Hot Dollars from Cold Water (to cool climate)

Small Island states are being urged to harness the power of the oceans for their energy needs by innovation experts who are using cutting edge technologies. "We're talking about using cold sea water to make hard cash," says Lelei TuiSamoa LeLaulu, president of SOS Caribe, earlier this year in the Dominican Republic http://www.antiguasunonline.com/special-feature/248998-turning-cold-water-to-cold-cash.html

He is referring to sea water air conditioning (SWAC) and a similar technology, ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC), which generates energy by harnessing the difference between deep ocean water and warmer surface water. The basic technology was pioneered in Hawaii by Wes Craven of the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii founded in 1974 -
www.commonheritagecorp.com.

Closer to home, Mauritius, in an "island style" triple bottom line approach, will be using SWAC to meet the challenges of globalisation by becoming an international data centre, dramatically cut costs of cooling equipment needed for such centers, AND reduce its carbon foortprint. It is putting in place huge computer servers that will enable the country to become a major hub for holding, analyzing and transmitting huge amounts of electronic data.

At the same time it is building an eco-park with technology to pump seawater from nearly 2000 meters down and cool the servers. The main cost issue in all modern data centers is power for daily operations and importantly to cool the racks of servers which need to dissipate heat. The energy needed for pumping the water is far less, by orders of magnitude, than if the stacks were cooled using conventional systems, say experts working on the project.

Three data centers are already running. According to experts the SWAC water-cooled system of Mauritius will be larger than any of the existing systems elsewhere. The Mauritius Board of Investment is confident that their approach and technology will allow the country to leapfrog in key areas. In fact, the physical location of Mauritius near deep ocean gives it a natural competitive advantage in the use of such technology. This water from the depths also has lots of other applications such as hydrotherapy, say enthusiastic entrepreneurs.

Mauritius believes adoption of SWAC technology is the right move at the right time. This is the time when many governments and companies are preoccupied with global warming and their own contribution to it. In addition, power costs are a major barrier to competitiveness in many types of industries. And, for small island states the fuel bill is always at the highest rung of the national budget.

Imported fuel is crippling many small island states and most are actively seeking alternative means for power generation. "It does not make sense to import expensive, dirty oil from thousands of miles away when the ocean surrounding us can give us our energy " asserts LeLaulu.

Mauritius may have chosen a financially sustainable route because it is a commercial need (holding and routing that most valuable of assets - data) that is driving and financing green technology. Without that aggressive business model much of the capital investment needed for large scale green energy operations may be out of reach of most small states. This is exactly the dilemma that Maldives, with its carbon neutral aspirations, is currently having http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSGEE5AN0OV

However, take note. In the further reaches of the Indian Ocean at the US military base of Diego Garcia in the Chagos archipelago, Ocean Engineering and Energy Systems (OCEES) of Hawaii (www.ocees.com) with Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Systems Ltd. from the UK have been in development of the final plans for an OTEC power plant so as to make the military base independent of fuel supplies. Peter Sand, the author of a recent book on Diego Garcia who gave me the details of this project, tells me that the plant is supposed to be bankrolled by a consortium of European banks and is to supply 8 megawatts of electricity, with sufficient power to desalinate 4.73 million litres of seawater per day and to provide seawater air-conditioning. The fesibility study was done in 1996 and an environmental impact assessment published in 2001..http://www.inderscience.com/search/index.php?action=record&rec_id=896&prevQuery=&ps=10&m=or

The Economy and the Environment

The Central Bank of Seychelles celebrated its 31st Anniversary on November 3rd with a special event keynoted by the President of Seychelles and discussions by a panel representing key sectors. Below is what I said.



I would like you to consider the Seychelles 1 Rupee coin. On the tails side an extraordinary event is depicted. A triton shell, or lansiv in Creole, is eating a starfish, the Crown of Thorns which was feared in the 70’s and 80’s as the prime destroyer of coral reefs. And the triton was thought to be its predator. Then in 1998 warm waters bleached our corals causing massive die off. Along with the coral went the crown of thorns as it had little food left. The moral of this story is that sudden changes like global warming or the economic crisis and resulting restructuring program can sweep away the existing status quo.

Just as our currency is decorated with environmental icons and the central bank logo depicts a protected species so it is that our two main economic pillars, fisheries and tourism, even after the economic reform process, continue to have foundations built on use of wild species, natural landscapes & seascapes, and ecosystem services.

The environment, and the economy AND how we see ourselves as Seychellois and as a nation are all intertwined. Concerns about or impacts on the environment may reverberate through the economy and society. Who or where would we be if the coral reefs were so badly affected that they could not feed the beaches which then disappeared?

The economic restructuring has had an impact on vulnerable groups and as people face hardships they inevitably turn to natural resources to eat or to sell and thus we see poaching of protected species on the rise. At the same time a small growth industry in environmental consultancies has emerged propelling the rise of environmental NGOs where previously there were only a few. Development of ecotourism has also expanded.

In fact, as part of the restructuring I see that the environment can be the source of new and innovative growth industries and activities, as we have seen in other countries. But barriers, particularly inappropriate policy and legal frameworks, monopolies, petty jealousies and constrained funding, prevent a game change.

Nevertheless, a recent scientific paper has shown that of all the countries in the region, Seychelles has the most socio-economic potential to leap frog a calamity like coral bleaching. That’s great but how do we leverage this capital? Is it with sameness or with newness?

(Adapted from the presentation I delivered as a Panelist at the Central Bank of Seychelles' 31st Anniversary event held at the International Conference Centre on November 3rd. Story in the Seychelles Nation: http://www.nation.sc/index.php?art=17572 )

The Wind and the Sun

People often ask why solar photo voltaic systems are not used to generate electricity in Seychelles, a country famous for sun (as well as sea and sand) and for conservation of its natural environment.

Now in a different twist, Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s green energy initiative, and the Seychelles Government announced on Wednesday 28 October they will be carrying out a wind resource assessment study for the proposed wind power project. The study comes as part of a collaborative agreement signed by the two parties in January 2009 to develop renewable energy in the Seychelles.

Seychelles is the only country in the region which is so dependant on fossil fuels for power generation. This remains a paradox in a country that has made huge achievements in biodiversity conservation. Apart from some individual photo voltaic systems, especially on a few small islands such as Cousin Island Special Reserve, virtually all electricity is produced from generators burning oil. This not only contributes to a large per capita ecological footprint and is a blot on our environmental reputation but also results in a huge drain on foreign currency reserves.

Our sister island Mauritius has adopted the “Sustainable Island” slogan to pursue a path to renewable energy. More than 20% of Mauritius' electricity is generated from renewable systems. In addition, huge savings have been made though other ways. Mauritius plans to produce 40% of its electricity from renewable sources within 10 years.

So, which way must we go: Solar or Wind? One of the biggest issues for anyone in Seychelles wanting to move to greener energy is what to choose, what equpment to buy, where to get it, how to finance it, who will service or repair it, and where to get the right appliances that run off it. On Cousin Island which has solar power for electricity generation, the constant need for servicing, repairs and replacement is stretching the ability and the resources of the association managing this island.

The cost of alternative energy systems and installation for individual customers is a real conundrum at present. A recent proposal to install a photo voltaic system simply for lighting the Nature Seychelles centre at Roche Caiman would cost over USD 30,000.00, a difficult financial proposition and one which the association has little incentive to move towards. As for electric cars and hybrid vehicles, I've found there are no tax concessions or incentives as yet available for them.

