Seychelles amongst the negotiation on the ICZM protocol of the Nairobi Convention

Concerned of the coastal and marine environment and dependent upon coastal tourism, the Seychelles islands has been and it is committed to coastal management. Coastal tourism, an important industry in the country; infamous for the uniqueness of its beaches and diverse sea creatures, Seychelles being entirely coastal faces posing threats such as sea level rise, a matter also shared with its neighbours.

At the Hennessy Hotel in Ebene, Mauritius, legal and technical experts from the Western Indian Ocean region met on the 21^st to the 22^nd March, 2016 for the Second Negotiations Meeting on the Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Protocol of the Nairobi Convention to discuss upon the Protection, Management and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the Western Indian Ocean.  The meeting saw the participation of representatives from contracting parties, including Mauritius, Madagascar, Somalia, Comoros, France, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa and the Seychelles who is currently the bureau chair for the Nairobi Convention. The meeting was organized in line with decision CP8/3 of the Conference of Parties of the Nairobi Convention held in Seychelles from the 24^th June 2015, during which the contracting parties of the Nairobi convention sought the assistance of the Convention Secretariat and its other partners to review the status of the draft protocol on the Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM).

The meeting began with opening addresses from the representative of the head of the Nairobi Convention Secretariat Mr. Dixon Waruinge, the Indian Ocean Commission Secretary General Mr. Jean Claude de L’Estrac, United Nations resident coordinator for Seychelles and Mauritius Mr. Simon Springett, Minister for Environment, Energy and Climate Change of the Republic of Seychelles Mr. Didier Dogley and Minister for Environment, Sustainable Development, Disaster and Beach Management of the Republic of Mauritius Mr. Jayeshwur Dayal. In his opening remarks at the opening ceremony Minister Dogley (being the Nairobi Convention Bureau Chair) stressed on the importance of the coastal zone and the need to ensure its protection for the generation to come.

During the two days of intense deliberations and negotiations, experts managed to review various provisions of the ICZM Protocol such as its preamble, objectives, principles, instruments and the provisions for Reporting and Monitoring. Representing Seychelles the Director General for Waste, Enforcement and Permit Division, Mrs Nanette Laure and the Senior Legal Officer, Miss Sharon Gerry also attended the meeting.  Another meeting has been scheduled and will be held before the 9^th Conference of Parties to the Nairobi Convention which will be held in Nairobi Kenya in 2017, in order to finalize the draft ICZM Protocol. 

Minister Dogley delivery his opening remarks at the opening ceremony of the Second Negotiation Meeting on the Integrated Coastal Management Protocol.