The Nature Seychelles’ HQ was as busy as a peak-season seabird island on Monday, November 28th 2005, as conservationists from throughout the islands gathered at the Environment and Education Centre. It was the start of the ten-day learning programme, Island Species-Led Action (ISLA) that we are hosting. The programme covers both the theory and real-world practice of island species conservation. We have been delighted at the response from our partners and colleagues in conservation here.

A special three-day learning programme was held last week as part of the ongoing project in Seychelles by the non-government organisation (NGO) Wildlife Clubs of Seychelles to conserve medicinal and traditional food plants. The learning programme is called Conservation of Traditional Food Crops in Home and School Gardens, and the venue was the Plant Genetic Resources Unit of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, at Grand Anse, Mahe. It was attended by about 30 leaders of Wildlife Clubs from Mahe, Praslin, La Digue and Silhouette, and run by a team of expert local trainers.

Invasive species are one of the greatest risks to biodiversity. They are right up there with habitat destruction in terms of threat. Islands like Seychelles can only remain a refuge for native and endemic species while invasive aliens are kept at bay. Nature Seychelles has recently completed a project to assess the status and management of invasive plant species on small but important biodiversity islands of Seychelles by using Cousin and Cousine as examples. Researcher Liz Dunlop, of the Queensland University of Technology in Australia, led the work, which was carried out in close collaboration with Cousine island management.  

Back in the 1960s, the Seychelles Warbler or Timerl Dezil was probably the most endangered bird in the world, with only a handful of birds remaining. Cousin Island, the last place it survived, was purchased primarily to save this unique bird. Much has been done by BirdLife International to save the Warbler. Now, Nature Seychelles has been working with our partners on Denis Island and scientists from the University of East Anglia in the UK and Groningen in the Netherlands on a major project to secure the future of our Warbler.