With the environment high now on everyone’s agenda and as climate change is making itself felt in the four corners of the globe, Seychelles is gearing itself for sensitizing the world on safeguarding what the islands have been blessed with in a hope that everyone follows suit.
A full series of books all based on what Seychelles has as unique treasures in the area of the environment has been issued by Steen N. Hansen, a Dutch National living in Seychelles and he is being assisted by his Seychellois wife Marie France is pushing for recognition of their long and difficult task.
Steen G. Hansen is a Danish national who was born in 1951. It was in 2015 that he moved to Seychelles and got married a year after to a Seychellois, and was granted a permanent residency in the Republic of Seychelles in 2019.
Hansen holds a master’s in biology and a bachelor’s in geography and in geology as well (all from the University of Copenhagen) and in German language and culture (from the University of Odense, Denmark). Prior to his arrival in Seychelles, Mr. Hansen served as a consultant biologist and as a senior lecturer at the college level. He was particularly interested in environmental conservation and has written a number of discussion papers, views and feature articles about nature, nature management and even of genetic manipulated foods items.
In Seychelles he continued his passion for nature and nature management by writing the first illustrated and comprehensive Flora of Seychelles from 2016 (725 pages) plus a number of smaller and easy-to-read books featuring nature treasures in the Seychelles of which can be mentioned ‘Striking Plants of Aride Island’ (2016); ‘Vallée de Mai – a Primeval Palm Forest, a Nature Reserve and a UNESCO Heritage Site’ (2017); ‘Striking Nature of Curieuse Island (2017); ‘The National Botanical Garden of Seychelles’ (2018); ‘The Tea Factory, its Nature Trail and Morne Blanc’ (2018; ‘Le Jardin du Roi Spice Garden’ (2018); ‘The National Biodiversity Centre of Seychelles’ (2019) and latest ‘Le Ravin de Fond Ferdinand – a Special Reserve on Praslin’ (2021), and where he focuses on nature management and conservation efforts next to presenting a selection of plants and animals.
Mr. Hansen’s dedication for nature and nature management is fueled by the fact that the global environment is under pressure like never before. Scaring three plant or animal species are becoming extinct every hour round the clock, for which reason ‘we are on the edge to be the first species to be able to document our own eradication if no action is taken now’ (Dr. Christiana Pasca Palmer, UN Executive for Biodiversity). And the only way out, following Mr. Hansen, is to sensitize the public and thus the grassroots as much as possible by getting to know about our precious world and its critical state by self-examination, and to which Mr. Hansen’s work – with his own words – is just a small and humble contribution.
COP will bring many influential personalities together to discuss what needs to be done and Hansen is saying start by knowing what exists and then protect what has been seen to exist.
