(Seychelles News Agency) - Citing the need to exercise caution, the Seychelles' Minister for Agriculture, Climate Change and Environment, Flavien Joubert, described financing as a tool to forward the common goal of conservation and protecting the environment.

Joubert made the statement at the 16th Conference of Parties under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP16) and detailed Seychelles' position regarding biodiversity credit.

As a hot topic at the CBD COP16, biodiversity credit has been described as a means of funding conservation initiatives and demonstrating corporate environmental commitment while also helping to mitigate climate change. The biodiversity credit, however, has been often criticised on whether it promotes any real impact and accountability of sponsored initiatives. Additionally, the market for these credits can be volatile.

"We cannot give a definite answer regarding Seychelles' position on this subject at the moment, because it is a topic that we have not explored in its entirety, and that is also the case for carbon credits. It is now that we are exploring the different possibilities. We still need to analyse research and data from relevant case studies," said Joubert.

The subject of biodiversity credit has been a recurring theme during COP16 and has encountered criticism and opposition from certain environmental NGOs such as the Global Forest Coalition (GFC).

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of COP16, GFC's senior climate and biodiversity policy advisor, Souparna Lahiri, said that biodiversity offsets are an illusion, allowing corporations to profit while ecosystems are destroyed and communities pay the price.

He added that it is community-led biodiversity protection that should be prioritised and that the rights of indigenous people and local communities should be upheld, including women in all their diversities, and Afro-descendant communities, recognising nature's inherent value.

"We cannot expect the corporates to do conservation. This is a kind of mechanism, belief, or framework that they are trying to make us believe that corporates can conserve nature, how is it possible; they can support, contribute, or finance but the main work has to be done by the communities. You have to support the communities," emphasised Lahiri.

Regarding such criticisms, Joubert emphasised the importance of always being cautious and ensuring that proper scrutiny is done.

"This is a recurring question regarding this subject, that I think we should also pay attention to. We have to ensure that even though we want to preserve the environment and work on climate change we must also make sure that there is justice. And this is part of the message I brought forward during the plenary. We cannot create conditions and opportunities for others to avoid their responsibilities," he said.

Joubert explained that many people see these types of markets as a source of finance but cases have been brought forward where these kinds of schemes were used just as a way to pass money along and remove responsibilities.

"These should always be denounced so that we can have systems that work well. It is possible that maybe in the future we may have a system for biodiversity credit or carbon credit that works well, however, today there is still too much we don't know and too many bad intentions. You may notice that in big meetings such as these, there are different interests, not just environmental, but also commercial and financial as well," he added.

The minister reiterated that as a country, Seychelles must have strong principles and a document will be drafted to present to the Cabinet of Ministers regarding this subject before taking any step forward.

"Even if we are saying that it is a source for more finance, we must ensure that we do not just jump into something. We are not simply aiming for money; we are supporting a global endeavour to improve the state of the environment for the benefit of everyone. Money is just a tool for this," said Joubert.