The latest motion approved by the National Assembly for the country to adopt alternative energy systems is a big step in the right direction. But inappropriate policy and regulatory mechanisms, lack of financial incentives, lack of private sector initiatives and expertise in this sector, and other barriers still constrain the adoption of alternative energy systems by individuals, businesses and industry. The entire context needs to be reviewed urgently.

Yes U Can Garden

Nature Seychelles' Heritage Garden at Roche Caiman was opened on 16 October by the Minster for Environment, Natural Resources and Transport, with the ever-smiling Antoine Moustache the big chief of the Seychelles Agriculture Agency facilitating things and an enthusiastic crowd supporting us.

The new theme I introduced in Seychelles through this Garden is Edible Landscaping. Now I want propagate another practice I saw in New York (of all places!) - Low-Cost Gardening or what I have dubbed “Yes, U Can Garden”. Food, and other goodies like aromatic and medicinal plants, can be grown and maintained for very little money. And, you can beat the recession, fight the food crisis, be healthy, make new friends and save genetic resources, all in one fell swoop!

The first trick is to maximize your growing space. Make use of any potential area. The more space you create the more you can grow. Soil can be trucked from many places. Someone I know carried earth in buckets at the back of her car so she could grow herbs in her apartment.

Back yard composting is easy and there have been many local programs advocating this practice. Manure can be purchased from various places sometimes at reasonable prices. The compost produced by STAR Seychelles has the advantage that it does not contain seeds and spores of weeds.

Tools are expensive, but one can accumulate tools for little money. A friend of mine got her entire tool kit by acquiring old or discarded tools from neighbors and farmers– some tools simply needed a new handle. Containers for planting can be collected for free from various sources. One can use empty juice and milk Tetra Packs for seedlings. My father grows an amazing diversity of food plants in containers at the back of his house in the middle of town.

As for seeds, save them from your purchases at the shop or market. At home we collected seeds from those tasty cherry tomatoes and had a bumper crop. Some people in the US exchange seeds and seedlings- a Seed Swap. This is a great idea because it also builds friendships and personal networks. Many Seychellois sell plants at various events, the largest being the National Horticulture Show. At the end of these events some sellers dispose of their plants at discounted prices. And of course, save the seeds from your last crop.

And for materials like trellises, at the Heritage Garden we used discarded wood and braches scavenged from Casuarina trees to support beans and other vines. The best known trellis at the Heritage Garden is the one supporting the incredible Pom Edwar, an arial tuber used by Seychellois in the past but now shunned in favour of imported potatoes.

Last but not least – water. You don’t have to use treated water from the tap. Rain water harvesting is easy because of the high rainfall and sloping roofs in Seychelles. Containers such as the commonly available blue plastic barrels can be linked together to create an adequate reservoir.

Enjoy your Low-Cost Garden. Perhaps you can even recoup your small investment by selling some of your crop. Yes, U Can Garden!

A new tool for Indian Ocean marine science is launched

India launched a second satellite to study the Indian Ocean a couple of weeks ago, the application of which is of interest to the countries of East Africa and Western Indian Ocean. The Oceansat-2 will monitor the interaction between oceans and the atmosphere as part of climate studies, according to the country's space agency.

The satellite, launched from India's southeast coast, carried six nanosatellites from European universities as auxiliary payloads, said the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). It also is equipped with two solar panels projecting from its sides, for generating power and charging batteries.

The country started its space programme in 1963, and has since designed, built and launched its own satellites into space. India says it has the world's largest constellation of remote-sensing satellites: 16, including Oceansat-2. They produce images for uses such as agriculture, rural development, water resources, forestry and disaster management.

The Oceansat-2 is the second in the series of Indian Remote Sensing satellites dedicated to ocean research. The satellite will provide continuity to the applications of Oceansat-1, which was launched in 1999. With a design life of five years Oceansat-2 continues this service. According to Indian sources Oceansat-1 revolutionized fish zone prediction and the information it gave fishermen through rural societies helped to double fishing catches.

Data from Oceansat-2, along with information from other Indian remote sensing satellites (IRSs), are in demand internationally. India says Oceansat-2 is one of the few international missions that exclusively study marine atmosphere, coastal climate and wind speed.

Oceansat-2 weighs 960kgs and is carrying three devices: the Ocean Colour Monitor, a Microwave Scatterometer which helps in tracking the onset of the monsoon by measuring the wind speed over the surface of the ocean and a ROSA which is a GPS receiver for atmospheric sounding.

The main objectives of OceanSat-2 are to study surface winds and ocean surface, observation of chlorophyll concentrations, monitoring of phytoplankton blooms, study of atmospheric particles and suspended sediments in the water. The major applications of data from Oceansat-2, say Indian scientists are identification of fishing zones, sea state forecasting, coastal zone studies and inputs for weather forecasting and climatic studies.

All data gathered will be made available to the global scientific community in six months. Certainly, the countries of the region especially the island states can benefit from the information. Remote sensing data from satellites above the Indian Ocean are extremely important for a country such Seychelles with many islands and a large Exclusive Economic Zone, with an economy and society dependant on fisheries, and a population which is almost exclusively coastal.

Women scientists from the WIO sweep AU awards

Women scientists from Mauritius and South Africa made us proud this week by sweeping the African Union Women Scientists Regional Awards. These were presented in Addis Abba on Wednesday 9th September. The five women researchers, each of whom won a prize of US$ 20,000, are two from Mauritius, two from South Africa and one from Egypt.

Professor Ameenah Gurib-Fakim (photo), a Pro-Vice-Chancellor at the University of Mauritius, and who was Chair in Organic Chemistry won the prize in the Earth and Life Sciences Sector for creating the first full database of the Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of Mauritius between 1994-1997 (this was published in the form of 4 book volumes) and in 1999-2000, a similar database for the medicinal plants of the Indian Ocean Islands both in English and French. Professor Ameenah Gurib-Fakim had previously won the AU’s Special Award – Outstanding Contribution to Science and Role Model for African Women Scientists in April this year and in 2007 she received the prestigious International Award L’Oreal-UNESCO: ‘Women in Science for Africa’

Professor Romeela Mohee, the Chair in Chemical and Environmental Engineering, also at the University of Mauritius and the first female dean of Faculty of Engineering at that University, won the prize in the Basic Science, Technology and Innovation Sector for research on waste management practices. Her research led to the development of low cost-engineering solutions for the benefit of the society, says the AU.

Congratulations to these two amazing researchers from our sister island. It demonstrates that outstanding research work can be achieved in universities in Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

Dr. Lee-Anne McKinnell and Dr. Brenda Diana Wingfield, from South Africa won the same prize in the two respective sectors for contributions in areas of space science and research on the molecular phylogeny and taxonomy of tree photogenic fungi, respectively.

Egyptian Sanaa S. Botros, Professor of Pharmacology at the Egyptian Ministry of Scientific Research was selected for the Earth and Life Science Sector for her research on tropical diseases medication.

Jan, Potočnik, European Union Commissioner for Science and Research and Professor Jean-Pielle Ezin, African Union Commissioner for Human Resource, Science and Technology presented these prestigious awards as part of the "African Union scientific Awards programme" which targets young researchers at African Union Member State Level, women at regional level and outstanding scientists at continental level.

The awards acknowledged the contribution of the researchers to progress in science and are expected to raise the profile of women and young researchers.

Crabs can tell us if conservation is successful

Whilst working on assessment and restoration projects on various Seychelles islands as part of a project funded by the GEF and World Bank, we at Nature Seychelles were struck by several questions that needed answering. We circulated these to various universities to see if we could get students to help in our work. One question that was picked up by our collaborators was whether indicator species of habitat quality could be identified. Land crabs were one potential group because they were found on all our islands.

