Capacity Building

Capacity Building and Training programme to build and increase the capacity of local actors in environmental conservation and management (biodiversity conservation, island restoration, invasive alien species management, resource management and other related fields) and promote avenues for application of acquired skills and knowledge. This will include both local and international training opportunities. The programme will also entail the production of relevant scientific, technical or popular publications and other training resources to guide and enrich practitioner’s experience.

Project-based training programme on specific training needs in environmental conservation and management (biodiversity, restoration, waste management, resource management and other relevant areas). These training programmes will be integrated within specific thematic projects. In addition to stand-alone training programmes for local practitioners.

Internship training programme where visiting students can work on specific community-based projects, learning and acquiring the necessary skills and knowledge for their personal development. With the aim that students will have a set of valuable work experiences upon leaving school which will equip them with a better chance to be absorbed in the employment sector i.e. be career ready and then make maximum use of their knowledge in life and work.

Hands-on workshop-based experience and courses for local groups, CBOs, NGOs and other practitioners wishing to develop their set of personal and collective skills/tools to deal with their own environmental issues.

Training 1

Training and workshop in Identification of freshwater species and techniques for freshwater surveys. Mahé and Praslin rivers. February 2020. Facilitated by Gaea Seychelles and Natural History Museum of Paris. Staff from the Ministry of Environment, Energy & Climate Change (7 staff), Climate Adaptation & Management Section (3 staff), Seychelles Island Foundation (11 staff), Marine Conservation Society (1 staff), University of Seychelles (2 lecturers and 20 students), Gaea Seychelles (2 personels).

Training 2

Training in identification of amphibians and techniques for amphibian surveys. Glacis Noir and Midland, Praslin. February 2020. Facilitated by Gaea Seychelles, DICE and Natural History Museum London. Staff from the Ministry of Environment, Energy & Climate Change, Seychelles National Park Authority, Terrestrial Restoration Action Society of Seychelles, Seychelles Island Foundation and Gaea Seychelles.

Training 3

Macro-Invertebrates Aquatic Bio-monitoring Train-The-Trainer Program

On the whole planet, we have access to around 1% of freshwater that exists in lakes, rivers, streams, creeks and reservoirs. Being significantly scarce, freshwater is also sparsely distributed across the planet, and in some areas, a lot is not available due to pollution.

In Seychelles, we are extremely fortunate to have available freshwater. However, we do not have a full picture of the health of our rivers. There has been much development and change that we have not yet accessed its implications on this extremely rare resource.

This three-year project brought by Gaea Seychelles aims to collect, store, analyze, and share data for better decision-making. As this is an understudied field, we will also provide capacity-building opportunities for our staff but also for other individuals or organizations.

Last week from 25th to 29th September we had Mr. Juan Tedder an Ecologist from one of our partners, GroundTruth South Africa, delivering training in Aquatic bio-monitoring for macro-invertebrates and a presentation on the same. The participants learnt to pay attention to the creatures that we usually don’t even notice, learn techniques to identify and monitor them and discover how their presence or absence can indicate a problem arising from the river in which they inhabit.