Presentation made at the Sustainable Tourism in Small Island Developing States conference, 23-24 November 2017, Seychelles. A partnership of the Seychelles Sustainable Tourism Foundation, IUCN WCPA Tourism and Protected Areas Specialist Group, University of Seychelles, Paris Tourism Sorbonne (IREST), and Global Sustainable Tourism Council.

1. Impacts of Voluntourism in Cap Ternay Marine Park
Josie Woodgate
BSc Marine Geography
Global Vision International

2. Global Vision
International
• GVI is an international
volunteering organization that
combines sustainable tourism
with data collection
• The marine conservation
expedition in Cap Ternay
aims to ensure that tourists
gain the most from their
unique experience and
continue travelling with a
more educated attitude
towards marine conservation

3. Citizen
Science
• This model utilizes paying
volunteers to undertake
scientific monitoring,
offering a sustainable
solution to the collection of
long term data sets
• The data collected is
analyzed annually and a
report submitted to
Seychelles National Parks
Authority (SNPA)
contributes to their
management of the MPA
around the north-west of
Mahé

4. Citizen
Science
• This form of tourism is
extremely valuable; visitors
come and are able to live in
the MPA and experience on
a day-to-day basis the
importance and uniqueness
of the area
• GVI teaches its volunteers
about the significance of the
biodiversity of the area and
why it should be protected,
alongside recycling
workshops, nature hikes
and frequent clean up of
litter in the surrounding area

5. GVI’s
Contribution
• Tourists arrive with little or
no knowledge on the coral
reef and leave with at least a
basic understanding of the
marine world and why
conservation is required
• Many students come for a
placement internship with
GVI and use the database
as research thesis

6. Findings
0,0
5,0
10,0
15,0
20,0
25,0
30,0
35,0
40,0
45,0
50,0
MeanCoralCover%
Total live coral cover
Acropora
Porites
Pocillopora
Favites
Coral Cover 2017

7. Findings Spatial Comparison 2016

8. Findings Fish Spatial Comparison
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0,1
0,2
0,3
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0,5
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2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Densitym-2(±SE)
Year
Protected
Unprotected

9. Contribution
President’s Village and
ISS lessons
• Raising awareness in the
local community about the
marine park and how best to
sustain it

10. Contribution
• Data collected is
sent to Seychelles
Fishing Authority
(SFA) to decide
fishing areas and
quotas
• Symposiums
(WIOMSA)
• 2015 report
prevented the
construction of a
major resort in the
marine park

11. Implications
• This research promotes the
efficacy of marine protected
areas in Seychelles and
worldwide
• Enables us to track
ecosystem changes to better
conserve species in the
future
• Raises global awareness
through symposiums,
conferences and better
educated travellers
• Without our volunteering
tourists the marine park
would lack funds and data