Nature Seychelles

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Nature Seychelles is a registered non-governmental association in Seychelles dedicated to environmental conservation. [1] It is the national partner of BirdLife International and was formed as the replacement of Birdlife Seychelles in 1998. [2]

It is based on Seychelles' main island, Mahé, and has a second centre on the country's second island, Praslin.

Nature Seychelles manages the Cousin Special Island Reserve, an area covering the 27 hectare Cousin Island and the waters surrounding it up to 400 metres from the high-water mark.

As the last remaining home of the near-extinct Seychelles warbler and as an important breeding site for seabirds, Cousin was purchased by the International Council for Bird Preservation (which later became BirdLife International) in 1968, and established as a nature reserve. Since then, the population of only 26 birds on Cousin Island has expanded to over 2500, with viable populations on Frégate, Cousine and Aride Island.

Conservation activities on Cousin include monitoring of the island's biodiversity, research, re-introduction of endangered species such as the Seychelles magpie-robin, ecotourism, and education. In April 2022, Nature Seychelles announced plans to developed a land-based coral farm on Praslin to produce corals that are more resilient to warming ocean temperatures. [3]

As of December 2022, the chief executive of the NGO is Nirmal Shah.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seychelles</span> African island country in the Indian Ocean

Seychelles, officially the Republic of Seychelles, is an archipelagic country consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, is 1,500 kilometres east of mainland Africa. Nearby island countries and territories include the Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, and the French overseas departments of Mayotte and Réunion to the south; and Maldives and the Chagos Archipelago to the east. It is the least populated sovereign African country, with an estimated 2020 population of 98,462.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of Seychelles</span>

Seychelles is a small island country located in the Somali sea northeast of Madagascar and about 835 mi (1,344 km) from Mogadishu, Somalia, its nearest foreign mainland city, while Antsiranana is the nearest foreign city overall. Seychelles lies between approximately 4ºS and 10ºS and 46ºE and 54ºE. The nation is an archipelago of 115 tropical islands, some granite and some coral. the majority of which are small and uninhabited. The landmass is only 452 km2 (175 sq mi), but the islands are spread wide over an exclusive economic zone of 1,336,559 km2 (516,048 sq mi). About 90 percent of the population of 90,000 live on Mahé, 9 percent on Praslin and La Digue. Around a third of the land area is the island of Mahé and a further third the atoll of Aldabra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aldabra</span> Coral atoll in the Indian Ocean

Aldabra is the world's second-largest coral atoll, lying south-east of the continent of Africa. It is part of the Aldabra Group of islands in the Indian Ocean that are part of the Outer Islands of the Seychelles, with a distance of 1,120 km (700 mi) southwest of the capital, Victoria on Mahé Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seychelles kestrel</span> Species of bird

The Seychelles kestrel is a small bird of prey belonging to the genus Falco in the falcon family, Falconidae. It is endemic to the Seychelles Islands where it is the only breeding bird of prey. It is known in Seychellois Creole as the katiti after its loud, shrill call.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Praslin</span> Island in the Seychelles, Somali Sea

Praslin is the second largest island (38.5 km2) of the Inner Seychelles, lying 44 km (27 mi) northeast of Mahé in the Somali Sea. Praslin has a population of around 7,533 people and comprises two administrative districts: Baie Sainte Anne and Grand' Anse. The main settlements are the Baie Ste Anne, Anse Volbert and Grand' Anse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Digue</span>

La Digue is the third most populated island of the Seychelles, and fourth largest by land area, lying east of Praslin and west of Felicite Island. In size, it is the fourth-largest granitic island of Seychelles after Mahé, Praslin and Silhouette Island. It has a population of 2,800 people. Most of the inhabitants live in the west coast villages of La Passe and Anse Réunion. There is no airport on La Digue, so to get there from a foreign country, one must fly to Victoria and continue by ferry, usually via Praslin. It has an area of 10.08 km2, which makes it relatively easy to travel around by bike or on foot.

Curieuse Island is a small granitic island 1.13 sq mi (2.9 km2) in the Seychelles close to the north coast of the island of Praslin. Curieuse is notable for its bare red earth intermingled with the unique coco de mer palms, one of the cultural icons of the Seychelles, only growing on the two neighboring islands.

Aride Island is the northernmost granitic island in the Seychelles. A nature reserve, it is leased and managed by the Island Conservation Society of Seychelles.

