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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Minister launches first ever Coral Reef Restoration Training program in Seychelles

Minister Dogley meeting the Reef Rescuers team

The Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Energy, Mr. Didier Dogley officially launched the Nature Seychelles’ Coral Reef Restoration Training Program last week by symbolically cutting a ribbon on the Amitie beach on Praslin Island. Mr. Dogley, in the presence of Dr Nirmal Shah, the CEO of Nature Seychelles, other Nature Seychelles staff and the media waved the trainees off on their boat as they went for their first dive under the training program.

Dr. Shah said this was a very proud moment for him personally, for Nature Seychelles and for Seychelles as a whole. “For years I had been told by eminent scientists that we would not be able to restore coral reefs. I persevered, designed the project, got funding for it and put together a world class team for implementation. Now we not only have restored reefs but experienced practitioners from all over the world have come to us to undergo training, which is the first training of its kind in the world” he said.

 Sarah welcoming the Minister to Amite, Praslin

“Conservation is not enough!” Dr Sarah Frias-Torres repeated several times in her introduction of the Coral Reef Restoration Training program which has just begun on Praslin. “That is why we need to work on restoring coral reefs.” Sarah, one of the Nature Seychelles’ trainers, is a marine ecologist and biological oceanographer. She is also the coordinator of the Reef Rescuers Project.

Under the Reef Rescuers Project, Nature Seychelles has since 2010 worked on restoring degraded coral reefs using experts and specialists in marine science. The work was funded by United States Agency for International Development (USAID) with added financial support by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

 Baseline survey of transplantation site - Dr Phanor Montoya-Maya and Tess Moriarty

“It is really motivating to see that a senior government Minister would come to launch the Training Program,” Dr Phanor Montoya-Maya said. Phanor, a marine biologist specializing in coral reef ecology and reef connectivity is the Technical & Scientific Officer in the Reef Rescuers program and one of the Trainers.

“The program is an opportunity to share Seychelles' experience restoring reefs,” Phanor added. “I hope the Minister's visit translates into more exposure of another successful conservation experience that the Seychellois must feel proud of.”

There are six trainees taking part in what is the first of its kind in the Seychelles; one from the Philippines, two from Australia, two from USA and one from France. Louise Malaise from France and Austin Laing-Herbertfrom Australia, are a couple who lived in Mauritius until 2014, and they have high hopes of returning to Mauritius and apply what they learnt there. Austin said “This week has been great! Learning new skills on reef restoration and most of all, it has been hands-on practical work!”

 Ron Kirby (trainee) carrying out a baseline survey of a donor site

The six-week training program will consist of practical and academic training based on the reef gardening concept, covering how to build underwater nurseries and transplant corals to a degraded site. The course is ideal for those working in marine conservation with basic knowledge in reef ecology and the scientific method.

“Corals are about as high maintenance as a Victoria’s Secret supermodel, but the more you learn the more amazing and mysterious corals seem to be, they just keep surprising us,” Tess Moriarty said of her first week as a trainee. “We are from all corners of the globe but we all have one drive; to do our part in saving the oceans in one way or another.”

 Coral nurseries recruit some juvenile fishes

Nature Seychelles Reef Rescuers Project uses the ‘coral gardening’ method to restore corals that have been negatively impacted by changing climatic, and therefore sea conditions. In the Seychelles, as with many countries in the region, coral bleaching and ocean warming are a threat to marine ecosystems and to the livelihoods of coastal people.

“Thrilling first week with the Reef Rescuer’s team!” says Louise. “After what felt like an eternity, I am finally in Seychelles and everything meets my expectations. The best part is that we are having fun! After all, we are a group of motivated people sharing the same crazy passion, gaining knowledge on Reef Restoration, and we get to do it in Paradise.”

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