News and Blogs

  1. Latest News
  2. Cousin Island News
  3. Blue Economy Seychelles
  4. Green Health Blog
  • Research: Roaming seabirds need ocean-wide protection, research shows

    Unlike other oceans, which are known to have specific “hotspots” where predators, including seabirds, gather in large numbers to feed, the Indian Ocean lacks such concentrated feeding areas, a recent paper has revealed. This lack of hotspots is particularly concerning given the various threats seabirds face due to human activities.[…]

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  • Saya de Malha leaves for its third dFAD clean-up expedition

    (Seychelles Nation) The Saya de Malha vessel of the Seychelles Coast Guard (SCG) left Port Victoria yesterday afternoon for its third drifting Fishing Aggregate Devices (dFAD) expedition clean-up exercise in Seychelles territorial waters and shores of the outer islands. As customary since the first expedition in October 2022, students from Seychelles[…]

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Coming Soon!

Coral Aquaculture Facility!

coral aquaculture web banner

We have started work on the Assisted Recovery of Corals (ARC) facility to revolutionise our coral reef restoration process Learn more

Find Us On ...

Implementing the SDGs

At Nature Seychelles we are committed to working with government, development partners and donors in implementing relevant actions, in particular, looking at certain goals where we can build on our existing strengths. Read more

Seychelles Wildlife

Natural environment of the Seychelles

Seychelles is a unique environment, which sustains a very special biodiversity. It is special for a number of different reasons. These are the oldest oceanic islands to be found anywhere...

Bird Watching

Seychelles is a paradise for birdwatchers, you can easily see the unique land birds, the important sea bird colonies, and the host of migrants and vagrants. Some sea bird...

Seychelles Black Parrot

Black Parrot or Kato Nwar in Creolee is brown-grey in colour, not truly black. Many bird experts treat it as a local form of a species found in Madagascar and...

Fairy Tern

The Fairy (or white) Tern is a beautiful bird seen on all islands in Seychelles, even islands like Mahe where they are killed by introduced rats, cats and Barn Owls....

Introduced Land Birds

A little over two hundred years ago, there were no humans living permanently in Seychelles. When settlement occurred, people naturally brought with them the animals and plants they needed to...

Native Birds

Although over 190 different species of bird have been seen on or around the central islands of Seychelles (and the number is increasing all the time), many of these are...

Migrant Shore Birds

Shallow seas and estuaries are very rich in invertebrate life. Many birds feed on the worms, crabs and shellfish in these habitats; often, they have long bills for probing sand...

Seychelles Magpie Robin

The most endangered of the endemic birds, Seychelles Magpie Robin or Pi Santez in Creole, came close to extinction in the late twentieth century; in 1970 there were only about...

Seychelles Blue Pigeon

The Seychelles Blue Pigeon or Pizon Olande in Creole, spends much of its life in the canopy of trees and eats the fruits of figs, bwa dir, ylang ylang and...

Seychelles White-eye

The Seychelles White-eye or Zwazo Linet in Creole, is rare and endemic. They may sometimes be seen in gardens and forest over 300m at La Misere, Cascade and a few...

Seychelles Black Paradise Flycatcher

The Seychelles Black Paradise Flycatcher or the Vev in Creole is endemic to Seychelles, you cannot find this bird anywhere else on earth. Although it was once widespread on...

Seychelles Sunbird

The tiny sunbird or Kolibri in Creole, is one of the few endemic species that has thrived since humans arrived in the Seychelles.

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Achievements

  • Stopped near extinctions of birds +

    Down-listing of the critically endangered Seychelles warbler from Critically Endangered to Near Threatened. Other Seychelles birds have also been saved including the Seychelles Magpie Robin, Seychelles Fody, and the Seychelles
  • Restored whole island ecosystems +

    We transformed Cousin Island from a coconut plantation to a thriving vibrant and diverse island ecosystem. Success achieved on Cousin was replicated on other islands with similar conservation activities.
  • Championed climate change solutions +

    Nature Seychelles has risen to the climate change challenge in our region in creative ways to adapt to the inevitable changing of times.
  • Education and Awareness +

    We have been at the forefront of environmental education, particularly with schools and Wildlife clubs
  • Sustainable Tourism +

    We manage the award-winning eco-tourism programme on Cousin Island started in 1970
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Exporting Conservation

 Its not all wildlife monitoring, beach profiling is conducted on a regular basis on Cousin Island

What do you do when you have a long-running conservation success story on an island paradise? Nature Seychelles, a leading conservation organisation in the Western Indian Ocean region decided to share years of experience with aspiring young conservationists or people who simply want to try their hand at conservation, hence the Conservation Boot Camp program which began in May 2017.

