While working at the Eden Project, Pete Whitbread-Abrutat was commissioned to develop and deliver a week-long, capacity-building course in tropical forest survey techniques to 30 personnel involved in tropical forest conservation work in the Seychelles.
Seychelles is a country with particular environmental and socio-economic issues and restoration challenges. As an isolated island state with a high degree of biodiversity endemism – including two UNESCO World Heritage Sites – and rare and threatened species, the country offers a microcosm of many of the environmental and developmental challenges affecting much larger countries richer in resources for handling them. A key environmental issue is how to manage introduced, invasive species. The use of forest survey techniques enables a greater understanding of the dynamics of native and introduced species and, therefore, informs better forest management.
Workshop participants included various government departments involved in forest conservation, the National Botanic Garden and non-governmental organisations. The course involved lectures, discussions, workshopping exercises and fieldwork, with a major driver behind the activities being to encourage better team-working across institutional barriers.