VICTORIA, Seychelles — Professionals engaged in planning, operations, and environmental management are following a five-day training designed to strengthen their competencies in Geographic Information System (GIS), a powerful tool that allows users to capture, analyse, and visualise spatial data to better understand patterns, relationships, and trends in geographic space. The ArcGIS Pro Training, spearheaded by the Seychelles Parks and Garden Authority (SPGA), was officially opened on Monday morning at the authority’s headquarters at Ile du Port.
In attendance were representatives from the SPGA, the Department of Blue Economy, the Ministry of Environment, Climate, Energy and Natural Resources, the Seychelles Fisheries Authority (SFA), and the Island Conservation Society (ICS). The workshop forms part of SPGA’s Blue Grant Fund Project, funded by the Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust (SeyCCAT), which aims to develop a centralised, multi-relational, bio-holistic database to enhance the management of protected areas. The session is facilitated by Mokaline Maake, education manager from Esri College South Africa.
In his opening remarks, SPGA’s chief executive, Allen Cedras, said the training was an important step in modernising how Seychelles plans, manages, and protects its natural environment. ‘GIS Pro is a powerful platform that allows us to visualise complex relationships on land and at sea, turn raw data into clear evidence, and make more effective decisions,’ he said. The Minister for Environment, Climate, Energy and Natural Resources, Marie-May Jeremie, commended SPGA for initiating the training, adding that for small island ecosystems like Seychelles, these tools strengthen cross-sector collaboration.
