Category Archives: Seychelles

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27 Nov, 2021 04:41 AM3 minutes to read

Covid 19 Delta outbreak: There were 173 new cases in the community today. Video NZ Herald

Authorities are waiting on test results of a positive case who returned from South Africa to find out if the newest Covid-19 variant of concern has arrived in Australia.

While there are no direct flights between South Africa - where the Omicron variant originated - and Australia, 20 people were repatriated last week and are quarantining at Howard Springs.

One person has so far tested positive.

Authorities are yet to rule out whether the person has the Omicron variant, which is of such considerable concern to Australia the borders are closed to all flights, and all non-residents coming from South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, the Seychelles, Malawi and Mozambique.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said he had spoken to his Northern Territory counterpart, and authorities were attempting to pin down the specifics of the case, with an update expected later today.

Hunt said as it stands, there are no cases of Omicron in Australia.

But, authorities are also attempting to track down at least 100 Australians who recently arrived in Australia from the nine African nations without quarantine as is the new norm in NSW, Victoria and the ACT.

Those people will need to be tested, and quarantine immediately for 14 days.

Chief medical officer Paul Kelly said he had been in touch with his state counterparts to enlist their help in mitigating any risk of outbreak.

"I can't give an accurate figure right now, but we're working with jurisdictions and with others to make sure this is the case," he said.

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Hunt said the closing of Australia's borders to non-residents from southern Africa, and the isolating of anyone who had recently arrived, was "early, precautious" action.

The Omicron variant, dubbed a "variant of concern" by the World Health Organisation on Friday, has a number of mutations that could make it more infectious than the Delta outbreak.

Authorities are racing to understand the strain, and are considering whether vaccine efficacy will be reduced on this variant.

Professor Kelly said at the moment, the global understanding was that it was "quite different" to previous variants of concern.

"But at this point, other than understanding that it is transmissible between humans and is transmitting particularly in South Africa and those surrounding countries," he said.

"We do not, at this point, have any clear indication that it is more severe, or any definite indication in relation to the vaccine.

"It's the reason why we're taking this precautionary approach, which is proportionate to that risk, and putting in place the measures that the minister has outlined.

" We will get a lot more information in coming days."

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Covid 19 Delta outbreak: NT authorities awaiting sequence to rule out positive case has Omicron variant - New Zealand Herald

An odyssey in the Garden of Eden: Variety Cruises relaunches its popular, year-round itineraries in The Seychelles from late December 2021 through 2024 with an enhanced guest experience highlighting local farm to table dining, a fresh juice bar, a refined onboard bar and lounge, and tours that go beyond the ordinary exploring the beauty and rich culture of this exotic destination.

The soft adventure itineraries offered by Variety Cruises include nature walks exploring native wildlife, daily swim and snorkeling stops and optional diving excursions. An ideal destination for summer and winter, guests can island hop along the beautiful string of lush, tropical locales including exclusive visits to the islands of Felicite and Moyenne. At the uninhabited islands of Aride, Cousin, and Curieuse, the ships land with local boats where park rangers pick up passengers from the beach for exclusive guides through the protected nature reserves and share their personal stories. Local gastronomy is prepared by the ships chefs on the beach in Curieuse and Moyenne, while dive enthusiasts will explore excursions in Mahe and Praslin.

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Variety Cruises, The Greek-owned small ship company, brings passengers back to the Seychelles - Travel Daily News International

Stories of hidden pirate treasure have captivated travellers to the Seychelles for decades. Fuelled by rumours of a map lost by the 18th-century French outlaw La Buse, hunters have scoured land and sea. Abandoned trenches pock-marking coastlines document a fruitless but never-ending quest to find the hallowed spot marked X.

A collection of 115 islands scattered across more than a million square kilometres of Indian Ocean, the Republic of Seychelles is steeped in fantasy and folklore. The choice of sandy stretches is almost overwhelming: there are bays scattered with boulders resembling Picasso paintings; shores lined with rustic rum shacks; and secret coves where hermit crabs are the only company.

Dreamy scenes of sunset walks along the surf have always attracted honeymooners, but the true romance of the Seychelles lies elsewhere. Undulating, jungle-wrapped mountains create a hikers paradise, while healthy coral reefs are an underwater playground for snorkellers and scuba divers.

