Dr Rolph Payet gets advisory role on world's premier network of protected area expertise

Source: Seychelles Nation - 04.09.2006
Seychelles' principal secretary for Environment, Dr Rolph Payet, has been invited by the world's foremost conservation organisation, IUCN (the International Union for Nature Conservation), to become a founding member of the Senior Advisory Group for the World Commission on Protected Areas.

The World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) is the world's premier network of protected area expertise. It is administered by IUCN's Programme on Protected Areas and has over 1,000 members, spanning 140 countries.

WCPA's international mission is to promote the establishment and effective management of a world-wide representative network of terrestrial and marine protected areas as an integral contribution to the IUCN mission.

WCPA works by helping governments and others plan protected areas and integrate them into all sectors; by providing strategic advice to policy makers; by strengthening capacity and investment in protected areas; and by convening the diverse constituency of protected area stakeholders to address challenging issues. For more than 50 years IUCN and WCPA have been at the forefront of global action on protected areas.

The activities of the WCPA-Marine programme are conducted on national, regional and global levels and are intended to increase the capacity of management institutions and practitioners while building a sustainable network of globally-representative marine protected areas. On the national level, WCPA-Marine is sharing knowledge directly with practitioners and providing them with tools and information on MPA management.

Regionally, WCPA-Marine is strengthening its networks and building better communications between its members world-wide. On the global level, WCPA-Marine is heightening the importance of MPAs for the preservation of marine biodiversity and sustainable use of biological resources and the communities that depend on them through global programmes such as World Heritage and the International Coral Reef Initiative.

In this new capacity, Dr Payet is expected to represent small island states and advise on the work programme for implementation of activities to support the development of marine protected areas and marine protected area networks.

Posters on Aquatic fish species in Seychelles

Ministère de l'Environnement et Ministère de l'Education - 29.08.2006
Présentation de posters destinés aux élèves (www.nation.sc)

Le Secrétaire principal de l'Environnement et des Ressources naturelles, Dr Rolph Payet, a présenté vendredi dernier à son homologue de l'Education, Mme Jeanne Simeon, un lot de posters ou affiches destinés aux écoles primaires et secondaires.

Le lot comprend deux séries de posters, l'une présentant une typologie des différentes espèces de poissons vivant dans nos eaux douces et l'autre représentant une Efflorescence algale (Algal bloom).

Le premier poster, celui portant sur les poissons, a été produit à l'initiative du Département de l'Environnement et l'appui de la Coopération Française. Il a été imprimé à La Réunion et est d'une très grande qualité. C'est le premier du genre à être produit aux Seychelles et toutes les espèces de poisson qui y figurent portent leur nom créole. Il inclut la toute récente espèce découverte - "Arc-en-ciel" - et sera amélioré au fur et à mesure des découvertes.

Le second poster présente l'Efflorescence algale notée dans nos eaux en 2003 et qui avait soulevé maintes interrogations en son temps. L'affiche donne non seulement une idée de l'ampleur du phénomène mais l'explique également.

On notera qu'une efflorescence algale est une augmentation relativement rapide de la concentration d'une ou de quelques espèces d'algues (phytoplancton) dans un système aquatique.

Cette augmentation de concentration se traduit par une coloration de l'eau (rouge, brun-jaune ou vert).

A la différence du poster des poissons d'eau douce, ce poster a été produit aux Seychelles.

A la cérémonie de remise des deux posters se trouvaient non seulement les deux Secrétaires principaux, mais également la Directrice générale des Ecoles, Mme Merina Delcy, la Directrice des Ecoles secondaires Mme Sheila Pool et d'autres fonctionnaires du Ministère de l'Education. M. Shelby Remy, Directeur de la Conservation au Département de l'Environnement et Mme Vicky Theresine de 'l'Environment Education Unit', accompagnaient leur Secrétaire principal.

Au cours de la cérémonie Dr Payet a souligné l'importance de la protection de nos espèces endémiques tandis que Mme Jeanne Simeon a estimé que les posters seront d'un grand apport et d'une grande utilité pour les enseignants et les élèves notamment dans la compréhension et la prise de conscience face aux phénomènes de l'environnement.