Sarah Brooke from the University of East Anglia undertook this work on several islands. Land crabs play a vital role in the ecology of tropical islands. They forage in forest litter, recycle nutrients, oxygenate soil, and feed on seeds thus often preventing the spread of alien plants. The Wardens of Cousin Island Special Reserve call them the vacuum cleaners of the island. Land crabs are also found in several coastal habitats which make them useful in comparing habitat quality across islands

We managed to get Sarah to five islands. The islands were chosen because they had different levels of habitat degradation. Sarah examined the diversity of the land crab community as well as the total population of these species in three different habitats. Over a thousand land crabs of seven species were recorded during the study, including three species of ghost crabs and three species of hermit crabs.

The work, in press in the journal Acta Oecologica and available on line http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2009.07.001 shows that a species of ghost crab or loulou in Creole is more abundant in areas with native vegetation than in areas dominated by coconut trees. This is very evident on Cousin Island Special Reserve which has undergone tremendous restoration and conservation over a period of 40 years. Cousin Island was found to have higher species richness than the other islands confirming previous studies that this island is one of the best restored sites in the Western Indian Ocean.

It was also discovered that one species of hermit crab is highly dependant on intact native vegetation. This means that the presence of the species can be used to detect an undamaged habitat. Land crabs are therefore good indicators of habitat quality on tropical oceanic islands, with potential value in monitoring and restoration projects.

This work has shown that loss of native vegetation has negative impacts on the abundance of some species of land crabs. It also demonstrates that the success of restoration and conservation projects can be assessed using land crabs as an indicator.

Epiphany at the WIOMSA Symposium

The latest, and exciting, edition of the WIOMSA Marine Science Symposium was held in La Reunion from the 24th to the 27th August and was attended by the top marine scientists and managers working in East and Southern Africa and the Western Indian Ocean islands. This not-to-be-missed symposium is a landmark event organised by the Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association (WIOMSA) where the state of knowledge of many marine and coastal environmental subjects is discussed.

In one of those epiphanic moments, or what my pop psychologist friend Bert used to call an "Aha Insight", I realised that every keynote address at this Symposium contained reference to Seychelles. This could be serendipity at work....On the other hand, it may be that scientists find entry points for research easily available in the country. But I think the reason why many researchers come to Seychelles is that there are serious issues fomenting under the water.

First, out there in our Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the future of the tuna fishery is murky with overfishing a major problem. Yes, climate change is an issue but well known tuna expert Francis Marsac said it is only a contributing factor compared to overfishing which is the elephant in the room. Yellowfin and big eye tuna stocks are in serious trouble. There are still some opportunities left for skipjack and albacore fisheries, but no one knows for how long.

In the near shore areas, we have known for some time that the local artisanal fishery is fully exploited. Many stocks in peril according to the presentation by leading researcher Dr. Josh Ciner who laid out the picture for the entire region In addition, the Seychelles coral reefs which were severely bleached in 1998 don’t have much of a future. Based on the information presented by Dr. Tim Maclanahan, the ocean around Seychelles is a “hot zone”, where sea surface temperatures are predicted to increase in the future. There is very little room for maneuver to save our reefs.

The bad news is tempered by good social capital fundamentals inherent in the country.. Pioneering research, also alluded to in the keynote presentations, show that Seychelles, of all the countries in the region, may have a high socio-economic capacity to adapt to this crisis. Compared to say Kenya and Tanzania where overfishing, coral bleaching, pollution and so forth are pushing more people further down the poverty trap, the high human development index in Seychelles means that people could find solutions to the crisis.

The research results clearly demonstrate that in Seychelles we have the potential to surmount present and future environmental dangers, more so than the people in neighboring countries. But this is only a potential. It needs to be realized. Thus, the national challenge facing us in Seychelles is how to mobilize and leverage the innovation and creativity latent in our society.

Yes we can make fisheries sustainable!

The world’s fisheries are in bad shape. Not only are most of them in decline but other problems such as illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing, pollution and environmental destruction are mounting. The collapse of all commercial species within the next 50 years is expected if action is not taken. Customers all over the world have now become wary, even paranoid, of purchasing sea food.

But now the Labeling Program of the Seychelles Hook and Line Fishermen is up and running. This is a first-of-its-kind program in Seychelles that targets international markets to assure customers that the fish are caught responsibly and keeping to the highest standards.

The Labeling Program was initiated by some fishermen themselves because they realized the quality of their products is indeed high. To improve this value and emphasize the exceptional fishery, environment, and product quality, they decided to label the fish, hence making it unique and easily identifiable.

Schooner and whaler fishermen are involved in this scheme and the labeled fish are caught using only the hook and line method. Line fishing is a common traditional technique. The size of the “circle hook” allows mostly larger fish which have already reproduced to be caught. Another advantage is the incapability of catching or causing harm to turtles, sea birds or habitats.

With the web site now operational anybody who purchases a fish labeled by the Seychelles Hook and Line Fishermen can find out who caught the fish and where and how it was caught. This assures customers of the origin, quality, traceability and sustainability of the fish. It will also allow customers to support local people who make an honest and fair living from a noble profession.

Boat owners and operators involved in the project have agreed to comply with a code of conduct and a specification on the quality of their work on board including capture, storage, handling and traceability, The hotels, restaurants and retailers supporting this scheme are also pledging their commitment by signing a letter of agreement.

The project, funded by the European Union, is led by the Seychelles Fishing Boat Owners Association (FBOA) with assistance from the SFA and the Association des Ligneurs de la Pointe Bretagne. This is a unique and very important initiative not only because of the environmental and economic benefits but also because it is driven and owned by the stakeholders themselves. Since the operators who make up the FBOA, and the fishers and others who work for them, will be the direct beneficiaries, it means that the industry itself will ensure that environmental and health and safety criteria are respected.

Image courtesy of http://seychelles-hookandline-fishermen.org/

Riders of the Storm: Do dragonflies really make epic journeys across the Indian Ocean like sailors of old?

“They come in by their hundreds, like fighter planes in an old war movie” says Terence Vel, referring to the swarming of dragonflies, cigal in Creole, towards the end of each year on Mahe island. Terence runs Dragonfly Watch, an educational program set up by Nature Seychelles at the Sanctuary at Roche Caiman.

Terence and I have noticed that for some species, particularly the Wandering Glider also known as the Globe Skimmer (Pantala flavescens), the breeding is obscure but large numbers suddenly appear at the Sanctuary at Roche Caiman especially in the Northwest monsoon.

Now, it seems the mystery has been solved. Or has it? A researcher, R. Charles Anderson of Manta Marine Pvt Ltd in the Maldives, proposes in the Journal of Tropical Ecology that there is a massive annual migration of dragonflies across the Western Indian Ocean from India to Seychelles and East Africa http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?aid=5645072

Although some species of dragonflies are known to fly long distances, the proposed migrations, regularly crossing 3500km or more of open ocean, were previously unknown and if proven would be a spectacular phenomenon, beating even the migration of the Monarch butteries in the Americas. Many ancient peoples crossed thousands of kilometers of ocean to reach East Africa from Asia but cannot be compared to fragile looking insects like dragonflies

Anderson was originally interested in the annual appearance of millions of dragonflies in the Maldives, coral islands that lack fresh water and therefore an unlikely place for dragonflies whose larvae live in freshwater. It became apparent to him that the dragonflies were arriving across the ocean from Southern India. This then raised questions as to how and why they make the crossing.

