 The
CMS Secretariat is pleased to announce that the Seychelles
joined CMS as the 92nd Party on 1 August 2005. This archipelago
in the Indian Ocean is located northeast of Madagascar, some
1500 kilometers off the coast of East Africa. The tropical
islands with their humid climate feature a combined almost
500 km of coastline, with some islands being of granitic composition,
hilly with a narrow coastal strip, others are of coral origin
and flat. The Seychelles are home to over 80,000 people and
are rich in biodiversity, supporting a number of endemic and
endangered species.
The archipelago’s long coastline encompasses the
habitats and migratory routes of many threatened marine
species listed in Appendix
I of CMS, including the Blue Whale (Balaenoptera
musculus), Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae),
as well as the Great White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias)
and five species of marine turtles currently listed in both
Appendices of the Convention : the Leatherback Turtle (Dermochelys
coriacea), the Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas),
the Olive Ridley Turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea),
the Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) and
the Loggerhead Turtle (Caretta caretta). All five
of these species of marine turtles are covered by the Memorandum
of Understanding on the Conservation and Management of Marine
Turtles and their Habitats of the Indian Ocean and South-East
Asia (IOSEA),
which was concluded under the auspices of CMS and signed
by the Seychelles in January 2003.
Another 17 species listed in Appendix
II of CMS are found in the Seychelles’
territory, including 8 species of Tern, 2 Heron species
and 4 other bird species, as well as the Whale Shark, Bryde’s
Whale and one Dolphin species. The islands lie also within
the area covered by the Agreement on the Conservation of
African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA).
The Seychelles are a contracting Party to a number of other
environment-related Conventions, such as the Convention
on Biodiversity (CBD),
the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC),
the Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD),
the Convention on Trade of Endangered Species (CITES),
the Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),
and others.
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