The conservation story is also commendable. Islanders have worked hard to eradicate invasive species, allowing native birds to flourish, and the government has committed to making 30 per cent of its waters a protected marine zone. Championing a sustainable local economy is an exciting new generation of Seychellois, setting up businesses to offer environmentally sensitive tours.

Although most big resorts are internationally owned, its now much easier to sample the countrys culture. Connected by an efficient ferry service, the inner islands Mahe, Praslin and La Digue offer a taste of local living at prices to fit all budgets. But as the Seychellois will tell you every island has unique appeal. In fact, theres a coralline or granitic outcrop to suit all sorts of traveller. Enjoy privacy and indulgence on Felicite, delve into nature on Praslin or venture farther afield to the magical outer islands of Alphonse and Desroches for excellent diving and absolute tranquillity.

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Which of the 115 islands in the Seychelles is right for you? - The Telegraph

VICTORIA, Seychelles, Nov. 17, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cardano and Avalanche-powered DeFi ecosystem ADA Finance has been announced as the winner of the highly anticipated "Best DeFi project of the Year" award at the 2021 AIBC Summit in Malta.

The win took place on Nov.16, in unison with the addition of early Bitcoin investor Roger Ver, who has joined the project as an investor. These big announcements have synchronized perfectly for ADA Finance, with the project's IDO just one month away in mid-December, 2021.

Best DeFi Project of the Year

Cross-Dual-Chain DeFi ecosystem ADA Finance has beaten some serious industry contenders to take the highly coveted prize of the "Best DeFi Project of The Year" award at Europe's premier event for blockchain, AI, and emerging tech, AIBC Summit, Malta.

ADA Finance is the first Cardano-based project to win the award, beating other highly revered projects, including community-focused DeFi token Safemoon, and PoW/DPoS hybrid consensus ABEYFoundation.

These recent achievements have put the spotlight on ADA Finance, with the project now joining the ranks of the awards previous winners, MakerDAO, and AI-powered DeFi portfolio project SingularityDAO.

Roger Ver & Other Big Names Join the Party

The success of ADA Finance has caught the attention of Bitcoin investor and blockchain advocate Roger Ver. Known widely as "Crypto Jesus", Ver was an early investor in Bitcoin back in 2011, and the previous CEO of Bitcoin.com.

Known for his past involvement in successful blockchain projects, Ver has invested in Ripple(XRP), Kraken, Shapeshift, and Bitpay. More recently, Ver has shifted his focus to the DeFi market with a sizable investment in decentralized oracle service provider XFai.

The project has also landed an A-list Influencer line-up alongside Ver, including YouTube sensation Carl "The Moon" and other notable names Crypto Banter, and MMCrypto. With a star-studded line-up bullish on the already successful project, all focus is now on the platform's ADAFI token IDO in mid-December.

First Publicly Released Code on Cardano

ADA Finance has chosen to take the innovative route of releasing its code on a public repository, becoming the first ever project built on Cardano to do so. The code is released under the GNU General Public License. This means that anyone can fork the code, as long as they also make their own staking code public.

ADA Finance is initiating this movement for the entire Cardano ecosystem, hoping that more projects will follow. This pioneering move speaks to the heart of the Cardano philosophy, and promotes openness and trust across both Cardno and the greater blockchain industry, with trust, fairness and potential for massive growth just some of the resulting benefits.

In addition, ADA Finance has recently announced an Academy Program with Bitdegree to help create awareness for Cardano blockchain development, and help to foster further involvement from the wider coding community. The program will also help to build a strong, sustainable ecosystem and grow talented, fully certified smart contract developers as Cardano grows as a layer one project.

With the "Best DeFi Project of the year" award as a springboard, a highly innovative blockchain, Academy Program, industry support, pioneering Cardano philosophy, and upcoming IDO, ADA Finance looks to be a contender for the hottest DeFi project going into 2022, and beyond.

ADA Finance SocialsTwitter | Telegram | Whitepaper | Facebook | LinkedIn | Docs

Media Contact DetailsContact Name: ADA FinanceContact Email: marketing@adafinance.io

ADA Finance is the source of this content. This Press Release is for informational purposes only. The information does not constitute investment advice or an offer to invest.

