Africa-Press – Seychelles. The developer of the Anse à la Mouche hotel project had the permission to clear coastal vegetation along the beach front but they did not do it phases as instructed.
It was the director for Environment Assessment and Permit, Myron Meme, who said this during an interview with the press on site at Anse à la Mouche yesterday afternoon.
The interview follows an outcry by environment activists that numerous trees along the beach front were being chopped down that will in future cause damage to the environment in the area.
Also present during the interview was the hotel’s environment consultant, Ian Charlette.
The clearing of the patch of forest along the coast which took place earlier this month was undertaken as part of the hotel development project and in that effect numerous trees were either trimmed, lopped or cut down.
After receiving various complaints with regard to excessive clearing of coastal vegetation, the ministry instructed for a stop in all works along this beach front until further notice.
“The hotel developer had the permission to trim, lop or cut down some of the trees, including clearing of the undergrowth for restoration and rehabilitation purposes, but they had to do it in phases. I think that while doing the work they took the opportunity to go beyond what was expected of them and this is the reason why things are as they are. But we gave the approval for the work to be done in phases,” said Mr Meme, who noted that the trimming, lopping and cutting down of trees in the area were within the norms.
With regard to the stop notice issued by the ministry, Mr Meme said this was because the work was not being done in phases as was approved in the first place.
He addedHe added that although the work already done cannot be reversed, future works to be carried out will be done in phases until completion.
He further added that clearing of the undergrowth of mainly native Var (Hibiscus tiliaceus) was to create an access to the beach.
He stated that the creation of sand bandings, as advised by the Climate Change Division, will act as protection of the beach.
He said that all the trees for lopping, trimming and cutting in the area have already gone through their respective processes and work will only concentrate on restoration and rehabilitation of the beach front.
“The restoration and rehabilitation taking place is to re-introduce the plants that are being removed along with other new coastal plants, and in an orderly manner to mitigate the impact of erosion,” Mr Meme said.
Mr Meme said that the debris from the work being done, especially the woods, will either be re-cycled or disposed of in designated dumping areas.
As for the marsh, Mr Meme said that it was blocked naturally by sand for tide movements and the developer has also been given permission to undertake restoration work, in line with the wetland system in the area, which will be done at a later stage.
He said all details about the work to take place at the beach front have been communicated with the developer and catalogued, noting that all beaches are in the public domain and people will continue to have access to the beach at Anse à la Mouche.
For his part, Mr Charlette said the work was to be done in three phases starting with the removal of dead trees – nineteen in all – which was followed by an assessment by the authorities and the permission to cut down some casuarina trees and to trim and lop some bodamier trees. He stated that they contacted the authority in March to undertake the project and that work in the area started end of June 2023.
“There were no 100 trees that were cut down as voiced out. We only dealt with 24 trees among which included in the first phase the removal of nineteen dead casuarina trees which were a danger for the public and in the second phase to lop and trim some bodamier trees. As contrary to what was said, all of the mangroves in the area have been preserved. As for the marsh, it will be restored with the guidance of the ministry as we are not expert in the field,” said Mr Charlette, who noted that they will continue with the work in line with the set guidelines put forward by the ministry.
For More News And Analysis About Seychelles Follow Africa-Press
