Change your lifestyle

Eat local products as most of these will be fresh and therefore healthier as they contain more vitamins compared to tinned or frozen products that are generally imported. By choosing local products you reduce your carbon footprint significantly as imported items use a lot of fuel during transportation to Seychelles, making these items generally more expensive. 

Local products are generally cheaper and healthier than imported food products (PHOTO Sustainability for Seychelles)

• Fish is abundant in Seychelles and often cheaper than meat. The natural oils in fish are healthier for you and fishing has a lower impact on the environment when compared to meat production, which requires large areas of flat land that may be productive for vegetable growing.
  
• Local fruits and vegetables are available throughout the year. Speak to the local farmers about the types of fertilisers and pesticides they use and where possible buy organic products as these have less impact on the environment. If you have enough space, you can even try to grow your own vegetable garden or plant a few fruit trees such as mango, papaya or “zamalak”. You can even try some rare fruiting trees such as “rousay” or “serimoli”.
• Drink lots of water or try home-made beverages, such “bigarade” juice. Alternately, choose locally produced beverage from Seybrew, which can be recycled in the Seychelles, as opposed to imported drinks in tin cans, which end up in the land fill or cost a lot to export overseas for recycling.
• If you have enough space in your garden, you could build a henhouse and have fresh eggs every day. Hens also eat food scraps, as an alternative to composting.
• When shopping, buy in large quantities as this produces less waste in the form of packaging.
• Instead of buying a take-away each day, and contributing to the waste problem with your polystyrene box, prepare a lunch box at home. You will save money – spending Rs 35 a day on lunch equals Rs 700 a month. Imagine how much you can save in a year!

Rethink your travelling options as cars and planes produce large quantities of Greenhouse gases. They are also quite noisy and expensive!

Travelling by bus, instead of by car, reduces your carbon footprint (PHOTO Sustainability for Seychelles)

• If possible, car pool to work or school. Alternatively take the bus or walk.

• For short distances, try cycling or walking. It’s a good excuse to exercise.   

• Reduce your air miles. When choosing a holiday destination, why not consider staying in Seychelles and visiting one of our many islands? Praslin, La Digue and Silhouette are easily accessible by boat, while the outer islands are accessible by the IDC planes (Tel: 224 640).

Rethink your leisure activities so as to minimize your impact on the environment.

A day on the beach with your friends is more fun than sitting alone in front of the TV (PHOTO Sustainability for Seychelles)

• Instead of going to an expensive air conditioned gym, try walking or jogging on the beach at dawn or dusk at least 3 times a week. If the beach is too far away, try walking along the road or on mountain trails with friends. Choose sports that do not use energy or petrol. For example, windsurf rather than jet-ski.

• Encourage your children to play outside rather than in front of the TV or the computer. It’s healthier and consumes less electrical energy!

• Join environmental actions on National Theme days, such as Clean-Up the World

 

• Go on a hike with some friends. There are a number of mountain trails which are being maintained by the Seychelles National Parks Authority (SNPA). Trail guides are available from the Botanical Gardens at Mont Fleuri.

 

• When choosing a weekend getaway, try somewhere with an ecological or conservation policy, such as Bird Island or the Valée de Mai on Praslin.

 

• Learn more about your natural environment or help your local community by volunteering with a local NGO. You can read up on the local flora and fauna by buying a book in Victoria or borrow a book from the library.