LocationsThe project is the largest Global Environment Facility (GEF) project ever signed by Seychelles.
Seychelles Launches Landmark Blue and Green Economy Project to Drive Nature-Positive Development
August 22, 2026
The Enabling the Transition to a Blue and Green Economy in the Seychelles project responds to the growing recognition that many of Seychelles' most pressing development challenges are deeply interconnected.
Jean-Yan Norbert @ UNDP Mauritius and Seychelles
The Government of Seychelles and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) officially launched the project “Enabling the Transition to a Blue and Green Economy in the Seychelles” during an inception workshop held on 21 August 2026. Bringing together government institutions, development partners, civil society organisations, academia, private sector representatives and community stakeholders, the workshop marked the beginning of an initiative aimed at placing biodiversity, ecosystem services and natural capital at the heart of national development planning.
Valued at USD 10.48 million, the project is the largest Global Environment Facility (GEF) project ever signed by Seychelles and represents a major investment in the country's sustainable development agenda. It forms part of the GEF-8 Blue and Green Islands Integrated Programme (BGI-IP), a global initiative supporting 15 Small Island Developing States in advancing nature-positive development pathways. The project which has an implementation period of 7 years, seeks to integrate biodiversity conservation, ecosystem services and natural capital into decision-making processes across key sectors, particularly tourism, food systems and urban development, while strengthening climate resilience and promoting sustainable livelihoods.
10,000 people will benefit directly from the project, including coastal communities.
Jean-Yan Norbert / UNDP Mauritius and Seychelles
Partnerships for a nature-positive economy
Opening the workshop, UNDP Resident Representative for Mauritius and Seychelles, Alka Bhatia, highlighted the collaborative and transformative nature of the initiative and its significance for the country. "Over the next seven years, we look forward to supporting Seychelles in strengthening governance and policy coherence, delivering nature-based solutions on the ground, and sharing lessons learned regionally and globally through the wider BGI programme family. (...) The strength of this project will not lie in the document we launch today, but in the quality of the partnership and collaboration we strengthen from this point forward towards a nature-positive economy.” she said.
Minister of Environment, Climate, Energy and Natural Resources, Honourable Ms. Marie-May Jeremie acknowledged GEF and UNDP for their support to Seychelles. “The project will also help improve access to financing for nature-based solutions, and create opportunities for businesses, and entrepreneurs interested in more sustainable forms of investment. Alongside this policy and financing work, there will be practical interventions across the tourism, food, and urban sectors, in a mainstreaming approach that goes beyond the conventional environmental projects that we implement.” she said.
Addressing interconnected challenges
The Enabling the Transition to a Blue and Green Economy in the Seychelles project responds to the growing recognition that many of Seychelles' most pressing development challenges are deeply interconnected. Food security, tourism sustainability, waste management, coastal protection and ecosystem health cannot be addressed in isolation. Through a more integrated approach, the project will support Seychelles in strengthening the systems and information needed to guide decision-making, including natural capital accounting and ecosystem valuation. These tools will help quantify the contribution of natural resources to the economy and ensure that environmental considerations are incorporated into planning, budgeting and investment decisions. This ambitious project is expected to benefit approximately 10,000 people directly while contributing to stronger institutions, improved ecosystem management, enhanced coordination across sectors and more sustainable economic activities.
The project seeks to integrate biodiversity conservation, ecosystem services and natural capital into decision-making processes across sectors such as tourism, food systems and urban development.
Jean-Yan Norbert / UNDP Mauritius and Seychelles
Strengthening coordination mechanisms
Throughout the inception workshop, participants reviewed the project's strategic framework and implementation arrangements. Discussions covered governance structures, reporting lines, first-year workplans and budgets, monitoring and evaluation requirements, safeguards and risk management measures, stakeholder engagement approaches, gender considerations, communications and knowledge management. The workshop also provided a platform for stakeholders to clarify roles and responsibilities and strengthen coordination mechanisms necessary for successful project implementation.
Additionally, participants were invited to examine the project's four main intervention areas: policy and governance reform; mobilisation of finance for nature-based solutions; implementation at landscape and seascape levels; and capacity development, learning and knowledge-sharing to support future replication and scale-up.
As Seychelles continues to build on its international reputation for conservation leadership and climate action, the Blue and Green Islands Integrated Programme represents an opportunity to demonstrate how nature can be placed at the centre of economic development. UNDP is proud to support this initiative which highlights strong partnerships among government, development partners, civil society, academia, the private sector and local communities.