Capacity Development for Sustainable Land Management in Seychelles (SLM Project)

This was a GoS-UNDP-GEF project implemented from 2008-2012.

Background
Over 80% of Seychelles land area is under some form of forest or vegetation cover which provides shelter to thousands of species in the ecosystem.  But land is fast becoming scarce due to various factors such as clearing of forest for development purposes (agriculture, housing, and infrastructure), forest fires, effects of Invasive Alien Species (IAS), unsustainable agriculture and construction practices, and landslides or rock falls. Some of these factors can also contribute to land degradation and they can be aggravated by climate change if they are not well managed.

Expected Outcomes
The SLM project aims to increase capacity in prevention and control of forest fires; rehabilitation of degraded areas; control of IAS creepers; development of forest management plans; soil conservation in agriculture; and minimizing risks of land movements. It also aims to mainstream SLM in relevant policy and regulatory frameworks together with the delivery of a National Action Plan (NAP) for land degradation.

Key Results and Activities
The project has completed a number of outputs including:
•    A Forest Fire Risk Assessment and review of institutional capacity for forest fire fighting;
•    Updating the fire contingency plan;
•    Research into post-fire rehabilitation of burned / degraded lands;
•    A risk assessment of deforestation by invasive alien creepers
•    A review of and guidelines for best practices in soil conservation and soil fertility management for farmers.