“Conservation is not very different from other sectors - employers are looking for a successful mix of attitude and proficiencies. A mix that an MSc does not necessarily impart,” explains Dr Nirmal Shah, Nature Seychelles’ Chief Executive. “When I came up with the concept of the Conservation Boot Camp I took into account several competencies and character qualities needed in the 21st century.”

“Some of these skills can be gained through the program including scientific and cultural literacies, critical thinking, collaboration, communication, creativity and character qualities that allow you to effectively approach the dynamic environment in which you work.”

Cousin Island Special Reserve is the outdoors classroom where this intense four-week immersion program takes place. Cousin Island, now managed by Nature Seychelles, was in 1968 bought by the International Council for Bird Protection (now BirdLife) for the sole purpose of saving the Seychelles warbler. There were just 26 of these endemic birds left in the Seychelles, with the only population found on Cousin.

 A lesson in taking blood samples from a juvenile Seychelles Magpie Robin

Half a century, numerous researchers and scientists, hundreds of hours of rigorous restoration work, and several translocations later, the Seychelles Warbler is over 3,000 individuals strong and is now found on four other islands. A species brought back from the brink of extinction.

The Seychelles Warbler may be the bird that saved an island that was once a coconut plantation, but Cousin is now a safe haven for several land and sea bird species; skinks and tortoises, Green Turtles and happens to be one of the most important nesting sites for the endangered Hawksbill Turtle in the region.

“From the moment my toes squished deep into the white powder sand, I was hooked. Arriving on Cousin was like stepping through a portal to a time when the world was all wildlife and vegetation,” says Kenna Vales who completed the Conservation Boot Camp program in July 2017.

“Every time I was in the forest doing field work, I would have at least one Seychelles Skink crawl on my legs or shoulders. All you have to do is whistle in the forest, and the Seychelles Magpie Robins will fly closer, sometimes as close as less than a meter away from you.”

  Cousin welcomes tourists from Monday to Friday so participants have the chance to learn about ecotourism, the longest running in the Seychelles

Participants in the Conservation Boot Camp have the opportunity to take part in the comprehensive scope of the conservation work carried out on the island. Depending on the season, participants will take part in census of land and seabird, monitoring and collecting data on the many wildlife residents on the island and hawksbill turtle nesting / hatchling seasons.

Other activities are carried out year-round including ecotourism, bird ringing, beach profiling, clearing invasive species, invertebrate pitfall sampling and any other miscellaneous tasks that are required in the running of this nature reserve.

This unique and exclusive program is open to applicants from around the world, accepting a maximum of seven participants at a time in order to allow for deeper learning thereby making the experience more meaningful for those who take part. Being a certified private educational and training institute under the Education Act of Seychelles, Nature Seychelles also awards certificates to those who have successfully completed the program.

“I have a background in technology, for 30 years I have been involved in the telecommunications industry, as such I have no formal education in regards to conservation or the environment,” says Jim Yule a recent graduate from the program.

“This lack of knowledge caused me some trepidation before arriving on Cousin Island, I imagined everybody else would be fully au fait with the wildlife and conservation methodology, fortunately this was not the case. I now have a far more developed understanding of the perils it takes for a bird to get its egg to a fully-fledged chick ready for adulthood. I have discovered just how much giant tortoises like to have their necks and legs rubbed, you can almost hear them purr.”

 Kenna Vales (R) and Dr Shah (L) observing a noddy in its nest after their one-on-one session

Towards the end of their four week stint, program participants have the opportunity to meet Dr. Shah in one-on-one sessions. Coupled with the fact that there is a constant stream of researchers and scientists visiting the island, this has proven to be a plus especially for those wishing to pursue a career in conservation – a chance to pick the brain of those with a wealth of experience in the field.

“I came to Cousin looking for some answers, what I got in return was more than I had bargained for - I was introduced to a way of life,” says Nikita Engineer who took part in the program in June 2017, only two weeks after graduating from University. “The island ecosystem is a tiny world of its own, its species flourishing amidst the natural forests, and beaches changing rapidly with the seasons. The Conservation Boot Camp does justice to its name.”

By Jedida Oneko, Communications Manager, Nature Seychelles

For Seychelles India Day

Partners & Awards

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Our History

Since 1998.

Seychelles Nature, Green HealthClimate Change, Biodiversity Conservation & Sustainability Organisation

@CousinIsland Manager

Facebook: http://goo.gl/Q9lXM

Roche Caiman, Mahe

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Contact Us

Centre for Environment & Education

Roche Caiman,

P.O. Box 1310, Mahe, Seychelles

Tel:+ 248 2519090

Email: nature@seychelles.net