Table of Contents 1 Introduction......................................................................................................................3 2 Social and Human Development........................................................................................4 3 Land Use, Coastal Zones and Urbanisation......................................................................24 4 Biodiversity and Forestry..................................................................................................34 5 Agriculture and Food Security..........................................................................................60 6 Fisheries and Marine Resources.......................................................................................75 7 Water, Sanitation and Waste Management..........................................................................99 8 Tourism and Aesthetics..................................................................................................122 9 The Economics of Sustainability.....................................................................................143 10 Sustainable Consumption and Production......................................................................165 11 Energy and Transport....................................................................................................184 12 Climate Change...........................................................................................................232 13 Education for Sustainability............................................................................................259 14 Policy, Institutional and Regulatory.................................................................................284 Seychelles Sustainable Development Strategy 2012 - 2020 1 Acknowledgements The SSDS was prepared by a team of experts under the supervision of a lead drafting expert. The team is grateful to the organizations and individuals for their support and contribution in the production of this document. The advice of the Department of Environment and their sharing of critical information required to complete this task has been indispensable. Input and comments provided by stakeholders with regards to the SSDS is gratefully acknowledged. Special thanks to the donors, EU, UNDP-GEF and the Government of Seychelles. Photos Courtesy of Terence Lafortune, Jeanette Larue, Raymond Sahuquet/STB, Claude Pavard and Foto Natura. 2 1 Introduction The Sustainable Development Strategy of Seychelles is composed of an institutional document (Volume 1) and a detailed action plan (Volume 2). The detailed action plan brings together the thirteen thematic areas identified to implement the strategy. The estimated cost of implementing the action plan is 704 million USD. The figures are based upon estimates which do not take into account inflation or changes in economic growth which may impact on government revenue and global economic trends over the period 2012-2020. It is envisaged, as suggested in the strategy, that the resource forecasts are revised every two years in order to take into consideration these factors. Programmes Estimated Resources Needed SCR Million USD million Social and Human Development 50.5 4.2 Land Use, Coastal Zones and Urbanisation 294.3 24.5 Biodiversity and Forestry 275 22.9 Agriculture and Food Security 161 13.4 Fisheries and Marine Resources 1374 114.5 Water, Sanitation and Waste 2154 179.5 Tourism and Aesthetics 13 1.083 Economics of Sustainability 25.8 2.1 Sustainable Consumption and Production 407.5 33.9 Energy and Transport 1154 95.7 Climate Change 2486 207,2 Education for Sustainability 45.4 3.7 Policy, Institutional & Regulatory 13.3 1.1 Operationalisation of the SSDS 8 0.7 TOTAL 8463 704 Seychelles Sustainable Development Strategy 2012 - 2020 3 2 SOCIAL & HUMAN DEVELOPMENT 4 2.1 Introduction A pillar of sustainable development, the social sector Guiding Principles involves complex interactions between the population, community structure, health and other Four main guiding principles underpin societal issues. social and human development in Seychelles and are linked to the The 1992 UN Rio Convention on Environment and achievement of the Millennium Development and the 1995 Copenhagen Declaration Development Goals, the Seychelles of Social Development lay out the principles for Strategy 2017 and the National Population sustainable social development. Both conventions Plan. recognize that people are at the centre of sustainable development and that they are entitled to a healthy Health For All - Every effort is made to and productive life in harmony with their natural and ensure that the individual is given every built-up environments. This right is also guaranteed opportunity to be healthy in mind and in the Constitution of the Republic of Seychelles. body, and to remain so for the rest of his life. This principle is about access and According to the National Population Census (August availability of health services for everyone 2010), the population of Seychelles is 88,311, with and that every person has the right and a gender composition of predominantly male (51.3 responsibility to take charge of his needs %). Seychelles has an aging population, with 77.7 in terms of health. % aged 15 years and above. The fertility rate of the population was 2.38, and life expectancy is 68.4 for People-Centred Development – To men, and 77.9 for women. The number of people be sustainable, programmes and projects in the labour force stands at 50,923 (57.7 % of the must be able to focus on people as primary population), and the unemployment rate is 5.8%. subjects, rather than just monetary Abject visible poverty does not exist in Seychelles. gains and economic growth. Economic Indicators, such as housing, access to sanitation and development should be linked to the potable water, are relatively high and comparable well-being of the population, their to OECD countries. In 2009, some 3.9 % of the environment, their dignity as human population was assisted by the Social Welfare beings, integrating population issues, Agency. According to the 2010 census, the cur- such as size,demographics, gender and rent number of households is 24,142 with an av- other socio-cultural specificities and erage household size of 3.7 persons. Most houses needs are solidly built and in relatively good state. The overall average monthly expenditure per household is SCR 9, 1241 (USD 760). Of this, 21% is spent on food and 13% on alcohol. The Gini coefficient which measures the disparity in wealth distribution is around 40%. Salaries and wages account for 76% of the total household income. Dependence on pensions and social security is 14% whilst self-employment is 7%. 1Household Budget survey 2006 – 2007; National Bureau of Statistics Seychelles Sustainable Development Strategy 2012 - 2020 5 Main Challenges The reported (unadjusted) mean income per household was SCR 8251 (USD 687) which is 9% below the • Inconsistent approach to public estimated average monthly expenditure. The median education, awareness and attitudes to income was estimated at SCR 7113 (USD 592). It wards conservation and sustainable is quite likely that there would be very few persons, development. Require sustained efforts statistically negligible, living below the set absolute towards changing existing behaviour poverty line, as defined by the World Bank. The minimum salary is set at SCR 19.50 (USD 1.50) per and consumption patterns and addressing hour for casual work or SCR 22.50 (USD 1.75) per resistance to change. hour for a full day’s work. The Seychellois also tend to supplement their income through informal employment. • Lack of an effective urban planning policy and concrete land use plans that There is equal access to education for all children. take into account the limited availability Schools are often within walking distance from of land. Increasing costs of construction, homes, and subsidized transports are provided for growth in individual forms of transport those living within 3 kilometers of a school. Net and management of wastes, including enrolment of students in primary school is over 99% wastewater. and more than 95% of those proceed to secondary education. The ratio of boys to girls in education • Ensuring quality of life of the population is about 1:1, however this changes marginally in faced with increasing inflation and pressure favour of girls at post-secondary and tertiary to work longer hours at the cost of family education levels. The population of Seychelles is cohesion and individual leisure time and highly educated with a literacy rate of nearly 100%, as a result of universal access to primary education well-being. and to long-standing literacy classes in all districts since the late 1970’s. A limited amount of students • Lack of career choice in social development, have access to overseas tertiary education though a community health and environment government sponsored scholarship programme. The management. There is also significant establishment of Seychelles first University in 2009 brain drain in these sectors. (the University of Seychelles) will further enhance this access. The main challenges in education remain the • Insufficient enforcement of existing high number of drop-outs from secondary schools laws and regulations related to environmental and alcohol abuse which is high amongst teenagers. health and public health. The attrition of the school population, especially of boys, is alarming as it means there are numerous young men who are