UNESCO pilots IslandWatch in Seychelles to help safeguard freshwater resources

At the edge of Rivière St Louis in Mahé, Seychelles, students, researchers and government representatives stand in water boots, collecting water samples and measuring water chemistry, turbidity and habitat conditions. Their measurements are part of a hands-on freshwater monitoring exercise under IslandWatch, a UNESCO initiative that uses citizen science to strengthen environmental observation and data availability in Small Island Developing States.

The observations collected in the field are recorded through the UNESCO Citizen Science App and uploaded to a shared digital platform. This helps transform local environmental observations into data that can be reviewed, validated and used to support freshwater monitoring.

The field exercise formed part of a series of five training sessions held between 7 and 27 November 2025, organized by UNESCO through its Small Island Developing States Section and Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme, in collaboration with the local non-governmental organization Gaea Conservation Network Seychelles and with technical support from GroundTruth.

Held in Mahé, the workshops brought together students, government representatives, watershed community members, non-governmental organization officers and researchers from the Blue Economy Research Institute at the University of Seychelles. Participants were introduced to citizen science tools and methods for observing freshwater ecosystems, measuring basic water quality parameters and recording field data through digital systems.