Nature Seychelles

Nature Seychelles is a registered non-governmental association focused on environmental conservation in the Seychelles. It serves as the national partner of BirdLife International and was established in 1998 as the successor to BirdLife Seychelles. The organization is headquartered on Mahé, the country's principal island, and maintains a second centre on Praslin. A central part of Nature Seychelles' work is the management of the Cousin Special Island Reserve. The reserve encompasses Cousin Island, a 27-hectare island, together with surrounding marine waters extending up to 400 metres from the high-water mark. Nature Seychelles' stewardship combines biodiversity monitoring, scientific research, habitat and species management, environmental education, and carefully managed ecotourism. The organization also supports conservation work beyond Cousin through species reintroduction and wider ecosystem initiatives. Cousin is particularly important because it was once the last remaining refuge of the Seychelles warbler, a bird that had declined to an extremely small population. The island was acquired in 1968 by the International Council for Bird Preservation, the organization that later became BirdLife International, and was subsequently established as a nature reserve. Under long-term protection and conservation management, the Seychelles warbler population on Cousin expanded from only 26 birds to more than 2,500. The species also became established on other Seychelles islands, including Frégate, Cousine, and Aride, demonstrating the value of habitat protection and carefully planned reintroduction or translocation efforts. Nature Seychelles' work covers both terrestrial and marine conservation. Its activities on Cousin include biodiversity surveys, monitoring of seabirds and endemic land birds, research, protection of breeding habitats, environmental interpretation, and visitor engagement. The organization's Praslin presence provides a base for broader conservation and community-oriented work in the archipelago. In April 2022, Nature Seychelles announced plans for a land-based coral farm on Praslin. The proposed facility was intended to cultivate corals with greater resilience to warming ocean conditions, linking local reef restoration with research into climate adaptation. The organization is best understood as a conservation and environmental-services institution rather than a consumer brand. Its public identity is associated with protected-area management, endemic-species recovery, marine and coral-reef conservation, ecological research, education, and sustainable ecotourism. As of December 2022, its chief executive was Nirmal Shah. Nature Seychelles' geographic focus remains the Seychelles, while its BirdLife relationship connects its work to an international conservation network.

Nature Seychelles emerged in 1998 as the successor to BirdLife Seychelles and became the Seychelles' national partner of BirdLife International. Its institutional role is rooted in the country's distinctive island ecosystems, which contain endemic birds, globally important seabird colonies, fragile forests, and coral reefs. Rather than operating as a conventional commercial brand, it functions as a registered environmental NGO whose activities combine conservation management, scientific work, education, and ecotourism. The organization's best-known conservation responsibility is the Cousin Special Island Reserve. Cousin Island, a 27-hectare island in the Seychelles, had already become the focus of international conservation attention before Nature Seychelles was formed. In 1968, the International Council for Bird Preservation purchased the island and established it as a nature reserve. That organization later became BirdLife International. The acquisition protected one of the last surviving populations of the Seychelles warbler, a species that had been reduced to only 26 birds on Cousin. Long-term protection and active management transformed the island's conservation outlook. The Seychelles warbler population on Cousin grew to more than 2,500 birds, and viable populations were subsequently present on Frégate, Cousine, and Aride. This recovery is an important example of island conservation, showing how habitat protection, population monitoring, ecological research, and carefully managed species movements can reduce the risk of extinction. It also established Cousin as a significant site for demonstrating practical conservation methods. Following its creation, Nature Seychelles took responsibility for managing Cousin and developed a broad program around the reserve. Its work includes biodiversity monitoring, scientific research, conservation of breeding seabirds, protection of endemic species, reintroduction initiatives, environmental education, and ecotourism. The reserve includes not only the island itself but also surrounding waters extending up to 400 metres from the high-water mark, giving the organization a marine-management role as well as a terrestrial one. Nature Seychelles is based on Mahé and also maintains a centre on Praslin, the Seychelles' second-largest island. This two-island presence supports conservation work across different ecological and community settings. The organization's activities have increasingly addressed marine pressures and climate change in addition to the protection of land birds and island habitats. In April 2022, Nature Seychelles announced plans for a land-based coral farm on Praslin. The proposed project was designed to cultivate corals that could better tolerate rising ocean temperatures. It represented an expansion of the organization's work into climate-adaptation research and reef restoration, complementing its established responsibilities in island and seabird conservation. As of December 2022, Nirmal Shah was identified as the organization's chief executive. Nature Seychelles' continuing public role is centered on safeguarding Seychelles biodiversity, managing protected areas, supporting research and education, and connecting local conservation practice with the wider BirdLife International network.

• 2022

  Praslin coral-farm plans announced

  [1]Nature Seychellesen.wikipedia.org

  Nature Seychelles announced plans for a land-based coral farm on Praslin to cultivate corals more resilient to warming ocean temperatures.

• 1998

  Nature Seychelles is established

  [1]Nature Seychellesen.wikipedia.org

  Nature Seychelles was formed as the successor to BirdLife Seychelles and became the national BirdLife International partner in the Seychelles.

• 1968

  Cousin Island becomes a nature reserve

  [1]Nature Seychellesen.wikipedia.org

  The International Council for Bird Preservation purchased Cousin Island and established it as a protected nature reserve, creating the institutional foundation for later management by Nature Seychelles.

A Seychelles-based conservation organization combining protected-island management, endemic-species recovery, marine conservation, research, education, and ecotourism, with national-partner status in the BirdLife International network.

• Protected-area conservation · 1998

  Cousin Special Island Reserve management

  Nature Seychelles manages the 27-hectare Cousin Island reserve and its surrounding marine area up to 400 metres from the high-water mark. Management includes habitat protection, biodiversity surveys, research, visitor management, and conservation of the island's endemic birds and seabird colonies.

• Endangered-species recovery

  Seychelles warbler conservation

  The organization supports the protection and monitoring of the Seychelles warbler, a species that was reduced to only 26 birds on Cousin before conservation intervention. The population later expanded to more than 2,500 on Cousin, with viable populations also established on Frégate, Cousine, and Aride.

• Coral restoration and climate adaptation · 2022

  Land-based coral farm

  Announced in 2022, the proposed Praslin facility was intended to grow corals with greater resilience to warming ocean temperatures. The initiative links coral cultivation, reef restoration, and research into the effects of climate change on Seychelles marine ecosystems.

• Education and ecotourism

  Conservation ecotourism and environmental education

  Nature Seychelles uses visitor engagement and education as part of its reserve-management model. These activities help communicate the ecological importance of Cousin, support public understanding of endemic species, and connect tourism with protected-area conservation.

• 2022

  Plan to develop a land-based coral farm on PraslinStrategy

  Background

  Warming ocean temperatures pose risks to coral ecosystems and reef biodiversity in the Seychelles. Nature Seychelles announced a plan to address this challenge through land-based coral cultivation.

  Action taken

  The organization announced plans for a Praslin coral farm intended to produce corals with increased resilience to warmer conditions.

  Aftermath

  The available reference material records the announcement and intended purpose but does not establish the facility's completion, operating scale, or measurable outcomes.

  Source

1. 1Nature Seychellesen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Nature Seychelles official websitenatureseychelles.org