The arrival dates of dragonfly species, mostly the Wandering Glider but also others, in the Maldives and India seem to demonstrate that the dragonflies travel from southern India, a distance of some 500–1000 km. Dates of arrival and occurrence coincide with the passage of the monsoon trough also known as the Inter-tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Anderson says that circumstantial evidence suggests that the dragonflies fly with tail winds, within and behind the ITCZ, at altitudes over 1000 m.

His theory is that the dragonflies found in Maldives are actually en route to Seychelles and East Africa. Arrival dates in the Seychelles support this hypothesis, Anderson says.. Dragonflies also appear in smaller numbers in the Maldives in May, with the onset of the Southwest monsoon, suggesting a possible return migration from Africa, a truly incredible feat if true.

The Wandering Glider or Globe Skimmer is a widely spread species, well known to be a long distance flyer and highly adept glider as its various vernacular names suggest and has been seen flying at speed across oceans, mountains and plains; it has an enlarged base to its hind wings, which is a feature associated with gliding. In addition to enjoying low-cost flight across the ocean, the dragonflies might also be able to feed en route, Anderson postulates.

The Wandering Glider also has a remarkably brief larval life, and complete several generations each year, so the species may be able to take opportunities of brief and temporary pools of water to breed.

Anderson points to the migration of birds across the Western Indian Ocean to bolster his theory. He says that several bird species migrate from India across the Western Indian Ocean to wintering grounds in Africa. They do so at the same time as the dragonflies, presumably taking advantage of the same seasonal tail winds. Many of these birds also eat dragonflies; the possible significance of this was not previously appreciated, according to him.

Despite all the excitement raise in the popular media and on the world wide web, much of this is still circumstantial. As Anderson himself notes there is as yet no proof of Indian dragonflies arriving in East Africa, for example. In addition to the lack of direct evidence, his discussion in the paper raises a number of questions which cannot be answered at this stage.

Remembering George. G. Shor

George G. Shor Jr, Professor Emeritus of geophysics at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California, USA died on the 3r of July . My father is probably the only person in Seychelles who remembers George Shor and gave me some details of his trip to our waters.

Shor's distinguished career included helping develop the United State’s consortium of oceanographic research ships and the creation of the California Sea Grant program. But for the countries of the Western Indian Ocean it is worthy to note that his studies included pioneering research in our region and helped lay the foundation for the theory of tectonic plates, one of the most important concepts in earth sciences.

Shor had been working in the Indian Ocean since 1960 when he led the expedition by Scripps into this ocean as part of UNESCO’s International Indian Ocean Expedition. Between 1960 and 1963 the Monsoon and Lusiad Expeditions were initiated by Scripps with the two research vessels Horizon and the Argo.

On the 4th October 1962 the Horizon sailed from Cochin, India to Seychelles and Mauritius with George Shor as Expedition Leader and Chief Scientist. The Argo approached Mahé island on October 15h on a 90-mile shallow water seismic run from the east-southeast. But this was cancelled because water depths were found to be unsafe.

The hydrographic winch on Argo had started to develop problems and made work difficult so the expedition decided to head for land. Horizon landed a load of coral, shells, fish and invertebrates it had dredged and sailed for Port Victoria. Horizon tied up at the Long Pier on October 16th 1962 whilst Argo, with a greater draft, anchored outside the harbor. They spent October 17th and 18th ashore on Mahé.

On Mahe, Shor met my father whose house had already become the focus for scholars and scientists who came to Seychelles. My dad remembers discussing continental drift with Shor. They left Port Victoria on the 19th. Horizon carried a huge female Aldabra tortoise purchased as a gift for the San Diego Zoo.

Shor’s work in the region was published in a landmark paper co-authored with Dwight Pollard in Science in October 1963, entitled “Seismic Investigations of Seychelles and Saya de Malha Banks, Northwest Indian Ocean “ www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/142/3588/48 .

The conclusions were that the Seychelles Bank had granite rock under a considerable portion of the bank but Saya de Malha Bank, also on the Mascarene Ridge was composed of volcanic rocks capped by coral. This meant that the two areas were structurally independent. To us today, this is a seemingly mundane result, but it actually helped lay the foundation of what we know about the geology of the Indian Ocean as well as assisted in the development of the incredibly important theory of tectonic plates

Killer mosquitoes on mission to save mankind

Mad scientists load blood-sucking flying insects with toxic chemical bombs which are then dropped killing millions of their own kind. Science fiction? Think again. Not-so-mad researchers working in the Amazon city of Iquitos in Peru, have turned normal adult mosquitoes, the Dengue (and Yellow Fever) carrier Aedes aegypti, into infanticidal beasts by making them carry an insecticide to their breeding sites thus killing most of the eggs and larvae living there.

The insecticide, placed in resting areas of the mosquitoes, will stick to the insects’ bodies when they fly off to aquatic habitat to lay eggs. There, the insecticide will destroy immature mosquitoes at that site and wherever else they fly to deposit more eggs.

This is a huge breakthrough in mosquito control, say experts. It replaces costly and not very effective spraying of habitats, many of them hidden and cryptic, where mosquitoes lay their eggs and larvae develop. The method is also relevant to small island states where human settlements are clustered in coastal areas because it involves the control of mosquitoes that develop in small, protected aquatic habitats in urban areas

The senior author Gregor J. Devine and his colleagues from the UK, Peru, Tanzania and the US have published this work entitled “Using adult mosquitoes to transfer insecticides to Aedes aegypti larval habitats” in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) of June 29 http://www.pnas.org/content/106/28/11530.full

The insecticide used is called pyriproxyfen which is an equivalent of an insect juvenile hormone. In the study it was placed at dissemination stations in a known resting area of mosquitoes in a cemetery in Iquitos. The pyriproxyfen was placed in only 3 to 5 percent of the total resting area, but it destroyed 42 to 98 percent of mosquitoes about to emerge at each breeding site.

Pyriproxyfen does not interfere with the fundamental behaviors of mosquitoes because it is neither lethal nor repellent to adults. "It is the act of oviposition (egg-laying) that contaminates the aquatic habitat, so the technique explicitly and precisely targets the mosquitoes' preferred breeding sites." the paper says.

Pyriproxyfen is also harmless to humans It is registered for public health use and the World Health Organization states that it is safe for drinking at 300 parts per billion, which is 1000 times the dose used by the researchers in the study.

Globally, 50 million dengue infections annually result in 500,000 cases of dengue hemorrhagic fever and 22,000 deaths. The most severe form of the disease, dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF), strikes a half million people a year. Dengue is spread by Aedes aegypti as well as the Asian Tiger Mosquito Aedes albopictus, a widely occurring mosquito in Seychelles

The results of this study have now raised hopes that not just Dengue but other mosquito borne diseases can finally be controlled in our lifetime.

Dengue - Island Fever or Urban Disease?

Local health authorities are worried about a new Dengue outbreak in neighboring countires and have warned travelers to be on their guard and to avoid certain places. Dengue is spread by the Asian Tiger Mosquito (ATM) Aedes albopictus , and another mosquito Aedes aegypti http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aedes. These mosquitoes are also responsible for spreading Chikungunya.

In 1977 about 75% of the Seychelles population suffered from a Dengue epidemic. Another epidemic occurred in 1978 and 1979. Environmental health authorities speculate that the next epidemic will originate from an infected person arriving from overseas and will affect a large proportion of the population.

Some Dengue infections can lead to hemorrhagic fever. This is where blood vessels start to leak and cause bleeding from the nose, mouth, and gums. Without treatment, the blood vessels can collapse, causing shock and sometimes death.

