Africa-Press – Seychelles. Seychelles will pilot a project integrating ocean science into its school curriculum this year, President Wavel Ramkalawan said on Tuesday during the high-level segment of heads of state at the 9th Our Ocean Conference in Athens , in Greece.
He said the island nation has had success in the past in instilling environmental conservation values in its society through school children.
“It is now high time that we strive to do the same with our ocean science values and I call on all of us here to join in this effort and become catalysts for unprecedented action,” said Mr. Ramkalawan.
The Seychelles President stressed that life at and near the sea is a culture that must not only be celebrated, but must be appropriately supported and passed on to the next generation, who he described as the shareholders and the successors to the 71 percent of the world’s aquatic heritage.
“Hence the urgent need for this generation, as well as the next, to learn why and how we must change the way we view and treat the ocean and all of Earth’s aquatic sources,” he said. added.
Mr. Ramkalawan said the African Union has recognized the blue economy as the continent’s development pathway and Seychelles has wholeheartedly embraced the concept as it aligns with its traditions, values and way of life.
He spoke about international trade, the cornerstone of modern civilization and central to most industrial supply chains and the global economy, which he said is almost entirely powered by sea freight.
Photo: Participants at the 9th Our Ocean conference in Athens, Greece.
“I urge everyone to see and accept the vulnerability of island states like Seychelles when maritime trade routes are disrupted, as is currently the case in the Red Sea. The Mediterranean on one side and the ocean Indian on the other are both regions facing the consequences of war madness. This is causing a lot of damage not only to our economies but also to the livelihood of our people, as the cost of living continues to rise. stressed Mr. Ramkalawan.
He said another scourge is marine debris that is carried by ocean currents from one corner of the world to another, even to seemingly isolated and pristine areas like the Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
“We cannot continue to take Earth’s aquatic resources for granted or treat our unexplored ocean space as a bottomless pit for our waste and expect to continue to prosper at the expense of others, because eventually we will all be affected,” did he declare.
Mr. Ramkalawan spoke of the need and willingness to adapt because all the incentives are there.
“We must change our attitudes, involve our employees and place them at the center of our strategies. We need to communicate effectively and explain to them why we need to do the things we do. We must start with our youth who are a beacon of hope and have a good track record as agents of change,” he added.
He said Seychelles has already made progress in its marine spatial plan and has achieved the protection of 30 percent of its marine territory before 2030, the global deadline.
“We not only need commitments and promises, but we also need to turn words into actions. Let this ocean conference be the nexus where Seychelles and the global community essentially converge to create, expand and mobilize networks for sustainable health and sustainable use of our oceans”, he concluded.
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