Science to Action

CASE STUDY

Category: Deploy blue carbon sequestration projects or increase ecosystem resilience with marine and coastal habitats.

SEYCHELLES SEAGRASS MAPPING AND CARBON ASSESSMENT PROJECT

In its latest Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the Paris Agreement 2015, the Republic of Seychelles committed to preserving 100% of the nation’s seagrass meadows by 2030, toward including blue carbon ecosystems in its national greenhouse gas inventory. In order for Seychelles to claim a nature-based solution as a mitigation component of its nationally determined efforts, the country must be able to measure how this solution is supporting carbon sequestration efforts and outline strategies for ongoing management of the ecosystem.

This project responds to the needs of the government to gather spatial data on the distribution of seagrass meadows and to validate their potential to sequester carbon.To this end, an inventory of seagrass meadows in Seychelles Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) was conducted using best practices for blue carbon determinations. This critical research aims to provide the government with accurate sequestration rates (tCO2e/yr) to inform the development of the NDC and national policies for management of these critical habitats. As partners prepare to map seagrass across the Western Indian Ocean, this project serves as an example of long-term research that promotes a science-to-policy loop for harnessing the remarkable value of seagrass to nature, coastal communities, and the blue economy.

Logistics

Project Leads and Partners

SeyCCAT
University of Oxford
Blue Economy Research Institute – UniSey
The Government of Seychelles
The PEW Charitable Trusts
Supporting agencies, including the IAEA, and NOAA
Numerous community partners and NGOs

Project Timeframe

Fieldwork began in 2019. When COVID struck, the project gained a year of bonus time to refine the best protocols. Developing a complete dataset with regional goals for carbon sequestration assessment took another 1.5 years. Currently, consultants are developing recommendations to produce a blue carbon policy that fills the policy gaps in effective protection and conservation of seagrass assets. The future of this project involves monitoring seagrass health in marine protected areas and determining socioeconomic value in the region (in U.S. dollars).

Type of Research Conducted

Satellite seagrass detection was associated with a field component to ground-truth geospatial information using camera imagery, large dataset processing tools, sediment cores, and coastal punctual CTD deployments. Researchers from around the globe contributed to sediment dating, organic matter analysis, remote sensing, and engine processing for image analysis. Additionally, a unique social science effort was required to address local needs for lexical innovation.

Frequency of OA Measurement

The general frequency of OA measurement that is most important for this project is 1 – 8 years .

Objectives

This ambitious project aimed to create the first policy of its kind, establishing blue carbon habitats as a resource with climate mitigation and adaptation value. Factors that were most relevant to undertaking this project include alignment with existing policy or management goals, environmental co-benefits, socio-economic benefits, and cultural benefits.

Challenges

Local Expertise

A main constraint of this project was the lack of local technical expertise to conduct fieldwork in blue carbon. With the help of The PEW Charitable Trusts, the small cohort of local experts responded to gaps in knowledge by bringing in international experts in geospatial science, policy, etc. Future endeavors may need to employ a similar tactic, as talent retention in small island nations is an ongoing challenge.

Data Sharing

The project design allocates responsibility for data sharing to the Government of Seychelles, whose GIS department is responsible for maintaining the maps produced by this project. Currently, interested parties must send a written request to the department and process the shared files with their own software; visualization needs improvement. Project coordinators are aware that public accessibility of data produced by this effort is not optimal. International partners are in the process of developing open-source data sharing options, but data embargoes continue to limit progress in this area.

Asset Protection

Most of the seagrass in Seychelles is not in the nearshore areas, where drivers of ocean acidification and other degradation can be more directly managed. Most of the country’s seagrasses are in the periphery of the offshore plateau or widely distributed in the outer islands, where accessibility is difficult and law enforcement cannot control activity restrictions. Of the seagrass habitat that is accessible, very little is offered Zone 1 High Biodiversity Protection by the country’s marine spatial planning policies. There is much work to be done toward community self management and protection.

Administration Changes

As changes in political leadership occur over time, questions arise regarding each administration’s priorities. Project coordinators hope increased global visibility of this project will act as an incentive for future government administrations to continue supporting the project and its outcomes. The current president has personally toured many of the project’s field sites and is familiar with the instrumentation used in data collection. As a result of frequent interaction with contributors, the current government feels connected to this project. It is imperative that project coordinators engage incoming administrations in a similar manner, to ensure the legacy and longevity of these efforts.

Read the full project report to learn more about the methodologies used and their end results.

Lessons Learned

Dr. Jérôme Harlay of the University of Seychelles reflects that this project really benefited from a conjunction of events that happened at just the right time. “Sometimes the stars align, but other times you have to trigger this kind of alignment yourself. Any project of national amplitude depends on government willingness to engage. The first step is to show your government how your project is relevant for national communications, protocols, or conventions related to the environment.” Dr Harlay encourages researchers and institutions to become familiar with national policy, like their NDCs. Developing a basic understanding of the relevant policy landscape can help researchers and community partners envision feasible pathways within existing frameworks. “In order for the project to have a national impact, you have to direct it into national policy.”

When communicating the science to policy-makers, Dr. Harlay says knowing your audience is key. “If you want the Ministry of Finance to attract funds for your research project, you’ll need to give them the opportunity to see the future of your science in terms of revenue. If you’re talking with the Ministry of Science, maybe you highlight the impacts of CO2, and with the Ministry of Fisheries, you play on the conservation aspect of your work. It’s all about understanding what is most important to different types of stakeholders and speaking their same language.” To get there, scientists are urged to drop any jargon and to focus on efficiency in their communication.

In some cases, connecting directly with policy-makers and government officials may require the support of larger institutes and regional collaborations to promote the research or project on a national scale. Developing a diverse network of willing partners who are working on issues of climate change, restoration management, and the blue economy will strengthen your ability to communicate your work at any scale.

Social Science Spotlight

When project partners set about mapping and assessing the nation’s seagrass meadows, they encountered a unique situation that contributed to the challenge of spreading awareness about seagrasses’ value in protecting coastlines, providing habitat for marine life, and sequestering carbon. Until recently, most Seychellois would categorize anything plant-like that is green, wet, and slimy – whether it is seaweed, seagrass, or moss – as gomon. Formally, seagrass has not had a name or term to define it in the country’s native language, Seychellois Creole.

“The naming of the seagrass was important because how can you value something that you don’t have a decent name for?” says biologist and marine turtle expert Jeanne Mortimer. “It’s not to say that nobody had a name [for seagrass] because the fishermen have names. But most people were not that tuned into it. And most people would not know, for example, the difference between seagrass and algae. So we wanted to clear up that misunderstanding and make people aware of what the difference is.”

Project partner SeyCCAT worked with members of the public and fishers, linguists, and scientists to come up with official terms for seagrass: Zerb lanmer and Gomon zerb. They also adopted Creole names for the five main seagrass species found around Seychelles, selecting terminology that respects the scientific sense of seagrass and its cultural significance. This community-generated terminology is now featured in the updated Seychelles Creole dictionary, and project partners are currently writing an academic paper to describe the effort in greater detail.

“For us, having official Creole terms for seagrass and its life-forms reinforces the desire to have all our people not only understand and appreciate seagrass, but also feel mandated to play a role in preserving it.”

Flavien Joubert, minister of Agriculture, Climate Change and Environment