in Seychelles is summarized, with reliable tortoise records from only 4 coralline islands and 23 granitic islands and the status of all the wild populations reviewed. This includes the first census of the Frégate Island population. In the granitic islands, only 9 islands support tortoises today and the wild population of these islands is estimated at 500-550 adults. In the coralline islands, tortoises are now present on 11 islands, with a total population of over 100,000 (almost all on Aldabra). Climate change impacts over the next 100 yrs are expected to be severe in low-lying areas of the Seychelles Islands attributable to sea-level rise and storm impacts on coastal erosion. These are projected to result in the loss of many populations and significant declines in the Aldabra population. As a result, the species should be regarded as Vulnerable by IUCN Red List Threat Criteria. Reintroduction to more of the high granitic islands could offset some of these projected declines, and it is recommended that such reintroductions be included in future conservation programs to restore ecosystem function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]