President Danny Faure was presented with the Ocean Heritage Award from the Shark Research Institute based in the United States. He was awarded this in recognition of the marine protection of 30% of Seychelles' Economic Exclusive Zone, and his global advocacy for ocean and environment conservation.
The Award was formally presented to President Faure by the Chairman of the Marine Conservation Society Seychelles (MCSS) and local representative of Shark Research Institute, Dr David Rowat. this morning at State House.
The Ocean Heritage Award is only given to Heads of State that have truly made outstanding contributions to the health of the ocean, for their work in protecting sharks and the marine habitat, and in the hope that their leadership encourages other nations to follow suit. Thus far, there has been only two previous recipients of the Shark Research Institute’s Ocean Heritage Award: in 2008, to Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, President of the Philippines, in recognition of her decades of efforts to protect sharks and the ocean ecosystem and in 2010, to Johnson Toribiong, President of the Republic of Palau, for designating the entire EEZ of Palau – 237,000 square miles of the Pacific Ocean – as the world’s first shark sanctuary.
The President expressed his sincere appreciation to the Shark Research Institute for the award, and commended Dr Rowat and his team for the amazing work being done in environment conservation by both MCSS and the Institute.
“I am honoured to receive this award on behalf of the government, and I dedicate it to the people of Seychelles. As a Small Island Developing State being affected by climate change, it is crucial that we work collectively to safeguard our future generations,” said President Faure.
Following the presentation, Dr Rowat briefed the President on some of the ongoing environment conservation projects being undertaken by MCSS. He was accompanied by the General Manager of MCSS, Ms Alice Mascarenhas.
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