The first biodiversity trail at the National Biodiversity Centre at Barbarons is ready to welcome clients on interactive guided tours.

Environment and Energy Minister, Prof Rolph Payet, officially opened the trail yesterday morning.

The trail will be open from 9am to 5pm daily and all clients will have interactive guided tours which will allow them to better learn and understand the valuable plants of Seychelles. 

It was in fact a big day for all the staff of the National Botanical Garden Foundation (NBGF) as all their hard work paid off with the opening of the first trail at the Biodiversity Centre, said NBGF chief executive Raymond Brioche.

“Our biodiversity centre is a place where environment enthusiasts can teach themselves about Seychelles’ unique environment. This is the place also to reconnect and grow with nature. Or simply why not just take a stroll, breathe the fresh air and relax away from the buzz and stress of meetings, town and traffic jams. There is still a lot to be done here, as the master plan shows, a lot of infrastructure needs to be put up and I take this occasion to call on the private sector, the business community, investors and donor organisations to look at the possibility of investing in the National Biodiversity Centre,” said Mr Brioche.

Minister Payet reminded the guests about the aims of the National Biodiversity Centre and its role in preserving the diversity of the rare and endangered species of the fragile ecosystems of Seychelles as advocated by President James Michel. 

“We have come a long way. Due to the hard work and dedication of the NBGF staff, we have seen a unique forest grow magically before us. We have developed the biodiversity centre to bring those rare plants closer to people so that they can learn to appreciate their value, their uniqueness, their fragility and in the process support our conservation efforts.  Yes our islands are blessed with a unique and rare biodiversity, and that is why conservation is my ministry’s top agenda. The sustainability of such fragile plants is a tough task which one has to undertake to ensure that the future generation enjoys such marvels of nature. This is the real Seychelles, let us show it to our visitors,” said Minister Payet.

Maurice Loustau-Lalanne, chairman of the NGBF, also gave an overview of the biodiversity future development saying: “What we would like to see in the near future is to allow the visitors to spend a whole day at the biodiversity centre. We want to look at the centre as an investment and we need R55 million to achieve that. We will need the help of all sectors to get the initial R10 million and then we can borrow the rest. The project will also consist of thematic gardens which will allow people with sight problems to also enjoy and feel the nature. The Seychelles National Biodiversity Centre is the stamp of Seychelles for the preservation of nature.” 

The plan also consists of a distillery and shop, museum, art gallery, research lab, herbarium, restaurant, spa village, scent garden, bird park, giant tortoise pen, arboretum, kids’ café/club and an open air function area.

After almost two hours of walking the trail, the guests were taken through the palm garden, Aldabra garden to see several endemic plants among which are bwa kafoul, bwa dir blan, kafe maron ti fey, bilenbi maron. 

The medicinal garden showcases the different plants used long ago and which many of us still use today. The guests were served with some medicinal brews from some endemic plants like bwa torti, bwa koulev, bwa sagay, bwa zoliker and bwa kwiyer. 

Jamie Dogley explained to the visitors the benefits of these natural plants and how we should use them. There was also a demonstration of cinnamon barking (bat kannel) and this was accompanied with a live performance of the Lapo kannel song by the staff of NGBF. At the end of the trail, the staff of the NBGF performed some live songs and dance. 

Accompanying the article are some photographs taken at yesterday’s ceremony.

Forrás: www.nation.sc