ABSOLUTESeychelles
T
he impact of plastic on the world’s oceans has shocked many
and with the worrying statistic that there will be more plastic
than fish in the sea by 2050, it’s but a wonder as to when
and how this statistic can be reversed. Scenes of a hawksbill
turtle getting a straw pulled out of its nose, the sea birds
feeding their chicks plastic or a washed up whale with over 50 plastic
bags found in its stomach, are impossible to unsee. As Governments and
international organisations seek new policies and discuss these very
issues at Ocean Conferences on the environmental impact of plastic,
small Non-Governmental Organisations of the paradisaic small island
state of Seychelles are combating the scourge of plastic in community
building and innovative ways.
The Ocean Project, the SIDS Youth Aims Hub and the Seychelles
Islands Foundation, are three of the many non-governmental
organisations at the centre of pioneering projects combating the
catastrophic impact of plastics in the Indian Ocean, whilst implementing
new ways for the population to live sustainably. In 2017, the result
of fervent campaigns by numerous NGOs, saw Seychelles ban plastic
bags, cutlery and take away boxes and in 2019 a ban on plastic straws
will soon come into place. The monumental efforts for policy change
and outreach to encourage sustainable consumer habits have also
encouraged actions on the outer islands, of which are out of reach and
largely unpopulated but are negatively impacted with coast line plastic
pollution. The Island Conservation Society (ICS) and the Seychelles
Islands Foundation (SIF) are two environmental organisations that
manage several of Seychelles’ outer islands and have been carrying out
beach clean ups in the areas under their remit. But the work doesn’t
stop there!
These efforts, concentrated on changes of consumption on Seychelles’
main islands have also encouraged actions on the outer islands,
which are largely inaccessible and unpopulated, but also have plastic
accumulating. The Island Conservation Society (ICS) and the Seychelles
Islands Foundation (SIF) are two environmental organisations that
manage several of Seychelles’ outer islands and have been conducting
small scale beach cleans on the areas they manage.Takes Action
on Plastic
Pollution
More than 250 Million tons of plastic
are estimated to make its way into our
oceans by 2025, painting a worrying
image of the future.