Seychelles launched the Ocean's Resolve programme to attract local businesses to work in the conservation and protection of coral reefs at an inception workshop.

Prospective partners in the project met at Eden Bleu Hotel to learn about the project that will be managed by the Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust (SeyCCAT).

The programme is funded by the Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR) and will run for seven years.

GFCR is the first United Nations multi-partner trust fund dedicated to Sustainable Development Goal 14. It is a blended finance mechanism that can be used to mobilise $500 million in grants and investment capital that will towards coral reef ecosystem conservation and resilience, and strengthening services in reef-dependent communities.

"With this new project we are launching today we are creating opportunities for people either in civil society or those in the private sector who are interested to work in the field of coral protection," said SeyCCAT's chief executive Marie-May Jeremie.

This will also include people who have businesses with an interest in working in areas such as waste management, protection, or conservation.

Jeremie added that this would also include those "with innovative ideas that we had not thought of. The project is the first of its kind for Seychelles as usually there are grants, where we receive the funds that we then allocate."

This project is different in that for each dollar the business generates, it will give back four in terms of revenue, and Jeremie said "This will encourage people who traditionally were not involved in environment management."

At the launching of the programme, the Minister for Agriculture, Climate Change and Environment, Flavien Joubert, said the programme will expand on the Seychelles Blue Investment Art.

This includes the expansion of a Business and Technology Incubator (BTI) for coral-positive SMEs, exploring opportunities with the Seychelles Investment Board (SIB), and conceptualising a Blue Enterprise Fund.

"The programme is designed around the implementation of the National Coral Reef Policy and aims to improve coordination with national agencies, and the operationalisation of Seychelles' first Coral Reef Parametric Insurance," he said.

The minster highlighted the "importance of such an initiative as the local authorities have realised that coral reefs are an important ecosystem that required more specific attention."

He said that in response to the country's obligations to international conventions such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the implementation of the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, in 2022, the government developed and endorsed the first National Policy and Strategic Action Plan (NPSAP)."  

"The national level policy provided the opportunity for a solution to a more coordinated and comprehensive conservation and management of coral reefs in the Seychelles. This policy has formed the basis for this programme," said Joubert.

Among the issues the Ocean's Resolve programme hopes to address are practices that also contribute to the destruction of coral reefs such as sea cucumber fishing.