In 2002, an NGO named Plant Conservation Action Group (PCA) was established to promote plant conservation in Seychelles. That same year the CBD COP adopted, through decision VI/9, a Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), which called for nations to develop outcome-oriented targets for conserving biodiversity and to incorporate those targets into national strategies. With the GSPC, PCA recognised that a National Plant Conservation Strategy would assist tremendously to furthering plant conservation in Seychelles.
The NGO initiated discussions with the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources and proposed to organise a national workshop to develop a national strategy addressing the 16 main targets of the global strategy in the specific context of Seychelles. Within the Ministry, the National Parks and Forestry Section and the Botanical Gardens were fully involved in preparing the logistics of the workshop, as well as presenting their work in in-situ and ex-situ conservation.
The workshop and subsequent development of the national strategy have been a joint effort, with both the Government and the PCA contributing financial and in-kind resources. Moreover, they have engaged a wide range of different stakeholders and assisted in prioritising and streamlining efforts to promote plant conservation so as to derive maximum benefits from the limited resources available. The final strategy is expected to be published before the end of 2004.
For more information, contact Denis Matatiken boga@seychelles.net or Frauke Fleischer-Dogley ffdogley@tourism.sc