 

Climate Change in the Seychelles: Implications for Water and Coral Reefs

AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment 35(4):182-189. 2006
doi: 10.1579/0044-7447(2006)35[182:CCITSI]2.0.CO;2h

Payet and Wills Agricole (From BIONE)

Rolph Payet is the Director General of Policy and Planning Services Division, Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources, Republic of Seychelles. He has broad experience and interest in the environmental issues involving small islands and developing states. His address is PO Box 677, Victoria Mahé, Seychelles.rolphap@gmail.com

Wills Agricole is the Director of the National Meteorological Services, in the Division of Policy, Planning & Services, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Republic of Seychelles. His interests include weather, disaster preparedness, and climate change issues for sustainable development. His address is PO Box 1145, Mahé, Seychelles.wagricole@pps.gov.sc

Abstract

The Seychelles is a small island state in the western Indian Ocean that is vulnerable to the effects of climate change. This vulnerability led the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2001 to express concern over the potential economic and social consequences that may be faced by small island states. Small island states should be prepared to adapt to such changes, especially in view of their dependence on natural resources, such as water and coral reefs, to meet basic human welfare needs. Analysis of long-term data for precipitation, air temperature, and sea-surface temperature indicated that changes are already observable in the Seychelles. The increase in dry spells that resulted in drought conditions in 1999 and the 1998 mass coral bleaching are indicative of the events that are likely to occur under future climate change. Pre−IPCC Third Assessment Report scenarios and the new SRES scenarios are compared for changes in precipitation and air surface temperature for the Seychelles. These intercomparisons indicate that the IS92 scenarios project a much warmer and wetter climate for the Seychelles than do the SRES scenarios. However, a wetter climate does not imply readily available water, but rather longer dry spells with more intense precipitation events. These observations will likely place enormous pressures on water-resources management in the Seychelles. Similarly, sea-surface temperature increases predicted by the HADCM3 model will likely trigger repeated coral-bleaching episodes, with possible coral extinctions within the Seychelles region by 2040. The cover of many coral reefs around the Seychelles have already changed, and the protection of coral-resilient areas is a critical adaptive option.

CLIMATE CHANGE : TOWARDS A SECOND NATIONAL COMMUNICATION

From UNDP

[16 June 2006] Aase Smedler, UNDP Resident Representative,  Ambassador Claude Morel, Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Mr Rolph Payet, of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources have signed today the Project Document on Climate Change at the Plantation Hotel, Mahe, Seychelles

Royal Colloquium - Arctic Under Stress

Volume 35, Issue 4 (June 2006)

AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment

Article: pp. 212–212 | PDF (43K)

Royal Colloquium 30 May 2005–1 June 2005.Arctic Under Stress

Dan Brändström

Bank of Sweden, Tercentenary Foundation, Stockholm, Sweden

In Summary

Mine is the almost impossible task of rounding up and leading the closing discussion of the Carl XVI Gustaf Royal Colloquium 2005. This task is a real challenge after a day filled with excellent presentations by all the contributors and many lively discussions.

As one of the few social scientists at the colloquium, my thoughts have often turned to the questions of how we can incorporate and increase interdisciplinary work to include social and cultural issues within the important scientific fields dealt with by the colloquium. After listening to Ronny Lumeau, Minister of the Environment for the Seychelles, I became even more convinced that the topic of this colloquium is closely linked to the culture and social welfare of humankind.

Within the Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation, I have a group that deals with culture, security, and sustainable development. To date, we have discussed questions that relate to cultural conflicts and foreign and security issues. However, during the colloquium, I have realized that more dimensions must be added to the foundation's mission.

His Majesty opened the colloquium by pointing out that water is life and life is water and that freshwater plays an important role in the future of human livelihoods, in addition to the importance of water for the global climate system.

