When I was told I will be doing my internship at the BHC, my first questions were “What does the BHC have to do with the Blue Economy?? How does their line of work contribute to the Blue Economy??” I was puzzled by the thought of it, but when I started my internship, I understood that the office is not directly in the Blue Economy department, but they do have an input in Seychelles Blue Economy (I will be learning about it, in details during my second week) During the discussions I’ve had the past few days with the various people I met, the topic about the connection between the Blue Economy and the different sectors, especially in Seychelles, seems to always come up. This was when I realized that Everything is Linked! No matter what career you have or what your age is, at the end of the day everything you do has an effect on the ecosystem. Not to be cliché, but the environment of Seychelles is ours and our responsibility. As we know, the Blue Economy links to every job. Even if you’re a secretary and not based in the Blue Economy department, you deliver services for the financial system of Seychelles, and because the Blue Economy is one of the developing pillar of the country, which provide most of the income, if it collapse there will be a huge impact on all the jobs, organization and on the community itself, because of the decrease in money to provide resources for the population If we take for instance the tourism industry. One of the main reason why tourist comes to Seychelles is mainly for our natural beauty and our ocean. This is where conservation comes in, when tourists takes part in activities like snorkeling, diving, boat trips etc. they get the chance to explore Seychelles’ habitat. This creates a sense of urgency to protect our natural areas so tourist can continue to visit and this benefits the small businesses and no doubt the economy and the people ourselves. On the other hand if we don’t conserve our resources and we carry on polluting our habitats and ocean, there would be a decline in the amount of tourist visiting our islands and eventually there will be a reduction in the amount of tourists arriving in Seychelles. As tourism Industry and the Blue Economy are the main pillars of our economy, if one degrades then the same thing will happen to the other one. And this will directly affect the country. As an individual we are all responsible for preserving the Blue Economy. Some of us have the tendency to believe that if we are not directly working in an ocean based or environment based job then it doesn’t have anything to do with us or it is not our problem. But it is 100% our problem! Our bad habits has a negative impact on the environment, for example, we dispose our rubbish in the environment which is then driven in the sea and affects the ecosystem. There are illegal fishing taking place in our waters, which we are not aware of. This may lead to issues like over fishing causing a decline in the amount of catch and decreasing the earnings. I reckon that if each and every Seychellois no matter the job title/age/race, understands the benefits the Blue Economy provides and begins to practice sustainable activities, our Seychelles will prosper. Without conservation there is no profits and for everything we do today we will pay the consequences in the future. Let’s spread the word and help preserve what Seychelles have, it begins with you! Until next time!
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AuthorThe interns of the Prosperity & Environment: Promoting sustainable development opportunities for youth in the Blue Economy sector. Archives
January 2018
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