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(º£½ÇÔÚÏßÃâ·Ñ) - Representatives from Seychelles' Ministry of Agriculture, Climate Change and the Environment responsible, non-governmental organisations, and the private sector attended a stakeholders workshop on the presentation of findings of ongoing consultancies under the Global Biodiversity Framework Early Action Support (GBF-EAS) project.

Funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the GBF-EAS project is advancing readiness and early actions to implement the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The project focuses on National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plan (NBSAP) alignment, monitoring systems, policy and institutional coherence, and biodiversity finance.

Key findings from three critical studies were presented, namely the National Biodiversity Assessment for Marine and Terrestrial Ecosystems. This assessment evaluates the status and trends of Seychelles' biodiversity, identifying threats, gaps, and priority actions to inform the NBSAP.

The second one is a Feasibility Study on Biodiversity Finance Initiatives in the Cruise Ship and Shipping Industry. The study examines the sector's impacts on biodiversity and explores the potential implementation of a cruise ship levy as part of the Seychelles Biodiversity Finance Plan (2019).

The principal secretary for Environment, Denis Matatiken, clarified that at this point in time, this study regarding a cruise ship levy is only a proposal that is being looked at, it is not something that is being proposed.

"We have a biodiversity finance plan and this gives you different solutions that can be implemented. From the 2019 plan, there were 9 proposed solutions. These are mainly based on how a country can raise funds for biodiversity conservation by itself and not rely fully on foreign aid," said Matatiken.

The results of the last study presented was Gaps and Needs Assessment of Policy and Institutional Mechanisms on Biodiversity. This is a comprehensive review of legal and policy frameworks to identify alignment with the Global Biodiversity Framework and provide recommendations to address institutional gaps and promote biodiversity mainstreaming.

Matatiken said, "Apart from the development of the NBSAP, this workshop is also an opportunity to consult a large number of stakeholders and experts private and public in this sector, especially regarding the results of the studies."