Persons who have been infected with one or more forms of Dengue virus are at greater risk for the more severe hemorrhagic fever. There are 4 viruses that cause the disease and there are no vaccines yet to immunize people against them. With the increase in all types of virus, the occurrence of Dengue hemorrhagic fever becomes more likely, say physicians http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dengue

Every year about 50 million people become infected with Dengue worldwide. The return of Dengue and the proliferation of mosquitos like the ATM are making the disease a global health threat on the same level as malaria. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/10/061018-dengue-fever.html

The spread of Dengue reflects the ability of diseases to spread in an increasingly globalized and modern world. As with alien and pest species, the constant movement of goods and people create efficient pathways for diseases and their vectors.

Climate change, especially changes in temperature which the mosquito vectors are sensitive to, and increased precipitation (and thus more aquatic habitats being made available) can lead to increase in numbers and in their range. Global warming is definitely a factor in the spread of the disease.

The prevalence of the disease has also increased with the expansion of urban and suburban areas. Seychelles is one of the most urbanized countries in Africa and there are high densities of ATMs in our urban areas. The population of this mosquito has doubled since the 1960’s. Investigators found that flower pots and discarded containers are the main sources of breeding in and around houses in Seychelles.

Changes in lifestyles in Seychelles have resulted in more and more containers being made available for mosquito breeding. Health officials have suggested that a law on mosquito control should be established and strongly enforced. This and other measures become more urgent as other changes may also result in the growth of mosquito populations.

Climate Change increases Cyclones

For someone living on a small tropical island it’s scary to think that tropical storms may be getting worse over the years. Indeed, more evidence is piling up that global warming is increasing the intensity and number of cyclones and hurricanes. In 2005, two papers created quite a stir in the scientific community. One by Kerry Emmanuel demonstrated that in the last 50 years there had been a substantial increase in the power of cyclones in the West Pacific and Atlantic and, the other by P.J Webster and colleagues, portrayed a substantial global increase of almost 100%) in the proportion of the most severe tropical cyclones from the period from 1975 to 2004. (http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v436/n7051/full/nature03906.html. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/309/5742/1844)

Now a study published in the journal Marine Environmental Research shows that, incredibly, there has been a 5 fold increase in cyclones in the Arabian Sea since 1995. In fact the increase has been in what is described as “most intense cyclones”. The 1995-2007 periods has seen five times the number of these cyclones than in the previous 25 years from 1970 to 1995 http://www.citeulike.org/article/4970211

The paper entitled “Response of the Arabian Sea to global warming and associated regional climate shift” by Prasanna S. Kumar and colleagues states that it’s not just the number but also intensity of these cyclones which has increased. Cyclones with a wind speed greater than 100 km per hour are termed as ‘most intense cyclones’.

The authors say that “The response of the Arabian Sea to global warming is the major disturbance in the natural decadal cycle in the sea surface temperature (SST) after 1995, followed by a secular warming”.

The “signatures of this climate-shift are also perceptible over the adjacent landmass of India as progressively warmer winters, and decreased decadal monsoon rainfall.” The climatic changes have “possible impact on frequency and intensity of cyclones, summer monsoon rainfall, wheat production, land vegetation cover and frequency of heat spells.” Since more than 80 per cent of the rainfall over India occurs during summer monsoon, it is expected to have a major influence on the vegetation cover.

These climate changes have led to a rainfall deficiency of 71 mm during 1995-2005 compared to deficiency of 8 mm during 1985-1995. The rainfall deficiency could also lead to a drinking water crisis.

Increases in intensity and number of cyclones, hurricanes and other storm events do not bode well for the Indian Ocean region. It may mean that countries in our region which at present are not directly affected by cyclones will feel the full impact of these changes in the near future.

Cyclone experts say that in recent years the world has experienced an increase in economic damage and disturbance by tropical cyclones. Large loss of human life will continue in developing countries, they say. Projected sea level rises should also be of concern in the context of society’s vulnerability to cyclone-induced storm surges. This is because the main cause of death in the major cyclone disasters in history has been salt-water flooding associated with storm surges.

In a Statement on Tropical Cyclones and Climate Change authored by participants of the WMO International Workshop on Tropical Cyclones in 2006, it is stated that "Despite the diversity of research opinions on this issue it is agreed that if there has been a recent increase in tropical cyclone activity that is largely anthropogenic in origin, then humanity is faced with a substantial and unanticipated threat." (http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/arep/tmrp/documents/iwtc_statement.pdf)

Sorghum Superhero and the divide between African mainland and island states

The 2009 World Food Prize, worth USD 250,000 has been awarded to Dr. Gebisa Ejeta an Ethiopian who is professor of agronomy at Purdue University in the US. (http://www.worldfoodprize.org/press_room/2009/june/ejeta.htm) Ironically, the prize flags up the divide between mainland Africa and at least one of its island states.

Known as the Sorghum Superhero, Ejeta has been honored for developing Africa's first hybrid and high-yielding sorghum varieties tolerant to drought and the devastating Striga seed. This in turn accelerated crop productivity and gave rise to the first commercial sorghum seed industry in Sudan. By 1999, one million acres of the hybrid had been harvested in Sudan, says the Science and Development Network (http://www.scidev.net/en/sub-suharan-africa/features/ethiopia-s-sorghum-superhero.html)

But Ejeta’s work is seemingly irrelevant to us here in Seychelles. Sorghum is so little know in this African island nation that it has no local name. I have tried in vain to quiz experienced agronomists and farmers in Seychelles for a Creol name for Sorgum. Whilst sorghum is one of the most essential grain crops in Africa (made into breads, porridges, and beverages), its importance in Seychelles has been supplemented by rice and wheat and others such as maize.

Yet, sorghum grows well in Seychelles. At the award winning Heritage Gardens at Roche Caiman, Nature Seychelles has grown three harvests of sorghum with little effort. But because this grain is not utilized by the local population, the birds have befitted from nutritious feed.

My father, coming from an Indian tradition, gave me the seeds to plant at the Heritage Garden. He himself had grown the plant many years before on a property by the sea so he knew that it would do well here. He even tried to mill the seeds and make bread out of it.

Rice and wheat are not grown in Seychelles but are imported. On the other hand Sorghum grows very well. So why is it we are not growing this important food plant? Is it simply out of tradition and “what came first”? Whatever the case, should we not be eating foods that we can grow locally instead of relying on imports to satisfy some of our basic nutritional needs?

After last year's global food crisis, national food security strategies in many countries have taken on board a very important element of self suficency, abandoned by so called modern economies some time ago in favour of focusing on competitive advantages. We should start doing the same right here in Seychelles.

Resilient Ecosystems- a comment on the economic crisis

I flew into Mumbai, India last year on December 21, the same day the modern wing of the Taj Mahal Hotel was re-opened after being damaged during the Mumbai terror attacks. Yes, the heritage wing of the hotel which had almost been gutted was still closed but the official re-opening in the presence of a packed crowd of India’s glitterati proved to many the resilience of the people of Mumbai.

Resilience is a word that is bandied around nowadays. Much of what we know about resilience as a science comes from a relatively new discipline in ecology which has generated many papers and books. To some, especially those working on issues to do with small island developing states (SIDS), resilience is the other face of vulnerability. Many vulnerable human and natural ecosystems display resilience, or not, when hit by shocks.

In simplistic terms a resilient ecosystem, be it human or natural, is one that can withstand shocks and rebuild itself when necessary. Just as the people of Mumbai seemingly bounced back after the horrific attacks, so it is that resilient ecosystems have the ability to absorb blows and come back to some state of “normality” without much delay. But, it’s never that simple. The state that emerges after shocks may be somewhat different. The raucous, easy, free-wheeling democracy that was previously evident in Mumbai has now given way to a police regulated city with heavy security installed at hotels, cinemas and historical sites and police check points set up everywhere.

