Africa-Press – Seychelles. In commemoration of the International Day for Conservation of Mangroves yesterday, the Ministry of Agriculture, Climate Change and Environment organised a mangrove planting activity in partnership with International School Seychelles (ISS).
Present for the event were the chief executive of the Seychelles Land Transport Authority, Parinda Herath; other staff members from the SLTA and from the department of Environment, and students from the ISS wildlife club.
As part of a restoration project to replace the mangroves that had been removed during the construction of the new lanes opposite the ISS, 100 mangrove plants were planted along the areas near the road.
The students also did a trash clean-up in the area before and during the planting. Litter items such as a rubber tire, bottles and even several pieces of sinks were picked up.
Susan Ansell, the Eco-school leader for ISS, stated that the children took part in the mangrove-planting activity to help offset their own carbon emissions.
“The children all know why they’re planting mangroves. They also know the danger of flooding when it’s going to rain.”
She explained that planting the mangroves will help reduce this risk, as well as become a barrier against coastal erosion which is a major issue there.
She also noted that the mangroves will prevent the flow of pollution into the sea.
The ISS Eco club often carries out mangrove planting in the nearby areas, and a batch which had been planted several weeks ago were successfully growing and thriving.
On SLTA’s part, CEO Herath acknowledged that the construction in progress to widen the road of Bois De Rose Avenue near the marsh will affect the biodiversity of the ecosystem.
He said “it’s for this reason that we are also here today, so we can help restore this place as much as possible and help in any other way we can”.
The demolishment of the large boulder in the middle of the marsh had also stirred confusion among some members of the public recently.
Mr Herath clarified that it was to increase the space for the flow of water as it had been assessed and deemed too narrow and that the rock pieces were then used for the construction of the rock armour.
“We took this initiative, together with SLTA and ISS, to restore some of the mangroves but the work doesn’t finish here,” Linne Dubignon said on behalf of the department of environment.
The accompanying photographs show some highlights of the mangrove-planting activity yesterday.
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