The scarcity of freshwater and climate change have been the focus of the colloquium discussions. The presentations by Robert Corell and Will Steffen set the scene with important facts and figures. Robert Correll pointed out that we must address how human beings and nature can work together, and Will Steffens said, “We can choose the nature of our climate in the future.” What can we do with these facts and figures? It is easy to be pessimistic. David Schindler ended his talk with an overhead that stated, “The world can tell us everything we want to know. The only problem is that it does not have a voice. But the world's indicators are there. They are always talking to us.”

Ronny Jumeau demonstrated very clearly in his important speech how a small island can be seen as a barometer that shows us the health of the world. Oysten Dahle pointed out our responsibilities to our grandchildren by stating, “We are the first generation to deal with unpaid bills and the last generation who can do anything.” Natalie Davydova put her hope in the younger generation and the northern countries to be involved in more creative dialogues. Both a youth assembly and a council of wise women and men could perhaps make a difference.

Olli Varis demonstrated that arctic countries are in a much better position than monsoon countries to tackle contemporary problems. He ended his presentation by indicating the extent of the challenges, the controversies, and the unknowns. These very interesting facts were rounded off by Rolph Payet, who described the links between the Arctic and tropical biodiversity and the consequences of a melting Arctic for tropical small islands.

How do we communicate these facts and the knowledge that has been accumulated to society and, in particular, to politicians? What are the responsibilities of the research community? We, the colloquium participants, who have had the opportunity and the privilege to obtain new insights, cannot, as was stated in graffiti on a bridge pillar, “Cancel the future, due to lack of interest.” We must share our interest with others. But how? Can we start today and continue tomorrow?

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

• His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf, Royal Court of Sweden, Stockholm, Sweden

• Her Royal Highness, Crown Princess Victoria, Royal Court of Sweden, Stockholm, Sweden

• His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Frederik, Court of the Crown Prince, Christian VIII's Palace, Copenhagen, Denmark

• Dr. Will Steffen, Bureau of Rural Sciences, Australian Government, Canberra, Australia

• Professor Dan Brändström, The Bank of Sweden, Tercentenary Foundation, Stockholm, Sweden

• County Governor Per Ola Eriksson, County Administrative Board of Norrbotten, Luleå, Sweden

• Mr. Ronny Jumeau, Ministry of the Environment, Republic of Seychelles

• Dr. Robert W. Corell, Senior Research Fellow, Grasonville, MD, USA

• Mr. Öystein Dahle, Styreleder, Worldwatch Institute Norden, Norway

• Professor Oleg Anisimov, State Hydrological Institute, St. Petersburg, Russia

• Professor Terry Callaghan, Abisko Scientific Research Station, Abisko, Sweden

• Professor David Schindler, Department of Biological Sciences, Alberta, Canada

• Dr. Rolph Payet, Ministry of the Environment, Republic of Seychelles

• Dr. Olli Varis, Helsinki University of Technology, Espoo, Finland

• Captain Anders Wikström, Söråker, Sweden

• Mr. Peter Hanneberg, Environmental Journalist/Author, Nacka, Sweden

• Ms. Natalie Davydova, Director, Environmental Projects Consulting, Institute, Moscow, Russia

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

• Professor Anders Karlqvist, Polarforskningssekretariatet, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden

• Dr. Elisabeth Kessler, Ambio, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden

Wiolab report for the third meeting for the steering committee

 

From: IWLEARN

The third meeting of the UNEP-GEF WIO-LaB Project Steering Committee was held in Mahe, Seychelles on 13th March 2006. The meeting was officially opened by the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Dr. Rolph Payet. The meeting was attended by Government officials from each of the participating countries (the National Focal Points of the Project) as well the representatives of the Implementing Agency, UNEP (i.e. Division of the Global Environment Facility-UNEP/GEF and the Global Programme of Action for the protection of the Coastal and Marine Environment from Landbased Activities-UNEP/GPA), the Executing agencies (Nairobi Convention Secretariat), Non-Governmental Organizations, as well as representative of the UNDP/GEF Agulhas and Somali Current Large Marine Ecosystems Programme (ASCLME). The representative of Somalia attended the meeting as an observer.

