Beach management project School children pitch in

A new programme has been launched with the aim of training school children on how to better manage coastal areas.

School children from Anse Royale and Anse Boileau secondary schools were the first group to be introduced to the Sandwatch project, which was first developed within the framework of the Caribbean Sea Project, an initiative of UNESCO's Associated Schools Project.

The programme was officially launched on Wednesday by Environment principal secretary Rolph Payet at the start of a workshop aimed at equipping school children with basic techniques in scientific observations and measurements. These skills will allow them to collect and analyse data using mathematical, computing and language techniques to establish a beach profile measurement database for the country's beaches. The database will be crucial in beach management.

The participants also learned about the implementation of the programme in the Caribbean and they were given actual examples of activities and projects that can be undertaken under the project.

Before the workshop, Mr Payet presented a representative from each school with a set of equipment sponsored by UNESCO, among which were stop watches, dyes, measuring tapes and other monitoring kit, to be used in the practical sessions.

Seychelles is the first island in the Indian Ocean to launch the Sandwatch programme and the launching of the project has been made possible through funding from the Small Island Voice Project being implemented by the Ministry of Environment.

Through the programme, which will soon extend to the Praslin and La Digue schools, school children are expected to convince their parents and communities to change their attitudes towards the interface between the land and the sea.

Mr Payet said that the Sandwatch programme is an important initiative to instil in our young people the desire to manage the resources available here in a sustainable manner. He also announced that soon the ministry will launch some important national initiatives to keep Seychelles' beaches clean.

Seychelles Nation Newspaper, 6th May 2004