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ADA Finance Wins 'Best DeFi Project of the Year' at AIBC Summit, Roger Ver Joins as Investor - GlobeNewswire

The Pandora Papers, the largest cross-border investigative journalism work in history, with contributions from 600 journalists and 150 media outlets from all over the world, unveiled a legal-financial web that benefits the worlds rich and powerful from almost 200 countries. Nearly 12 million files in 2.94 terabyte of confidential information have been exposed to show transactions from 14 offshore services providers and 38 low tax jurisdictions, including the British Virgin Islands, Panama, Belize, Seychelles Islands, and Hong Kong. The Pandora Papers also leaked information on more than 2,000 Brazilians.

Many structures in low tax jurisdictions are complex and opaque. In an attempt to create transparency, the Financial Action Task Forcehas just proposed changes to its beneficial ownership standard, which is meant to further develop access to information about beneficial owners of organizations that include companies and trusts. Transparency International, a self-defined global movement working in over 100 countries to end the injustice of corruption, created a Global Corruption Barometer in 2003 to be able to better track corrupt actions, like bribes. It is, however, still hard to know how much of the wealth in or through offshore structures is linked to illegal, unethical, and illicit conducts and how much of it is not and that will likely take some time to change globally.

THE STRUGGLE WITH TRANSPARENCY

The Pandora Papers cast a doubt about how seriously some countries take their anti-bribery and anti-money laundering laws and revealed an important contradiction. On one hand, there is a great deal of demand to keep pressure on those countries that are struggling with corruption and urge them to reduce it within their borders by passing and enforcing a variety of anti-bribery and anti-money laundering laws. On the other hand, there is peer pressure on the various laws themselves, ensuring that they are not too restrictive, resulting in laws that dont have teeth to actually reduce corruption.

Another issue that the Pandora Papers revealed is the problem with registers, and how accessible they should be. Countries that historically were considered low tax jurisdictions or tax havens have implemented access to registers for verification of beneficial ownership. In Malta, for instance, a search of beneficial ownership costs merely 5 Euros and it can be done online. Many records are freely available in Luxembourg as well. However, in the Caribbean, the favored tax haven, searches are more costly and some systems are not fully online.

THE CASE OF BRAZIL

Brazil has the fifth largest group of citizens named in the Pandora Papers. The list includes Minister of Economy Paulo Guedes, the President of the Central Bank Roberto Campos Neto, and well-known business people, such as: Andrea, Eduardo, and Fernando Parrillo, owners of the Prevent Senior health plan; Luciano Hang, owner of the Havan department store chain; and Rubens Menin and his children, owners of MRV (one of Brazils largest real estate companies), Banco Inter (Brazils first digital bank), and CNN Brasil, and several others.

Revelations from the Pandora Papers have highlighted the need for a careful review of Brazils anticorruption and anti-money laundering laws.

What is the problem if Brazils Minister of Economy, his wife, and daughter were shareholders and managers of a British Virgin Islands company that owns deposits close to $10 million USD unearthed by the Pandora Papers while the countrys currency suffers from acute devaluation? In other words, can a Brazilian senior official, and/or his immediate family, be owners of an offshore company? To add more complexity, what if the same senior officials office is responsible for tax benefits of investments in low tax jurisdictions, even if he/she does not manage the offshore company, as the management was delegated to a spouse or child? What if a trust or a Private Trust Company is used?

According to Brazils laws, it is not necessarily illegal for an individual or a legal entity to establish or keep offshore companies if investments are declared locally. Many investments of the kind may be legal even if the benefits may be ethically debatable. Yet, findings from the Pandora Papers have highlighted the need for a careful review of Brazils anticorruption and AML laws.

Brazils Clean Company Act, for example, deals with conflicts of interest and the use of privileged information. Senior officials must avoid or prevent possible conflicts of interest and safeguard privileged information, and that includes a duty to refrain from acting in the interest of a legal entity in which they, their spouses, partners or relatives are part of (), and that may benefit from or influencing their acts. The 1992 Administrative Improbity Act has changed it for a softer version by Brazils Congress where liability will heavily depend on a showing of a Brazilian version of willful misconduct.