Inevitably, we see resilience now being used in the context of the global economic crisis. Pundits, journalists and pop-economists are debating which country will be more resilient in managing the crisis. For us in Seychelles we have a double whammy to cope with; the national debt servicing plus the economic woes of the developed world which provides us with tourists, investment and development assistance.

I believe Seychelles as a nation displays many aspects of resilience necessary to rebuild its system. But not all parts of the system will end up the same as before, meaning not all parts of society will be able to withstand the blows as well. There are similar situations in natural ecosystem. Studies of impacts of cyclones and hurricanes show that water quality and phytoplankton productivity in the sea for example– a measure of the health of the food web – are impacted by winds and heavy rainfall, but return to normal within months. Not all components of the marine system are equally resilient. After hurricanes, many coral reefs suffer massive damage and the ecosystem can shift to a different regime, one that may not be as productive or diverse.

Chagos-The most pristine marine environment on earth?

Diego Garcia, in the Chagos archipelago, is back in the international news with the release of a new book in the United States entitled Island of Shame: The Secret History of the U.S. Military base on Diego Garcia, by David Vine. It is what the publishers call a “groundbreaking work that dares to expose the other Guantánamo”. The book was officially launched in Seychelles and Mauritius in June this year. The author will donate all the book royalties to the Chagossians.

Seychellois, especially those of a certain generation, have a good knowledge of the Chagos. The coconut plantation on Diego Garcia was managed from Seychelles. My father's company on Mahe provided fuel and supplies once upon a time to the Chagos and also exported the copra from there. The Chagossians who returned to Seychelles integrated into our society, with their Association still very active.Many other people around the world, through the international media, know about the Chagossians and their fight to return to "Diego "http://sailingweights.blogspot.com/2009/07/salomon-atoll-chagos-seychelles.html

What is less well known is that many scientists believe that the Chagos - a UK Overseas Territory - is probably the most pristine tropical marine environment on Earth. The archipelago has the world's largest coral atoll, its healthiest reefs and its cleanest seas, they say

A booklet was launched in March this year called The Chagos Archipelago: Its Nature and the Future, to start a discussion on a programme “to create one of the world's greatest conservation areas”. The archipelago is described as comparable with the Galapagos Islands or the Great Barrier Reef in environmental and scientific importance. http://www.chagos-trust.org/conservation.asp

The publication flags up the Chagos as the United Kingdom's greatest area of marine biodiversity by far. The area is a crucial refuge, staging post and breeding ground for marine life, it says. The Chagos also provides a scientific benchmark for an environment without degradation; this is important for helping to deal with problems such as pollution, climate change and loss of biodiversity. It calls for people to support these ideas and encourage the British Government to make the conservation area a reality. This is a great start, in my opinion, as it sets aside a very important area of the planet and defers benefits to future generation - hopefully generations of Chagossians whose fate is currently a political hot potato.

Drawing on best practice from other sites, the aims of the conservation area would be: to protect nature, including fish stocks (benefiting countries such as Seychelles in the region); to benefit science, and support action against damaging climate change; and to be compatible with security and be financially sustainable. In my view, one of the major aims should be to provide livelyhood opportunities and environmental services for Chagossians upon their return.

Pollution, overfishing and climate change are affecting the oceans worldwide, but the creation of a conservation area around the Chagos will help preserve this pristine marine environment and secure rich natural heritage that many people say the Chagossians are actually the stewards of.

Tsunami predictions are plain wrong

"I just wanted to let you know to stay away from the beaches all around in the month of July. There is a prediction that there will be another tsunami or earthquake hitting on 22 July 2009. It is also when there will be a sun eclipse,"

This is a typical "Tsunami Warning" email message that has been filling my inbox over the last month. The message goes on to say that an earthquake is predicted to hit Japan on July 22nd, which would trigger a Tsunami traveling as far as Seychelles Mauritius and the East African coast.

The prediction is based on one fact: a solar eclipse will take place on July 22nd 2009 directly to the south west of Japan. This eclipse according to the prediction circulating on the World Wide Web means that the gravitational pull of the Sun and Moon pulling together will 1. Lift the earth’s tectonic plates in that region of Asia; 2. Cause the tide to rise more than usual and 3. Cause an underground molten magma tide to dip and raise the plates following the water tide.

On July 22nd 2009, according to this prediction, a 6+ Magnitude Quake will take place at 3:00PM Local Japanese time. This will be followed by two level 5+ Earthquakes and a Tsunami between 5:00PM and 7:00PM. The Tsunami will start out in the Pacific Ocean and hit all the islands to the south west of Japan , Indonesia and New Zealand and also the Western Indian Ocean to Seychelles Mauritius and East Africa.

The prediction, outlined by a computer games developer called Britton La Roche in the US, is based on the following theory. A solar eclipse means that the moon is blocking the sun. The moon has enough gravitational pull to cause the tides and other natural phenomena on earth. The sun has enough gravitational pull to keep the earth in orbit. The theory is that during a solar eclipse, the moon has the Sun's added pull on the Earth's tectonic plates. When the Sun and Moon are together on one side of the planet, they can supposedly pull together and lift up the tectonic plate, just beneath the eclipse. This causes the plate to shift upward, and then an earthquake is generated when the lifted plate gets the little extra push (lift) it needed to move over its neighboring plate.

But this has been pooh poohed by the scientific community. The first to react was the Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS). Dr. Kerry Sieh of EOS affirms on the EOS website that to date, scientists have not found any significant correlation between solar eclipses and earthquakes. Since 1900, for example, of 82 earthquakes greater than magnitude 8 worldwide, only two occurred close to the time of a solar eclipse. However, these were not only partial eclipses but also far from the locations of the earthquakes. Dr Sieh is visiting from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in the US. His principal research interest is earthquake geology. He, students and colleagues are studying the megathrust that produced the devastating giant Sumatran earthquakes and Indian Ocean Tsunamis of 2004 and 2005.

“Earthquakes are not caused by gravitational pull”, says Dr. Kate Hutton, a seismologist also at Caltech, reported by Snopes.com. Earthquakes are caused by the accumulation of strain in the Earth's crust, she adds. The U.S. Geological Survey has also stated: "Neither the USGS nor Caltech nor any other scientists have ever predicted a major earthquake. They do not know how, and they do not expect to know how any time in the foreseeable future."

Professor Ian Main of the University of Edinburgh, UK writing in the journal Nature about earthquakes says that in the USA, the emphasis has long been shifted to a better understanding of the earthquake process, and on an improved calculation of the seismic hazard. In Japan, particularly in the aftermath of the Kobe earthquake in 1995, there is a growing realization that successful earthquake prediction might not be realistic. In China, thirty false alarms have brought power lines and business operations to a standstill in the past three years, leading to recent government plans to clamp down on unofficial predictions, he says.

Dr. Chris Rowan a geologist specializing in paleomagnetism, also at the University of Edinburgh writes in his blog that “Any geologist would be celebrating a genuine, proven, method of earthquake prediction: but we're clearly not there yet. Right now, the best we can get is a hazy view of tectonic storm clouds building on the horizon, and we lack even the equivalent of a barometer, let alone advanced tools like weather satellites, to give us a more specific forecast. It would be irresponsible to claim otherwise.”

