“Disaster risk management is like an orchestra, you need all the pieces of the musical ensemble to align and harmonize for it to work”

Disaster Management and Co-ordination

 It is still unknown as to when bees started populating the islands of the Seychelles, what is sure is that bees have been on the islands for quite some time. Genome analysis carried out in the 2010’s, later in the article shows just that. With wild bees being prevalent on all the inner islands of the Seychelles, records shows that in the 1980’s the Seychelles government of the time decided to import queens from the European honey bees (Apis mellifera), the most common of all honeybees. Reasons for their introduction is unclear, we would assume from these research, they are known for their ability to adapt to different ecosystems and for their honey making abilities. It shows also that honeybees were imported from amongst the regional islands.

Apart from being known as master pollinators, producer of honey and wax and just probably the most best known winged insect around, bees could just may bee the most important creature human civilization depends on. Their environmental importance is unmatched, their economic value to humans is understated, their uses as cartoon characters are legendary (think of Maya,Spike, Barry B and others) and if you dig a little deeper into historical texts and books, you will find their cultural and historical importance in human civilization as well.

Small Island Development States (SIDS) together contributes about 1.5% of the world’s Ghg emissions. Many are carbon sinks (absorbing more carbon than emitting) yet they end up with having some of the world’s highest climate vulnerability risk profile in the world. They sit at the frontline of the climate catastrophe our planet is on.

“Any area of land smaller than a continent and entirely surrounded by water. Islands may occur in oceans, seas, lakes, or rivers. A group of islands is called an archipelago. Islands may be classified as either continental or oceanic. Oceanic islands are those that rise to the surface from the floors of the ocean basins. Continental islands are simply unsubmerged parts of the continental shelf that are entirely surrounded by water”   Britannica definition of Island Geography