The residential component of an online distance learning course on International Architecture for Environment and Sustainable Development was launched this week at the University of Seychelles (UniSey) campus at Anse Royale.

It was launched by Constance Vigilance, head of the delegation from the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Some 40 students from the region have already enrolled on this three-year course due to start in January 2012.

The Commonwealth Secretariat in collaboration with the Universities of the West Indies, the University of Seychelles and the University of the South Pacific are offering the programme.

It is expected to equip the students with the knowledge to be able to influence policy making for sustainable development and comes at an opportune time when Seychelles is about to finalise its Sustainable Development Strategy and Energy Act, which will provide a platform for ushering Seychelles into the green economy framework.

When launching the new course, UniSey vice-chancellor Dr Rolph Payet stressed that sustainable development was the challenge of all nations.

Citing the McKinsey report, he said there are three forces that are thought to determine what resources we use, how we use them and how we pay for them. These, he said, included growing demand, constrained supply and increased regulatory and social scrutiny.

“Indeed, the drive to invest in clean energy and the ‘greening’ of the economy will not significantly impact on these challenges until many years into the future. But we need to start somewhere!” Dr Payet said.

Countries, he said, did not need to wait for global consensus to take action.

In her speech Ms Vigilance said accompanying the progression of environment sustainable development diplomacy has been the evolution of global institutional architecture which responds to the decisions taken within negotiations.

“The architecture which has emerged is fragmented and spread over numerous organisations within the United Nations system and in some instances beyond,” she said.

She added that given the fragmented nature of the institutional architecture which has evolved, some countries tend to articulate contradictory positions in different forums.

“This is due partly to inadequate preparation for such negotiations and the difficulty experienced in having to quickly grasp the full breath of the global environmental and sustainable architecture and the inter-relationship between the various entities and modalities,” she said.

She expressed hope the new course will enable the policy-makers to take the right decisions which will ensure the sustainable development of the environment.

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