Africa-Press – Seychelles. According to a study, Aldabra’s mangroves are a substantial contributor to climate change mitigation in Seychelles with the equivalent of 243,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide stored in the atoll’s mangrove forests which is nearly half of the annual fossil fuel emissions of Seychelles (520,000 tonnes of CO2).
The mangroves, mostly dominated by the red species, have also generally increased immensely on the atoll while the coastlines have literally not changed very much during the last 50 years.
It was Dr Annabelle Constance from the Seychelles Islands Foundation (SIF) who revealed the information during a lecture on the situation of the mangroves and the coastlines of Aldabra delivered last week at the Manchester auditorium, University of Seychelles (Unisey), Anse Royale, in commemoration of Aldabra’s 40th anniversary declaration, on December 17,1982 as a Unesco World Heritage site.
Dr Constance is a PhD graduate from the Zurich University in Switzerland and her lecture was entitled ‘Aldabra’s mangrove and coastlines; what they tell us’. The study on the atoll was conducted from November 2019 to November 2020 and her presentation was attended by the registrar of UniSey, Dr Indra Persaud; deans of Faculty; staff and students of UniSey; SIF’s current and former board members; SIF staff; scientists; friends of Aldabra and families and friends of Dr Annabelle. Also present was the chief executive of SIF, Dr Frauke Fleischer-Dogley.
Aldabra, which holds various threatened and endemic species, also holds the largest extent of mangroves in the country and they are mostly found on the landward coastline, facing the lagoon.
She said the mangroves there have grown an additional 60 hectares from 1997 to 2018, given that they are not being destroyed for other purposes as is the case on other islands, especially on Mahé. She noted that only a few mangrove restorations are needed in some areas of the atoll affected by wave power.
Mangroves, one of the only trees that can live in sea water, provide protection for the coastlines resources and fishes, and act as a carbon barrier to humans.
She noted that 35% of mangroves globally have been destroyed since the 1980s and apart from human destruction, climate change is also contributing to the destruction of the mangroves through sea level rise, hence pushing their boundaries further inland.
Dr Constance said that the mangroves on Aldabra are storing half of the 520,000 tonnes of carbon being emitted by the whole country annually, which shows that they are crucial for climate change mitigation. Mangroves can store carbon on the tree (20%) and also in the ground (80%). She noted that the world, including our country, should protect the mangroves’ ecosystem to maintain the carbon balance.
She added that mangroves are more efficient in capturing carbons than do the trees in rain forest which also need to be protected.
With regard to the atoll’s coastline, Dr Constance said that it has remained stable over the last 50 years (1960 to 2011) with only 3.8% of the coastline subjected to change at 0.25m per year which has resulted in erosion in some key areas that is threatening existing infrastructure (e.g., the research station), and species habitats (e.g., sea turtle nesting sites) and which requires careful consideration of adaptation strategies.
She said she decided to take up the study of the Aldabra mangroves and its coastlines because not much study has been done on the atoll regarding the two areas and she also wanted to observe the impact of climate change on them.
She added that the broad aim of her study was for advancement of research for the protection of mangrove ecosystems in terms of promoting, monitoring and management practices essential for climate change adaptation, mitigation, and biodiversity conservation on atolls.
After the presentation, SIF and UniSey signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to renew their long-time collaborative partnership in scientific projects in terms of training and capacity building, including exchanges and outsourcing of funds, among other scientific activities, for the advancement of science on Aldabra and on other places under the flagship of SIF. The MoU was signed on behalf of SIF by Dr Dogley and on behalf of the university by Dr Persaud.
In her remarks Dr Dogley said that SIF and UniSey had in their 10-year collaboration set up the David Stoddart scholarship to ensure that young Seychellois have the opportunity to engage in tertiary education which has produced scientists like Dr Constance to help with the conservation of the environment.
She added that the collaboration had allowed SIF to support nine Seychellois of whom three have been able to successfully complete their education at master’s level, at bachelor’s level including another three who are currently enrolled with the University.
Dr Constance was the first SIF employee to be awarded the David Stoddart scholarship at UniSey and to finish with a PhD at the Zurich University in Switzerland in June this year.
On her part, Dr Persaud thanked SIF for the partnership agreement and she noted that UniSey welcomed the collaboration, especially for the students who will benefit to see the world and the wild to showcase what they have learned at a university situated in one of the world’s tiniest countries.
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