240503 PR Environmental Governance: Climate Crisis Mitigation & Biodiversity Protection on the Seychelles (P1) (2023S)

The Seychelles are a hotspot of biodiversity - on water and on land. This refers to its massive marine space as much as to its terrestrial territory of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. This island state is 455 square kilometers in size, with a population of 100,000. Tourism employs about 30 percent of its inhabitants, which generates 70 percent of the national income. The second most important sector is fisheries, which was key for survival during the covid pandemic. Sustainability became a national priority long before it became a buzzword in the rest of the world. Low visitor numbers combined with high prices were intended to protect the natural jewels - scattered over a gigantic sea area of 390,000 square kilometers - from overtourism.

As many other so-called island states, the Seychelles face severe consequences from the ever-increasing impacts of climate crisis. Numerous governmental agencies and NGOs work on measures to mitigate global warming effects and to preserve marine and terrestrial biodiversity. Some examples are Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust, Nature Seychelles, Seychelles Sustainable Tourism Foundation, The Ocean Project Seychelles, The Island Development Company, Island Conservation Society, Seychelles Islands Foundation among many others.

The main purpose of the FP is empirical research with actors and representatives of a wide range of organizations and activist groups. It is intended as a training practice into all aspects of communicative field research, with a strong focus on methodological aspects of narrative and expert interviews within an overall framework of conservation from a legal anthropological perspective.

The overall research question focuses on how the Seychelles are affected by biodiversity loss, environmental degradation, triggered by global climate crisis and local impacts. And how various stakeholders contribute to environmental governance coined "blue economy", dedicated to nature conservation, sustainable fisheries, low-impact tourism, and climate change adaptation or mitigation.

The fieldschool will take place on the Seychelles from 3.5. to 24.5.2032

The costs of the fieldschool (without meals and according to previous experience) amount to about EUR 1,900. 40% of these costs will be refunded by the University of Vienna.

If you already want to use the time until the 1st unit, please study the brochure of the NGO SeyCCAT in our library. It contains numerous current projects and the names of NGOs, all of which can be possible research topics for your research.

With this information, you can start a more detailed Internet search and ask yourself which topics (e.g., species protection, climate protection, erosion, marine pollution, sea turtles, fisheries, coastal development, tourism, sustainability, greenwashing etc.) you want to raise jointly with others.