Marine conservation & research, Seychelles

Marine conservation & research, Seychelles

How this vacation makes a difference

Environment

We have been invited by the Seychelles government and the Nature Protection Society Trust of the Seychelles, to assist their priority biological study and conservation programmes. These include coral reef research, whale shark migration, turtle nesting research, trail clearance and foreign species eradication. Our third ambitious coral reef research expedition supports and assists the work of local government Marine Parks, the Seychelles Ministry of Environment, the local NGO's Nature Protection Trust of the Seychelles (NPTS) and Marine Conservation Society of the Seychelles (MCSS), plus international NGO's and universities.

All volunteers and staff “school” together for one unique objective: to learn/teach and take care of the Seychelles’ ocean and coral reefs as much as we can. The Seychelles are a set of islands untouched by development. Volunteers buy their food and essentials from a handful of shops scattered around the islands; providing a source of income to the local people. The Creole people are more than willing to share their meals with foreigners in exchange for a conversation. I have learned more from speaking to locals than any textbook could teach me. The friendly taxi driver and local farmer are brimming with stories full of history and opinions.

On top of our commitment to Climate Care, many of our activities directly affect the environment, with examples including:
High Efficiency Stoves - projects in Latin America producing low emission stoves. These not only directly reduce the release of CO2 and reduce wood use; they also save lives by reducing indoor air pollution, which each year is responsible for 1.6 million deaths (that is one death every 20 seconds).

Carbon Sequestering - Across Latin America we are working to replace and sustainably manage forests that have been cut down due to the high demand for wood fuel. Global Eden Project - Through this scheme our Charitable Trust aims to preserve pristine environments before they are lost and help local communities to manage them for profit through collaborative ecotourism projects. Tied in with this will be climate change education and monitoring centres, to help both locals and tourists understand and reduce their effects on the environment.

Community

The community work project with the International School of Seychelles allows the volunteers share their marine knowledge with the children. This improves the education of the local children about their surrounding habitat, and why it is important to conserve the marine environment.

We are dedicated to responsible tourism, and all of the projects that we support directly benefit the environment, the local community, or both. All projects are carefully chosen to offer our volunteers sustainable and responsible travel, with specific attention being paid to their involvement in the sustainability of all their practices / project goals.

Our Charitable Trust was set up in 2005 to help with disaster relief following the devastation caused by Hurricane Stan in Guatemala. After an overwhelming response from past volunteers our Charitable Trust has gone on to manage and fundraise projects all over the world. The aim of the Charitable Trust is to achieve the following goals:
- to promote for the benefit of the public the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment;
- to advance education and research for the benefit of the public in the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment;
- to relieve sickness and preserve and promote the good health of persons;
- to relieve poverty, financial hardship and distress. The Charitable Trust is successfully achieving these goals in many countries, with aid available to grass roots organisations to make a difference in their own environments or communities in over 30 countries globally. Through the generous donations and support of volunteers, corporations, trusts and foundations, here are some of the successes that have been made possible through the Charitable Trust since its inception: Global Eden Project, Costa Rica; Wasini Island Development Fund, Kenya; Condors, Argentine Patagonia; Plan Ancianos, Guatemala; Carbon emission reduction, Guatemala and Honduras; and Indigenous Education, Ecuador.

We are passionate about reducing the effects of climate change. As well as offsetting our own carbon emissions through Climate Care and taking steps to reduce our carbon footprint, we encourage everyone to do the same to offset what remains.

Programmes that involve marine conservation, wildlife conservation, wildlife research and community development often work to rectify damage done to the environment by humans. We therefore recognise the link between human lifestyle and the environment. By encouraging everyone to engage with climate change, we work towards the sustainable development of the environment and the future of our planet. So much of what we do involves traveling, so we work with Climate Care to offset our flight CO2 emissions. *For 4 week duration Expedition in 2012, all volunteers must be PADI Advanced Open Water Qualified in order to participate

Marine conservation & research, Seychelles