Opinion: I delivered an underwater speech to protect the oceans. Here’s why.
Last Sunday, I climbed into the tight quarters of a Global Sub Dive submersible — essentially a clear bubble on a power platform — with sub pilot Randy Holt. As an islander and as the president of the Republic of Seychelles, an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, I am well aware of the ocean’s natural beauty. But our descent to 407 feet was a revelation as we passed through an incredible underwater world rich with marine life.
In Seychelles, we are working with the Nekton Oxford Deep Ocean Research Institute to explore the depths of the Indian Ocean in our area — like most of the ocean floor around the world, it is largely uncharted. The project is a collaboration with more than 40 partners on a mission that combines innovations in technology, artificial intelligence, big data and communications to collect research that will better inform marine conservation.
Seychelles has committed 30 percent of our waters to marine protection by next year. This means limiting the use of these marine spaces to carefully regulated activities such as scientific research or controlled tourism, to achieve long-term conservation and bolster the resilience of marine ecosystems.
Seychelles would like to inspire other governments to take action to protect the environment and save the oceans. Our debt-swap agreement could be a model for larger deals as conservationists buy a country’s sovereign debt in return for policy changes that will help the environment.
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