Third Global Conference on Oceans, Coasts and Islands Moving the Global Oceans Agenda Forward UNESCO, Paris | January 24-27, 2006

From: IISD Oceans Discussions Continue in Paris On Wednesday, participants in the Third Global Conference on Oceans, Coasts and Islands heard from expert panels on linking freshwater to oceans, implementation of the Mauritius Strategy for Small Island Developing States (SIDS), the 2004 tsunami disaster and disaster preparedness, and African perspectives on linking national and regional efforts in ocean and coastal management. A special presentation on illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing was made by Ben Bradshaw, UK member of parliament and Under-Secretary to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. In the late afternoon, participants met in concurrent dialogue sessions on: fisheries; biodiversity and Marine Protected Area (MPA) networks; the Global Marine Assessment (GMA) and UN coordination; the Global Plan of Action (GPA)and Integrated Water Resource Management; ocean and coastal management in SIDS; and regional cooperation in ecosystem management and integrated management of oceans and coasts. Above: participants listen attentively to a panel of experts.

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Wednesday, 25 January
Panel 4: Linking Freshwater to Oceans (WSSD Goals)
Co-Chair Al Duda, International Waters, GEF, introduced the panel and outlined its objectives.
Margaret Catley-Carlson, Chair, Global Water Partnership, emphasized that human, social and political aspects are as important as science in achieving sustainable management.	Peter Bridgewater, Secretary General, Ramsar Convention on wetlands, indicated that over a third of all Ramsar sites are coastal or marine.	Erik Llandikov, Vice Minister, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Republic of Kazakhstan, listed the environmental threats faced by the Caspian region and the remedial actions taken by his country.
Porfirio Alvarez-Torres, on behalf of Antonio Diaz de Leon, Director-General for Environmental Policy Regional and Sectoral Integration, Mexican Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, reported on a freshwater-coastal-marine management interlinkages workshop held in Mexico City in January 2006.	Veerle Vandeweerd, Head, UNEP Regional Seas Programme, and Coordinator, UNEP-GPA, elaborated on GPA objectives and actions in preparation for GPA's second intergovernmental meeting, to be held in Beijing, China, in October 2006.	Ivan Zavadsky, Regional Programme Director, GEF-Danube Black Sea Basin Strategic Partnership, noted that the region's environmental degradation has led to reduced biodiversity and economic loss.
	Shammy Puri, UNEP-DGEF Task Manager 'Groundwaters' and Liaison Officer to UNESCO-IHP, elaborated on the long-term and irreversible dangers that polluted terrestrial aquifers pose to coastal regions.
Panel 5: Implementation of the Mauritious Strategy for SIDS (WSSD Goal)
Panel Chair Ambassador Jagdish Koonjul, Mauritius Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and outgoing Chair, Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), highlighted progress in implementing the Mauritius Strategy and identified challenges, including funding, monitoring, capacity building and cooperation between SIDS.	Willie John, Chief Executive Officer, Cook Islands, pledged his country's commitment to the Barbados Plan of Action and the Mauritius Strategy, highlighting the successful conservation of natural resources and associated traditional knowledge and the development of a national environmental strategic action framework.	Fernando Trinidade, on behalf of Celestino Andrade, Ministry of Environment, São Tomé and Principe, emphasized his country's vulnerability to pollution from land-based activities, noted regional cooperation, and said a national LME project had been prepared as part of a national action plan under the GPA.
Rolph Payet, Director, Ministry of the Environment, Seychelles, underscored the fact that SIDS require assistance to submit their maritime delimitations as provided under UNCLOS.	Vincent Sweeney, Executive Director, Caribbean Environmental Health Institute, St. Lucia, outlined the domestic waste management situation and listed recent improvements, including: stronger legal and institutional backing; the construction of sanitary landfill sites; and increased recycling and public awareness.	Nelson Andrade, Director, UNEP Caribbean Programme, UNEP/UNDP/GEF Programme on Integrated Water and Coastal Area Management (IWCAM) for SIDS, presented the objective and components of the IWCAM.
Dominique Benzaken, Coastal Management Adviser, Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme, argued that in order to achieve healthy oceans and sustainable livelihoods in the Pacific, the Pacific Islands Regional Oceans Policy (PIROP) requires prompt implementation.	Enele Sopoaga, Permanent Representative of the Mission of Tuvalu to the UN, called on States and international organizations to recognize the special vulnerabilities of SIDS.	Marina Silva, GEF consultant, urged Atlantic SIDS to identify priority actions to implement the Barbados Plan of Action (BPOA). She acknowledged Cape Verde's offer to become a focal point for the BPOA and stressed the importance of linguistic diversity to increase local involvement.
Special Presentation: Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing
