Projects
Denis Ecological Survey and development of Management Plan
In 2023, an area of 31 km² surrounding Denis Island was designated as a Sustainable Use Area (Zone 2) under Seychelles Marine Spatial Planning. Our team conducted an Ecological Survey to assess and revise the marine habitat maps and produce a management zonation map in line with Seychelles Marine Spatial Planning guidelines. This initiative aims to provide valuable insights for informed decision-making and effective marine habitat conservation on Denis Island. Furthermore, the Bee Ecological team has been entrusted with the development of the Denis Island management plan. This involves: 1) consulting with relevant authorities and stakeholders to ensure alignment of goals and objectives with sector-use plans, 2) identifying and evaluating options for management measures, 3) prioritizing and validating selected management measures, and 4) making provisions for monitoring and evaluation in an adaptive management approach.
A Ridge to Reef Approach for the Integrated Management of Marine, Coastal and Terrestrial Ecosystems in the Seychelles (R2R project) – Integrating Ridge to Reef Approaches with the Country’s Green Corridor
The objectives of this consultancy consisted of defining the boundaries of the Green Corridor and to develop a strategy for ensuring that the corridors continue to provide their critically important watershed catchment and biodiversity habitat functions, while also exploring options for sustainable uses and integrating the strategy into the on-going land use planning processes in the country. This was done collaboratively with Dr. Rachel Bristol, Dr. Bruno Senterre, and Dr. Elvina Henriette. Bee Ecological contributed to the stakeholder analysis of the landowners, the drafting of the gap analysis report and the strategy document for treating the Green Corridor on each island. The lessons learnt during the process were documented and a detailed database of landowners’ information supported by spatial data and maps of the Green Corridors was also produced for future reference.
12-months assessment of the mud crab, Scylla serrata, stock and fishery in three granitic island of Seychelles.
Bee Ecological conducted a comprehensive study to better understand and manage the Scylla serrata fishery in the Inner Granitic Islands of Seychelles. The study involved extensive surveys with fishermen to define the key aspects of the fishery. Our work focused on compiling and analyzing important stock assessment parameters specific to Scylla serrata. This includes evaluating metrics such as Catch per Unit Effort (CPUE), sex ratios, biomass measured through length frequency, and critical stock assessment factors like Maximum Size, Total Mortality, Fishing Mortality, and Exploitation Rate. The goal is to establish a solid foundation for effective fishery management.
Beyond observation, our objective is to provide practical, evidence-based recommendations to improve the sustainability of Scylla serrata fisheries and mariculture practices in Seychelles. This project reflects Bee Ecological's commitment to promoting responsible environmental practices through informed decision-making.
Marine Ecological Survey of Baie Pasquière for Terrestrial Restoration Action Society Seychelles
Bee Ecological conducted a marine ecological survey to provide a baseline of the status of Baie Pasquière, Praslin. Our team monitored benthic community using geo-referenced photoquadrats and CoralNet semi-automatic analysis for the creation of an up-to-date habitat map. Baited Remote Underwater Videos were used to assess fish diversity and abundance. The baseline created through this work will permit to verify future transformation of the ecosystem in relation to the conservation, restoration and climate change projects being implemented by TRASS.
A Ridge to Reef Approach for the Integrated Management of Ecosystems in the Seychelles - Improve management of MPAs
Bee Ecological contributed to the improvement in management of three existing marine protected areas Port Launay, Baie Ternay and Curieuse in close collaboration with the Seychelles Park and Garden Authority. Our team developed (i) Standard Operating Procedures and Training Manual (ii) a Research agreement template for undertaking research in the Marine National Parks and a guideline for the management of scientific data and data sharing protocols; (iii) a monitoring manual consisting of methods and protocols including data sheets for coral reefs, seagrass, mangroves and wetland ecosystems accompanied by dedicated training session for each section, on data analysis and scientific report writing; (iv) produced a photo identification guide of plants and animals from coral reefs, seagrass beds, mangroves and wetland ecosystems present in these protected areas.
Key Biodiversity Areas
This project required the production of technical reports, spatial mapping and legal documents for gazetting of six identified Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) in upland forest ecosystems that produce significant downstream impacts on coastal and marine ecosystems in the Seychelles. It is being undertaken by a consortium of 4 consultants whereby Bee Ecological contributed to the outreach to landowners component which consisted of undertaking a survey to identify the owners whose land are in the KBAs proposed for gazetting by collecting the required information to create a detailed database of landowners. Additionally, it entailed leading a stakeholder consultation with those owners identified from the survey and produce a stakeholder analysis report. Participation in the ground-truthing of habitat and key species, as part of the mapping KBA boundaries process and biodiversity assessments. Bee Ecological also lead the development of management plans for the six KBAs.
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Develop strategy and setting-up of an underwater trail along the Port Launay reef
Aiming at promoting the Marine National Parks as sites for responsible nature tourism, Bee Ecological developed a strategy and undertook the setting-up of a sustainable underwater trail aiming at minimizing human disturbance and impacts on marine ecosystems and provide opportunities to educate visitors and public about marine ecosystems and natural resources. It entailed a review of best practices in underwater trails in existing MPAs under a similar circumstance and detailed consultations with the various stakeholders. The strategy included details of scouting, design, layout, construction and maintenance of a trail; and development of educational materials. Our team deployed demarcation buoys along the snorkelling trail and installed an information board aiming at providing the visitors will all necessary information pertaining to the underwater trail.