Although Brazils Minister of Economy had declared the offshore company before he took office to local authorities, as requested by domestic legislation, he sits on the National Monetary Council, which has broad authority over the countrys economic policies. Importantly, the Code of Conduct for Senior Officials of 2000 prohibits investing in assets whose value or price may be affected by a governmental decision or policy due to the position held and the fact that they have privileged information (Article 5 1 Code of Conduct for Senior Officials of 2000). More recently the press reported that the Minister of Economy had disclosed his resignation as manager of the BVI company he still owns, but there was nothing quite as clear about a continuing role played by his wife or daughter after he took office in 2019.

MORE QUESTIONS

Brazil, of course, is just one country that is grappling with the findings of the Pandora Papers. Brazils case highlights, however, four important questions that need to be asked at the global level.

The first question is about the potential for conflicts of interest. Shouldnt the government have more tools in place to ensure that conflicts of interests are revealed? Laws are never enough but legislation with simple and clear implementation mechanisms, and appropriate sanctions and penalties, should be a priority, especially in Brazil.

Second, what requirements were made, enforced, and applied at the low tax jurisdictions named in the Pandora Papers? Another focused investigation is needed.

Third, did the organizations named in the Pandora Papers conduct any kind of due diligence of its members, especially governmental officials and their immediate family members, including spouses and children? In other words, did these organizations address the various conflicts of interest? And if so, how? More information about the due diligence process would be helpful in better understanding how so many political figures could be able to get away with immoral or even illegal activity for so long, and the institutional mechanisms they used to do so.

The fourth question, in connection with the previous one, is about the celebrated acronym KYC or Know Your Customer that financial services and other industries have used for decades to prevent money-laundering. KYC became particularly important after the Sept. 11 attacks, where counterterrorism and illicit financing caught the worlds attention. The revelations of the Pandora Papers, however, raises the question: Was the policy just for show and an attempt to hide ownership of shell and other questionable companies by prominent individuals? After all, the financial sector claimed to know the customer.

In other words, there could be still more corruption to unearth.

Ligia Maura Costais the Director of FGVethics research center, full professor at Getulio Vargas Foundation Business School So Paulo (FGV EAESP), and a lawyer in Brazil.

Roberto di Cillo is a Senior Research Fellow at FGVethics, a lawyer, and a member of the Union Internationale des Avocats in Brazil.

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What the Pandora Papers Reveal about Brazil - Inkstick

VICTORIA, Seychelles, Nov. 17, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OKEx a top cryptocurrency exchange and DeFi ecosystem today reported 308% growth in total trading volumes over the past year. OKEx's total trading volume of all listed assets grew from $1.8 trillion in October 2020 to $7.4 trillion as of October 2021.

Breaking down this massive growth, perpetual swap products on OKEx saw the highest increase, with trading volume growing by 455% year-over-year. Cryptocurrency spot and futures products also saw impressive growth in terms of trading volumes up 365% and 209%, respectively.

In October 2021, BTC, DOGE, SHIB, OKB, ETH and SOL were among the top-10 assets with the highest trading volumes on OKEx spot markets. Total spot trading volumes for the 10 assets combined reached a monthly high of over $6.5 billion, which reflects increasing industry-level interest in dog-themed memecoins, as well as decentralized finance.

OKEx's notable growth in trading volumes is accompanied by the firm's market-leading push into the DeFi, GameFi and nonfungible token (NFT) spaces. This fall, OKEx launched a DeFi mode on both its website and mobile app, featuring a bespoke Web 3.0 wallet, as well as an NFT Marketplace and play-to-earn crypto gaming center. The platform also recently launched an advanced trading feature, portfolio margin, specifically designed to improve capital efficiency for professional and institutional traders.

We are extremely pleased to witness this positive growth trajectory over the past year, said OKEx CEO Jay Hao, adding:

This would not have been possible without the support from our valued customers the trusted OKEx family. In the past year, we upheld our commitment to better serve our customers with the launch of various offerings, including the new DeFi mode on OKEx, which includes a self-custodial, decentralized wallet, as well as an NFT Marketplace and blockchain game center.

To cater to institutional and professional traders, a CME-like portfolio margin system was introduced as part of our efforts to build the worlds most powerful trading platform for crypto traders. As we celebrate our fourth anniversary, we look forward to expanding our offerings and further growing our family in the global markets.

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OKEx reveals over 300% growth in trading volumes this year - GlobeNewswire

The US Navys Expeditionary Sea Base USS Hershel Woody Williams (ESB-4) arrived in Port Victoria, Seychelles for a scheduled port visit on 29 October. The visit will include a restock for fuel and re-supply for the ship.