	Ben Bradshaw, Parliamentary Secretary UK Department for Food Environment and Rural Affairs, called for practical steps to improve marine governance and unite fisheries and conservation interests. Advocating effective prohibitions on deep sea bottom trawling and an increased level of ratification of the UN Fish Stocks Agreement, he outlined the adverse effects of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Summarizing an upcoming report by the Ministerial Task Force on IUU fishing, he stressed the need to develop a global partnership to tackle IUU fishing in order to: increase the exposure of IUU operations and make them uneconomic; improve governance; strengthen monitoring, control and information systems; adopt widespread port State measures; and heighten Regional Fisheries Management Organization performance. He called for an emphasis on assistance to developing countries.
Panel 6: The Tsunami Disaster and Disaster Preparedness
Panel Co-Chair William Brennan, Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Affairs, US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, commended the IOC, the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) and regional organizations for coordinating and developing regional tsunami early warning systems and called for increased focus on multi-hazard warning systems.	Panel Co-Chair François Schindelé, on behalf of Patricio Bernal, Executive Secretary, IOC, elaborated on the five regional early warning systems, either currently in place or under development.	Maitree Duangsawasdi, Director-General, Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, Thailand, outlined reconstruction efforts following the December 2004 tsunami, including the creation of a national disaster relief center to coordinate monitoring and awareness programmes.
Franklin McDonald, Adviser, UNEP, former Director, Jamaican National Environment and Planning Agency, and former Project Manager, Pan-Caribbean Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Project, stressed that the region faces other forms of coastal inundation, and outlined the region's long history of tsunamis.	Russell Arthurton, Consultant, Coastal Geoscience, and formerly British Geological Survey, said risk assessment should take into account: the incidence of hazard events at local to regional levels; the susceptibility of specific coasts to inundation; and the vulnerability of coastal populations.	Lahsen Ababouch, Chairman, FAO Fisheries Tsunami Task Force, outlined FAO's activities in restoring fisheries and livelihoods in the countries affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami, and challenges faced.
	Stefano Tinti, Chair, Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Tsunami Early Warning and Monitoring System in the North Eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean and Connected Seas (ICG/NEAMTWS), explained his Group was established in June 2005 by the IOC to create a plan of action by December 2006.
Panel 7: Linking National and Regional Efforts in Ocean and Coastal Management: African Perspectives
Panel Chair Magnus Ngoile, National Environment Management Council, Tanzania, drew attention to the variety of present and future national and regional oceans and coasts projects in Sub-Saharan Africa and stressed the importance of building upon, and achieving synergy between them.
Albert Owusu-Sarpong, Ambassador of Ghana to France, highlighted the rapid degradation of vulnerable coastal and offshore habitats due to local sources of pollution, which is exacerbated by regional oil spills.	Aristides Ocante da Silva, Minister of Natural Resources, Guinea Bissau, highlighted domestic activities to improve oceans management, including: creating and managing new MPAs; improving maritime surveillance systems; and carrying out research on erosion.	Joseph Konzolo Munyao, Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Development, Kenya, explained that African countries' international debts fetter their ability to achieve the MDGs and WSSD targets.
Outlining actions taken in the context of the Eastern Africa Regional Seas Programme, Rejoice Mabudafhasi, South African Deputy Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, said the main challenge lies in developing adequate legal frameworks and policies.	Victor Manuel Borges, Deputy Minister of Fisheries, Mozambique, outlined national marine and coastal management initiatives, including the development of a legal and institutional framework, and the establishment of MPAs. Addressing regional projects, he highlighted monitoring, control and surveillance initiatives as well as fisheries cooperation protocols.	Thierno Lô, Minister of Environment and Natural Protection, Senegal, underscored his country's support for the African Process for the NEPAD/Environment Action Plan and detailed Senagal's involvement in coastal programmes.
Rahma Mshangama, Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment and Cooperatives, Tanzania, explained that a lack of funding and expertise hampers poverty reduction through the sustainable use of natural resources.		Rolph Payet, Interim Coordinator, Regional Coordinating Unit for Eastern African Action Plan (EAF/RCU), indicated how the Nairobi Convention for the Protection, Management and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the Eastern African Region impacts oceans management in the region.
Concurrent Dialogue Sessions
Late Wednesday afternoon, participants engaged in six concurrent dialogue sessions.
Dialogue session on fisheries.	Dialogue session on biodiversity and MPA networks (for input into CBD COP-8).	Dialogue session on the GMA and UN coordination.
Dialogue session on the GPA, Integrated Water Resource Management, input into IGR-2 (October 2006 Beijing) and the Fourth World Water Forum (March 2006, Mexico City) including next steps on collaboration between freshwater and ocean interests.	Dialogue session on SIDS, with emphasis on ocean and coastal management (for input into CSD-14, May 2006).	Dialogue session on ecosystem management, and integrated management of oceans and coasts, including regional cooperation (for input into UNICPOLOS-7).

