VICTORIA, Seychelles — The Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development and the Ministry of Environment, Climate, Energy and Natural Resources have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indian Ocean Tortoise Alliance (IOTA) formalising a partnership on wetland conservation and the protection of the endemic terrapin known locally as Torti Soupap, the 4 July 2026 edition of Seychelles Nation reported.
The agreement was signed on Thursday at the headquarters of MEHRD in Mont Fleuri. Signatories were Dr Justin Zelime, principal secretary for General Education and Curriculum at MEHRD; Nanette Laure, principal secretary for Environment at MECENR; and Richard Baxter, director of IOTA. Bernard Arnephy, principal secretary for Educational Support and Projects at MEHRD, was also present alongside senior ministry staff, students and head teachers.
The MoU sets out a partnership to pursue conservation and rehabilitation of terrapins and their marsh habitats, supported by shared expertise and capacity development. According to Seychelles Nation, learners from wildlife and eco-clubs at schools on Mahé, Praslin and La Digue are already receiving hands-on workshops and habitat-rehabilitation sessions led by IOTA. The new MoU brings that work under a single framework for the first time.
The Seychelles effort sits inside a broader regional framework on turtle and tortoise conservation. Seychelles is a signatory to the Indian Ocean–South-East Asian Marine Turtle Memorandum of Understanding, a non-binding agreement under the Convention on Migratory Species that brings together 44 states to protect, conserve and recover marine turtles and their habitats. The IOSEA framework, which Seychelles joined on 22 January 2003, has its secretariat in Bonn.
Speaking to Seychelles Nation, PS Laure highlighted the ecological importance of wetlands. “Wetlands are the most productive ecosystems on Earth. They provide essential habitats for wildlife, regulate water flows, recharge groundwater, reduce flooding, improve water quality, and build resilience against climate change,” she said. She added that conserving these ecosystems is “not only about protecting wildlife but also about safeguarding the natural systems that sustain life and support sustainable development.”
For IOTA, Mr Baxter described the partnership as a way to use terrapins as a mechanism for restoring freshwater marshes. “Involving young children in the project will foster their scientific curiosity and ecological awareness, enriching the curriculum and teaching concepts to enable holistic transformation,” he said.
Dr Zelime noted that the Education for Sustainable Development Section within MEHRD has long coordinated the resilient Eco-Schools programme, which has served as a vehicle for fostering environmental awareness. The project is funded by the National Grant.
The MoU is the second major wetlands-related agreement signed in Seychelles this year. In May 2026, during Biodiversity Week, the Ministry of Environment signed an updated MoU with the Baie Lazare Watershed Committee focused on wetland restoration and watershed protection in Baie Lazare and Bougainville.
For Seychelles, the new partnership arrives at a moment when freshwater habitats are under increasing pressure from land use, invasive species and climate variability. The country’s endemic terrapins, several of which are restricted to single islands, are vulnerable to wetland loss because they depend on intact marsh habitat for nesting and feeding.
📷 Photo: Abu Shawka via Wikimedia Commons, CC0
Sources cited: Convention on Migratory Species, IOSEA Marine Turtle MoU legal instrument page,. Seychelles Nation, “Seychelles marks Biodiversity Week with new pact”,. United States Environmental Protection Agency, Wetlands program overview.
Source: SN
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