Seychelles is an important partner in promoting regional maritime security, said Captain Chad Graham, commanding officer, USS Hershel Woody Williams, and we are thankful for the opportunity to acquire mission-critical supplies in Port Victoria.

The USS Hershel Woody Williams is the second US ship to visit Seychelles in the last two years. The USS Carney (DDG 64) had a port visit in March of 2020, in support of Naval Forces Africas (NAVAF) effort to build global maritime partnerships with African nations.

Seychelles has long served as a port that hosts US ship visits said Judes E DeBaere, Charge dAffaires, US Embassy to Mauritius and Seychelles. Im pleased to see this continue with the visit of the USS Hershel Woody Williams. The United States and Seychelles have a history of partnership and cooperation to promote maritime security.

The US Navy said the United States works closely with the Seychelles on maintaining peace and countering challenges to maritime security in the waters surrounding East Africa. In July 2021, the US Embassy Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Thom Kohl, and Seychelles Minister for Internal Affairs, Errol Fonseka signed the first bilateral maritime agreement between the US and an East African country.

The agreement on Countering Illicit Transnational Maritime Activity Operations enables the US and Seychelles to strengthen their shared maritime governance by better detecting, deterring, and suppressing illicit transnational maritime activities, the US Navy said.

Additionally, Seychelles hosted exercise Cutlass Express in July and August 2021, a multinational maritime exercise held in East Africa and the Western Indian Ocean. These types of exercises strengthen partnerships and allow countries to work more closely on shared transnational maritime challenges.

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USS Hershel 'Woody' Williams arrives in the Seychelles - defenceWeb

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Climate Action

A wind farm in Port Victoria on the main island of Mahe in the Seychelles is contributing to the renewable energy transition of the small island state located east of the African continent. Credit: Commonwealth Secretariat

CANBERRA, Australia , Nov 3 2021 (IPS) - Breaking the worlds reliance on fossil fuels and accelerating the global uptake of renewable energy will play a decisive role in diminishing the threat of global warming to the survival of life on earth, according to experts. But turning the vision into reality will demand unwavering political will and, critically, massive investment, which can no longer be shouldered solely by aid and development partners.

It is a challenge that the Commonwealth Secretariat, the inter-governmental organisation representing 54 Commonwealth nations, has taken on. Now it is launching an initiative at the United Nations COP26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow to propel the ability of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to attract major investors with sound compelling business cases.

The summit will be a key setting to leverage the toolkit into different partner working platforms, such as the Climate Investment Platform, increase collaboration among partners and drive joint action with SIDS on energy transition ahead of other key milestones in 2022 and beyond, including the Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) Forum in Rwanda and Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to be held in 2022 and COP27 to be held in Africa, Alache Fisho, the Commonwealth Secretariats Legal Adviser on Natural Resources in London told IPS.

The SIDS Toolkit, a digital tool for governments, developed by the Commonwealth Secretariat and the international development organisation, SEforALL, is currently being trialled in the Seychelles, an archipelago nation of 99,000 people, located in the Somali Sea east of the African continent.

Converting the countrys energy system to renewables is imperative for future stability and prosperity, as climate change threatens development gains. The livelihood of the islanders is being threatened here with sea-level rise. What we are seeing is greater coastal erosion, increased temperature rises and coral bleaching. We are also getting an increasing frequency of cyclones in the region, Tony Imaduwa, CEO of the Seychelles Energy Commission in the capital, Victoria, told IPS.

The Commonwealth Secretary-General, Rt Hon Patricia Scotland QC, made an official visit to the Seychelles in June 2018. Credit: Commonwealth Secretariat

In Caribbean and Pacific Island nations, as well, air temperatures are becoming hotter, weather patterns more unpredictable, while sea-level rise is eroding finite land, destroying crops and contaminating freshwater resources.

Last year, an overwhelming 80 percent of the global energy supply was still generated by fossil fuels and only 12 percent by renewables. This puts the world on track toward a devastating temperature increase of 2.6 degrees Celsius by the end of the century, claims the International Energy Agency (IEA).