Poor old Britton La Roche has been dropped in it because he was simply theorizing so that he or others could think about building a Game Simulator. In fact on his blog he says “This is a theory and I have no background in earth science or seismology. In short, I have no valid qualification to back this prediction.” But the media and the internet community have reacted as if this was a scientific fact and have managed to stir panic throughout Asia and the Indian Ocean region

The world has become generic

Victoria, the capital city of the Seychelles, looks as if another place has come visiting and decided to stay! This small city that I know so well from childhood wanderings in back streets, back of buildings, under bridges and even in streams is starting to look like any other town anywhere else. Large buildings seemingly from a well-thumbed architectural digest have popped up. And the landscaping, apparently originally planned by experts from Singapore, fits in this tidy and clean but bland and generic cityscape.

But it does not have to be that way. Taking a break today from the computer screen I was wandering around the native plants we have growing around our Centre at Roche Caiman, a relatively new District bordering Victoria and I noticed that the Wrights Gardenia was flowering. I already smelled the heavy scent from the beautiful flowers as I approached the tree.

Wrights Gardenia is a plant that grows only in the Seychelles (endemic in biological parlance) and is found in its natural state only on Aride island, near Praslin. I think the flower is probably one of the most beautiful of the endemic trees of Seychelles. It’s named after Edward Percival Wright who visited Seychelles in the 19th Century.

The plant we have growing was one of four, grown from seed collected by Terence Vel our Techical Officer at the forestry station at Sans Souci, Mahe, where some of these trees are growing. They had been planted there by the former forestry director.

I think we are the only organization in Seychelles that landscapes around its building with native plants. The plants we have growing in the front of the Centre are native and were collected and planted by myself, Terence and Lucina, the Centre caretaker. But buildings and public places around Victoria and environs are still landscaped with exotic plants imported from various places. This despite the Government’s own campaign to rid Seychelles of alien invasive plants.

Many alien plants not only take a lot of resources, like water, to maintain, but also gives our country the same feel and look as any other place in the world. Popular Hawaiian and South American plants have tended to homogenize the world. Everything looks the same. What has become of diversity? Is the whole world doomed to look like “More of the Same”? Or can we use our own native plants to showcase our difference and our uniqueness?

Even a so called “recalcitrant” plant like Wrights Gardenia can be maintained and used in landscaping. If it can grow at sea level mostly on coral fill at our Centre, then with some nurturing it, and many other unique plants of Seychelles, can be kept by most building and home owners. Go for it people! Let us celebrate diversity rather than uniformity!

Somali Piracy started with a fight over fish

I tried to interest a popular island biodiversity email group in the following article but the moderator said it had nothing to do with biodiversity. This shows a complete lack of understanding about environmental management because actually the Somali piracy has its roots in a war over biodiversity resources - fish - as I explain below.

The exploits of the Somali pirates as far as the Seychelles have struck fear across the board and slammed the region’s economy. The Western Indian Ocean tuna fishery fell by 30% last year owing to pirate attacks on tuna vessels. As national and international military forces scale up their responses, and national and international press give us almost blow by blow reports, we need to ask ourselves the right question so as to get the most lasting solution to the problem. And I doubt that a purely military response will solve the piracy because I think the problem has not been framed properly.

The piracy problem in Somalia has its roots in the instability of the country after the civil war but also in another form of piracy practiced by foreign nations in Somali waters. This is a dirty little secret that is not talked about in the media but lies at the core of the problem.

Andrew Mwanguru of the Seafarers Assistance Programme in Nairobi says that since the civil war began in Somalia around 1991, illegal fishing trawlers started to trespass and fish in Somali waters even within the 12 mile territorial waters. These vessels encroached on local fishing grounds. A struggle then began between local fishers and the illegal fishing vessels. The foreign trawlers used strong arm tactics against the local fishers, even pouring boiling water on them and crushing the smaller boats and killing fishers. Mwanguru says that it is little wonder that the locals began to arm themselves.

The cycle of warfare has been escalating ever since. At one time there were up to 800 illegal fishing vessels in Somali waters. Most of these vessels are owned by European and Asian companies. Once the Somalis started to seize the foreign illegal vessels to make them stop they were approached to ransom them back. Thus, their appetite for bigger and better targets started to grow.

The problem is exacerbated by the extreme poverty in the country. According to Oxfam over three million Somalis need desperate assistance and one million have fled their homes in the past two years. Oxfam policy advisor Robert Maletta says, "The piracy issue that has grabbed international headlines is a symptom of deeper issues that have gone unaddressed since the collapse of the national government."

Brett Schaefer, Jay Kingham fellow in International Regulatory Affairs at The Heritage Foundation writes that only ground and sea based military action will not be successful at stopping the piracy but that other matters have to be taken in hand including a recognition of the failure of trying to impose a Centralized State Authority, helping local Somali authorities to improve their governance structures and mature politically, increasing international cooperation to dissuade Somali pirates, and improving the lives of poor and destitute Somalis .

Meanwhile people in East Africa assert that the pirates are investing heavily in some countries. In Kenya for example it is alleged that the pirates have entered the transport,housing and fuel markets in a big way. What does this portend for these local economies and societies and will it help Somalia at the end of the day?

Tagging Tuna in the Indian Ocean

Many people believe research is a waste of time and money for small countries like Seychelles. But when you are dealing with fish like tuna that can swim long distances at speeds of up to 70 kilometers an hour, that are heavily exploited and whose trade runs into billions of US Dollars, knowing more about their habits is critical to our own welfare. One of the ways to do this is to put tags on them and when they are fished to get the date of capture, the location and biological details.

I learnt to tag tuna on a Japanese research fishing vessel in the distant reaches of the Seychelles EEZ. That was back in 1987. At the time tuna tagging was only done sporadically and in fact when I returned from that long trip the French scientists working for what was then called ORSTOM were very keen to know the details of the Japanese tagging program.

Now, the results of the first comprehensive tuna tagging program in the Indian Ocean have started to come in. The Regional Tuna Tagging Project –Indian Ocean (RTTP-IO) began in 2002 with an initial tagging project in Mayotte and with feasibility studies. The intensive and large scale tagging began in 2005 and ran up to 2007.

Funding of 14 million Euros was made available by the European Union and the project was implemented by the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) and supervised by the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC). The success of the tagging project depends on the good will of the fishers who recover and report the tagged fish. To date, RTTP-IO says that 26,800 tagged fish have been recovered and reported. The best data comes from at-sea recoveries by tuna purse seiners where the fish can be kept and biological measurement taken.

One of the first results coming out of the project demonstrates that the Yellowfin tuna stock is close to or already being over fished. This is a serious state of affairs and matches other studies that have been done on this species. Assessment of skipjack and bigeye tuna will now be undertaken using the tagging data.

The Indian Ocean tuna fishery is one of the most lucrative fisheries in the world. The annual catch in the Indian Ocean of almost a million tons has a landed value of more than 2 billion US dollars. For Seychelles, as is the case for other involved countries, this industry plays a vital role in the economy. Knowing more about the state of tuna stocks will help us maintain their biological resilience and in turn maintain our own economic resilience.

Sustainable energy for a sustainable economy

“I’d put my money on the sun and on solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait ‘til oil and coal run out before we tackle that”, wrote Thomas Edison at the turn of the 20th Century.

Well, this homily applies to Seychelles because the country’s energy bill is so large that the Government has to borrow money to buy oil. The oil bill has put a strain on the country’s finances. In fact, Seychelles probably consumes more fossil fuel per capita than any other Small Island Developing State.

Therefore a move to more sustainable energy systems would not only be good for the environment but for the economy as it would reduce the large foreign currency outlays. At the moment except for some limited photo voltaic electricity generation on some small islands the energy needs of this country are met though imported oil.