Cousin Island is a small granitic island of the Seychelles, lying 2 km (1.2 mi) west of Praslin. It is a nature reserve protected under Seychelles law as a Special Reserve. It is managed by Nature Seychelles, a national nonprofit organization and Partner of BirdLife International, by which it has been identified as an Important Bird Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seychelles black parrot</span> Species of bird

The Seychelles black parrot, Praslin parrot or kato nwar is a sombre-coloured, medium-sized parrot endemic to the Seychelles. Historically, it has been treated as a subspecies of the lesser vasa parrot, although it shows morphological, ecological and behavioural differences. Recent phylogenetic research indicates that the Seychelles population has a long history of isolation and may be sister to the rest of Coracopsis. It is the national bird of the Seychelles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vallée de Mai</span> Protected area

Vallée de Mai Nature Reserve is a nature park and UNESCO World Heritage Site on the island of Praslin, Seychelles. It consists of a well-preserved palm forest, flagship species made up of the island endemic coco de mer, as well as five other endemic palms. The coco de mer, a monocot tree in the Arecaceae, has the largest seeds of any plant in the world. Also unique to the park is its wildlife, including birds such as the rare Seychelles black parrot, mammals, crustaceans, snails, and reptiles. There has been a determined effort to eliminate all the introduced exotic species of plants from the area but this has not been successful in eliminating coffee, pineapple, and ornamental palms thus far. This forest, with its peculiar plant and animal species, is a relict from the time when the supercontinent of Gondwana was divided into smaller parts, leaving the Seychelles islands between the present day Madagascar and India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chumbe Island</span> Private island in Tanzania

Chumbe Island is a small privately owned island a few kilometres off the main island of Zanzibar, known for its ecological innovation and exceptional coral reefs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outer Islands (Seychelles)</span> Collective term for those islands of the Seychelles that are not on the shallow Seychelles Bank

The Outer Islands or Coralline Seychelles (archipelago) is a collective term for those islands of the Seychelles that are not on the shallow Seychelles Bank which defines the location of the granitic Inner Islands archipelago to the east. The local Seychellois Creole name for the outer islands is Zil Elwannyen Sesel, while the French name is Îles Eloignées. They are all of coral formation, and in the western Indian Ocean.

Cousine Island is a small granitic island 30 ha in the Seychelles 6 km (4 mi) west of Praslin Island. It is a combination luxury resort and since 1992 a nature preserve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">D'Arros Island</span>

D'Arros Island is part of the Amirante Islands group, which are in the Outer Islands coral archipelago of the Seychelles islands and nation. The island is located west of the granitic Inner Seychelles archipelago, with a distance of 255 km south of Victoria, Seychelles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seychelles scops owl</span> Species of owl

The Seychelles scops owl, also known as bare-legged scops owl or syer is a rare scops owl species, which only occurs in the Morne Seychellois National Park on the Seychelles island of Mahé.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Granitic Seychelles</span>

The Granitic Seychelles are the islands in Seychelles which lie in central position on the Seychelles Bank and are composed of granite rock. They make up the majority of the Inner Islands, which in addition include the coral islands along of the rim of the Seychelles Bank, namely Bird Island and Denis Island. The Granitic Seychelles contrast with the Coralline Seychelles or the Outer Islands, several island groups made up of low coral islands with dry, infertile soils.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife of Seychelles</span>

The Wildlife of Seychelles comprises the flora and fauna of the Seychelles islands off the eastern coast of Africa in the western Indian Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tourism in Seychelles</span>

Tourism is the most important nongovernment sector of Seychelles' economy. About 15 percent of the formal work force is directly employed in tourism, and employment in construction, banking, transportation, and other activities is closely tied to the tourist industry. Tourists enjoy the Seychelles' coral beaches and opportunities for water sports. Wildlife in the archipelago is also a major attraction.

Articles related to Seychelles include:

References

  1. "Nature Seychelles". www.cfa-international.org. Retrieved 2022-12-14.
  2. "Seychelles: Nature Seychelles Goes High-Tech With Huawei On Cousin Island". allAfrica.com. 2022-08-28. Retrieved 2022-12-14.
  3. "Heat-resilient "super corals": Nature Seychelles setting up aquaculture farm for future corals". www.seychellesnewsagency.com. Retrieved 2022-12-14.