And the bill for importing oil, which comprises 95 percent of primary energy in the Seychelles, is an enormous fiscal burden on the government and its development goals. It is a drain on our foreign exchange reserves, our earnings, and there is the whole volatile nature of the price. When the price goes up, you get the costs going up, the cost of food goes up, services go up, the electricity cost goes up, transportation goes up. There is the risk associated with the supply, too, Imaduwa told IPS.

The Seychelles has a human development ranking of 67 out of 189 countries, the second-highest in the African region, and all citizens have access to electricity. But many other SIDS bear much higher levels of energy poverty. In the Pacific Islands, about 70 percent of households lack access to power.

It is, therefore, no surprise that clean energy, which will be more affordable to islanders, is a national priority. The majority of SIDS are committed to achieving 100 percent renewable energy by 2030.

Renewables, ideal for standalone systems, are a good fit for island nations where populations are often scattered across numerous islands separated by vast areas of the ocean. And weather conditions are a great advantage, especially for wind and solar energy. Despite clean energy only comprising 5 percent of the energy mix in the Seychelles, the momentum has begun. The first wind farm was established near the nations capital, Victoria, in 2013, and increasingly homes and businesses are installing rooftop solar panels.

But there are challenges to securing the large capital investment needed for complete conversion. In many cases, the lack of strong institutions, enabling regulatory frameworks and small energy markets limit the appeal of the energy sector in SIDS to the private sector and international financiers.

The Seychelles is developing its clean energy sector and blue economy with the support of the Commonwealth and other partners. Credit: Commonwealth Secretariat

The Seychelles is no longer considered a Least Developed Country; it is an emerging economy now. So, there is a slight concern from the government that it will not be able to access concessionary loans anymore from multilateral development banks and also that there will be fewer countries that are providing overseas development assistance to the country, Dr Kai Kim Chiang, the Commonwealth Secretariats National Climate Finance Adviser in the Seychelles, told IPS. The Seychelles is a small country, so they do have challenges in attracting investors because it is a really small market here, and so then the potential for the return of investment is potentially quite small.

Yet, about US$4 trillion will have to be injected into clean energy growth by 2030, if the global temperature rise is to be restricted to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, reports the IEA. And 70 percent of this will need to be spent in developing and emerging countries.

To this end, the SIDS Toolkit empowers governments to draft investment-grade business cases. First, key data about the economic and energy status of the Seychelles, for example, about employment, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), utility electricity cost and carbon emissions, is entered into the digital application. The toolkit then analyses the data to provide a detailed cost-benefit analysis of development and transition scenarios and identifies the states key investment strengths. It also pinpoints where reforms are needed to boost investor confidence, such as deficiencies in legal and institutional capacity.

It will assist in terms of formulating strategies to unlocking investment in the energy sector in the Seychelles, and that is something that is missing for us. We are focussing on a lot of plans and policies and implementation, but sometimes we struggle on how to bring these together and create a platform that allows us to say, OK, we have a plan, yes, we want to invest in this area, but how do we do it, Imaduwa said.

The SIDS Toolkit is designed with a broad range of potential investors in mind, including multilateral and private sector financial institutions. However, Fisho emphasised that private sector involvement is very important, especially as many renewable energy technologies entail large capital expenditure. Moreover, the renewable energy technologies are fast evolving. The private sector can bring the required finance and expertise in the deployment of modern technologies, she said.

Despite the detrimental economic impact of the pandemic worldwide over the past two years, Fisho makes a strong case for the priority of spending on the energy transition. The pandemic has highlighted the need to transition towards clean energy in SIDS to increase energy security and economic resilience. Investment in renewable energy is consistent with supporting recover better and more resilient economic development, thereby creating more sustainable green jobs and decent income opportunities for current and future generations, she declared.

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Mobilising the 'Tools' for Renewable Energy Investment in the Seychelles - Inter Press Service

Small islands in the Indian Ocean, the Caribbean or in the Pacific islands promise dream holidays and the fulfilment of bucket lists. And, for the islands themselves, tourism is a vital source of jobs, income and prosperity.

But the pandemic and its effect on the travel industry has meant places such as the Maldives and the Seychelles have seen their economies brought to the brink of collapse.

These islands are mainly powered by the blue economy sectors such as tourism and fisheries which depend on the sea. But COVID-19 has shown the risks of such reliance. So how can these islands build economic resilience while protecting the fragile ecology on which they depend?

