A look back at the DIDEM thematic school at SEychelles
A look back at the DIDEM thematic school held in the Seychelles from June 10 to 14, 2024: the vulnerability of reef heritage.
From Monday June 10 to Friday June 14, 2024, a thematic school on the vulnerability of reef heritage was held at the University of Seychelles, Anse Royale campus.
Some thirty participants from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines shared their experiences from several countries in the Western Indian Ocean and Europe: Comoros, France, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Monaco, Seychelles and Tanzania.
Many of them were present on board the S.A. Agulhas II during the Monaco Explorations Indian Ocean 2022 mission.
Two schools had already been organized on this theme in 2014 and 2016 in Toliara, as Jamal Mahafina, Director of the Institut Halieutique et des Sciences Marines de Toliara , recalled.
For this session in the Seychelles, the school was hosted by the James Michel Blue Economy Research Institute of the University of Seychelles, whose Dean gave the introductory speech.
This was followed by an introductory speech by Mr. Xavier Prache, Director of Monaco Explorations, to set the scene for the Indian Ocean Mission.
As part of IRD‘s DIDEM (Dialogue Sciences-Décideurs) project, Explorations de Monaco provided financial support for this thematic school.
It was organized by the Institut National de Recherche pour le Développement Durable in partnership with the James Michel Blue Economy Research Institute of the University of Seychelles and the Seychelles Parks and Gardens Authority.
A cross-functional, collaborative approach
The main objective of this school was to compare the different knowledge, representations and methods of different disciplines concerning :
- assessment of reef ecosystem resilience ;
- consideration of coral reefs as a natural heritage,
- the construction of a coral socio-ecological system.
By following an integrated approach, the ultimate aim is to make coral reef heritage a transversal element of analysis and management.
As is the case with each plut-thematic school, this session in the Seychelles provided an opportunity forexchange and transmission of theoretical and practical knowledge.
An effective, unifying tool for strengthening participants’ knowledge and skills, and building a community of coastal practitioners in the Indian Ocean islands.
Today, to achieve ecosystem resilience and restoration objectives, it is becoming necessary to combine skills and know-how, and to learn from different sectors’ expertise by combining different viewpoints and analyses.
This is the very essence of these thematic schools.