After tsunami, Seychelles develops disaster alert system

afrol News, 19 January - The tsunami hitting Seychelles on 26 December was the first major disaster in the island nation since 1868. While only one life was lost, the tsunami caused large material damages and new disaster awareness in Seychelles. The islands state, which has now seen its debts frozen, will now develop an up-to-date disaster alert system. According to the Seychellois government, the country is now working on the development of a national disaster warning system by which the authorities would advise residents on the possibility of a disaster striking. The principal secretary for Environment, Rolph Payet, said this on Tuesday during an interview.
The alert system "will entail thorough education of the public to understand how such a system works and probably use colour coding as in some countries to indicate severity of the potential danger and what specific evasive action people should take," the government explained.
Mr Payet said such a system would take an estimated two years to put in place and may be another five to ensure people understand it well. "We are developing such a system, which is not easy because it will require baseline data and information," he said.
The government representative added that the system in use in Mauritius is mainly for cyclones, which do not occur in Seychelles, but the island of Réunion has a more elaborate system that covers flooding. "We are in discussion with Réunion, which already has a warning system which progressively uses different colours to develop ours," he said.
Mr Payet said that Seychelles would also not want to rely merely on word of mouth, for example passed on by telephone from neighbouring countries because such a system could also raise false alarm. He recalled that even a few days after the 26 December tsunami, false warning followed saying that similar occurrences were imminent causing people to panic.
He noted Seychelles has not had any major disaster since 1868 with lesser ones occurring about seven years ago. Excessive rains in August 1997 caused heavy floods on the archipelago. A study by the UN's Disaster Assessment Coordination (UNDAC) later that year revealed that Seychelles had little experience in handling disasters, and had not developed any comprehensive disaster management structure, legislation or plan.
Seychelles President James Michel on Thursday last week had called improved disaster preparedness. "This unprecedented calamity in our region has taught us, in the most compelling terms, that there is an urgent need for an early warning system in the Indian Ocean region, similar to that which exists in the Pacific," President Michel said.
The Seychellois President further said there was a need for the a special disaster fund in Seychelles to help long-term recovery in view of the widespread damage to infrastructure, public utilities and private property. "Many people have lost their homes and livelihood in Seychelles," President Michel said.
According to the Seychellois government, the tsunami had caused damages worth more than US$ 30 million to the archipelago. "This may seem small compared to the damage inflicted to our neighbours, but it is nonetheless considerable for a small economy like ours," President Michel noted. He called for aid from the international community ti set up a relief fund.
Seychelles last week received the first substantial international aid needed for reconstruction by a freezing of the country's debts by the so-called Paris Club of creditor nations. "The suspension takes effect immediately," Paris Club President Jean-Pierre Jouyet told a news conference after talks in Paris on Wednesday. The Seychelles owes some five million dollars in debt payments this year.