As I explain in my new book, one response could be to look to the orange economy a term which describes the various sectors everything from art, film, music and video games of the creative and cultural industries.

The impact of these industries is often underestimated. In the UK for example, they add 13 million every hour to the national economy more than the automotive industry, life sciences and aerospace combined.

And globally, the orange economy employs more people aged 1529 than any other sector. It has become an engine for regeneration in inner cities such as Liverpool in the UK, and Pittsburgh in the US. But this potential economic boost should not be limited to wealthy countries. Indeed, for developing regions there is no reason why these sectors should not play an increasingly important role.

In small island developing states (known as SIDS) in particular, the orange economy could a play a valuable role in supporting the blue one. Yet many of the entrepreneurs, educators and government officials I spoke to in St Lucia, the Maldives, the Seychelles and the Pacific islands, mentioned the lack of an ecosystem for developing and supporting the creative industries.

That said, some encouraging steps have been taken. For example, in 2017 the Caribbean Development Bank launched a dedicated fund to stimulate growth in these sectors, with an initial injection of US$2.6 million (1.8 milllion).

Among other projects, this has supported visual artists across the region as well as film and animation projects in St Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago.

This kind of access to finance is crucial. But independent investment is virtually nonexistent in these islands, meaning entrepreneurs and startups often have to rely on costly borrowing.

Another serious challenge is developing an economic model which has a positive effect on the environment especially when that environment is essential to the other industries. But a further strength of an orange economy is that creativity and innovation are renewable resources.

It is also a development that could quickly fit into the established economic fabric of a small island. After all, the relationship between digital content, technology platforms and culture has already had a positive disruptive effect on tourism, providing people with more choice and information.

One good example of a digital-creative project is the non-profit company Hydrous which allows users (potential tourists) to go on a virtual dive into the marine environments of Palau in Indonesia, using an immersive technology app. This includes a guided tour of the coral reefs, where virtual divers can explore the islands marine wildlife, including sea turtles, manta rays and sharks.

This kind of creative content delivered through virtual reality channels can enhance visitor experiences, engage new audiences and increase marketing opportunities.

Before a trip is booked, a potential traveller could explore resorts using high-definition virtual reality software. Once theyve arrived, they could use SLAM (Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping) technology, which responds to a users precise location to provide information (either in text, animation, or audio and visual recordings) about their immediate environment, enhancing their enjoyment and understanding.

From a business perspective, optimising this kind of technology requires creativity. This is just one way in which a move to more digital and creative businesses could enhance tourism and support the wider ocean economy.

The orange economy has the potential to redefine the recovery of small island states, while protecting the blue economy they have relied on for so long. The focus for SIDS should be on establishing a creative economy which allow islanders to create, innovate and monetise their ideas.

By doing that island states can build a strong, resilient and sustainable economy that supports the health of ocean environments and the creative and entrepreneurial ambitions of the people who live in them.

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How creative industries could boost the economies of small islands crippled by COVID - The Conversation US

ByTodd Gillespie(Bloomberg) Scientists want to find out just how much the seas and oceans can help in the battle against climate change.

A multimillion dollar partnership between insurance group Convex Group Ltd and the Blue Marine Foundation will allow researchers to spend five years building an open-access database showing how much carbon the worlds seabeds can store.

Its a relatively unstudied field compared with other forms of carbon sinkssuch as forests. The United Nations has backed the idea of a blue economy that connects economic growth to ocean protection, for example by incentivizing countries to do more to keep the waters clean.

The ocean and its resources, while vital to all life on earth, are currently misunderstood and neglected, said Professor Callum Roberts at the University of Exeter in England, the lead scientist on the Seascape Survey. The study will try to deduce the amount of carbon stored in coastal seascapes and on the continental shelves, as well as how vulnerable these stores are to man-made damage, he said.

The blue economy has already become a feature ofsovereign debt marketsafter the Seychelles pioneered a blue bond in 2018. The U.K.sOffice of National Statistics posited in an April study that the countrys seabedcould be more valuable as a carbon sink than as a source of oil and natural gas, though the estimates were limited due to the lack of data.

2021Bloomberg L.P.

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Are Oceans More Valuable As Carbon Sinks Than As A Source Of Oil And Natural Gas? - gcaptain.com