If we take a look at Mauritius we see an energy picture that is worth examining in more detail. Mauritius has adopted the “Sustainable Island” slogan to pursue a path to renewable energy. Currently, 20% of Mauritius' electricity is generated from renewable biomass systems.

In recent years thousands of Mauritians have obtained loans at a preferential interest rate from the Development Bank of Mauritius to purchase solar water heaters. Small photo voltaic solar panels to power sodium lamps at night are a common sight in many public gardens, parks and car park areas.

Innovations like a new project to build a tidal power station to generate electricity from the sea are going ahead. A UNDP and Agence Française de Développement project is underway to provide technical assistance to install a wind turbine as a pilot for developing a larger wind farm, to develop energy audits and to use solar thermal energy in large institutions such as hospitals.
Mauritius plans to produce 40% of its electricity from renewable sources within the next 10 years. And it seems it will meet this target. As a major route to energy savings, it also introduced Daylight Savings Time (DST) in 26th October on a trial basis. Simulations suggest that the country would use 15 megawatts less of energy through DST.

Yes, Mauritius is fortunate in having sugar cane waste or bagasse since this is a vital component of the government’s national target for renewable energy. But its other energy strategies may be relevant to Seychelles. Whatever the case may be, it is imperative that we adopt a renewable energy policy and national targets and move to implementation of renewable energy programs across the board to meet these targets.

Seychelles Food Security: Try Edible Landscaping

A well known agronomist who recently visited Nature Seychelles’s Heritage Garden at Roche Caiman told me that this demonstration Garden, jam packed with fruit trees, crops, grains and vegetables, was a landscape that needed to be replicated across homes, in back yards, on reclaimed land and around buildings to produce food to feed Seychelles in these difficult times. That remark got me thinking because I had just read an article from the City University of London that made similar observations about Britain.

The City University says Britain will have to rely on a return to past methods of food production. The country needs to re-learn the gardening skills it lost a century ago and to change its diet to one that includes less meat, fewer dairy products and more fruit and vegetables. Britain produces less than 10 per cent of the fruit it eats and experts say that the country has to consider planting on a massive scale as well as encouraging people to eat more fruit and vegetable.

The skyrocketing rise in food prices has made most countries re-think their food strategy. With the multiple shocks of high oil prices and domino effect down the food production chain, increase in biofuel production, the credit crunch, higher demand for food in India and China, and the carbon footprint involved in transportation of food, a total revolution in every nation’s agriculture is needed to save them from serious food shortages

The City University says it is no longer acceptable that 40 per cent of the grain produced in Britain is used to feed livestock that provide meat and dairy products. Growing grain which is then fed to animals is an inefficient way to produce protein. Livestock should be confined to hillsides where they can graze and not use up grain that has required oil-based fertilizers for its growth. Prime land should be protected from development and used to feed people directly.

If countries like Britain are already discussing such enormous changes to food production, what of Seychelles? The loss of arable land over the years, the rise in oil prices, and now the impacts of our economic restructuring program all lead to one inescapable conclusion. In the short term, many of our people may not be able to nourish themselves or their families properly.

We need a radical re-thinking of food security and the rapid implementation of activities that include home and community gardens that generate local food for local people. I suggest that, among other things, we need edible landscapes that look like the Heritage Gardens at Roche Caiman across all the urban areas of Seychelles

Tsunamis- Past and Present

1993 – I was with a Dutch coral reef geologist at Anse Boileau looking at ancient reef deposits when a local resident showed us sandy sediments inland that had been exposed by some excavations. The geologist believed these were reef sediments deposited there many years ago by a huge storm or upheaval.

Now, scientists have found layers of similar sandy sediment dropped by a 600 year old tsunami under more recent layers deposited in 2004 in Thailand’s Phra Thong Island. These findings have been published in the journal Nature.

The two sandy sediments in Thailand are similar in thickness, suggesting a tsunami 600 years ago similar to that in 2004. Both tsunamis were caused by earthquakes. The longer the intervals between tsunami events, the more stress that can build up at the tectonic plate boundary and the larger the earthquake will be.

Were the sediments we found at Anse Boileau deposited 600 years ago by a tsunami or earlier by another event? Indeed a tsunami did hit Seychelles in August 1883 when the massive explosions and collapse of the volcano of Krakatoa generated large waves. These waves destroyed 295 towns and villages in the Sunda Strait in Western Java and Southern Sumatra drowning 36,417 people.

The Krakatoa tsunami, being of volcanic origin was only destructive locally in Indonesia, but in Seychelles the effect was apparently seen through a tidal effect that temporarily emptied the Victoria harbor area and left fish and other sea life stranded. If it did generate waves in Seychelles that were similar to those of the 2004 tsunami is not well known.

The 2004 tsunami, unlike the one from the Krakatoa disaster, was caused by an earthquake off the western coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The resulting tsunami devastated the shores of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, South India, Thailand and Seychelles.

With the new discoveries in Thailand, there is evidence that a similar earthquake-generated tsunami occurred 600 years ago and may have hit countries like Seychelles. This is important because it will build more knowledge about the time intervals between these earthquakes.

But tsunamis can also be detected by signs that appear in the natural environment. In Seychelles and elsewhere coastal animals like crabs and turtles disappeared hours before the 2004 tsunami. The sea gypsies of Indonesia who had ancestral knowledge of previous tsunamis saw the signs and saved coastal villages by giving them early warning.

Both science and indigenous knowledge are useful in making sense of the natural world. This proves that we must look at nature in a more holistic fashion and we must quiz local people for whatever knowledge they may have.

Mosquitoes and Fevers

As the rainy season approaches I have noticed that the Asian Tiger Mosquito, that striped flying monster which is the carrier or vector for both chikungunya and dengue, is increasing in number and range. Research also suggests that climate change is assisting the spread of this mosquito in many parts of the world.

And the chikungunya virus keeps mutating. We already know that the last Indian Ocean outbreaks were caused by a different strain of the virus. This strain differs from those involved in earlier outbreaks and makes the virus more likely to enter the cells of the Asian Tiger Mosquito and replicate after the insect has fed on the blood of an infected person. In fact, the symptoms are also changing. At a meeting of WHO last month it was suggested revising the definition of chikungunya fever because researchers have noticed the symptoms have changed.

This points to the fact that there needs to be timely and better identification of fever cases. But for prevention there needs to be early warning systems set up in countries like Seychelles. In La Reunion, where the chikungunya outbreaks caused massive health, economic and social problems, a surveillance system is now in place. This collects information on the mosquito density in every area which is then used in scientific models to predict where the next outbreak might occur. The system gives citizens and government advance warning.

The mosquito density is only a possible indication of the presence of the chikungunya virus and not a certainty, but it does give an advance warning for early action. In some countries better early warning systems especially based on gis (geographical information system) are under development. gis -based modeling can predict chikungunya-prone areas using information on the distribution of the mosquito vectors, rainfall, temperature, altitude, vegetation cover and urbanization.

More sophisticated data such as on the mosquitoes’ ability to transmit the disease and the susceptibility of people in different parts of the country can also be used in GIS-based models to predict the spread of the disease and help pinpoint the time when an outbreak could become an epidemic.

In Seychelles such GIS based modeling would be very useful. Both Dengue and chikungunya cause huge hardships, loss of productivity and losses of millions of Rupees. The country does have a GIS unit with good GIS maps. Perhaps donors should be approached to assist with setting up with a GIS-based early warning system. Putting this in place is not as simple as it sounds but is greatly needed because early action based on early warning is critical in preventing an epidemic.