Environment of the Seychelles

Spice, tobacco and food farming previously occupied most of the land area in the Seychelles. The introduction of other animals, alien vegetation and the use of pesticides compounded the problem for the Seychelles' wildlife.

Fortunately, the Seychelles has had proactive conservation initiatives in place for over 30 years. Today, about 40 percent of the land area is set aside for conservation and there are several marine reserves around the islands including Sainte Anne, Bay Ternay and Saint Pierre.

Marine Conservation

Non-governmental organisations, like the Marine Conservation Society Seychelles promote the conservation of the marine environment through various educational and research programmes.

More recently there has been extensive monitoring of the coral reefs and the effects of coral bleaching. This is largely due to the rise in sea temperatures from the El Nino phenomenon in 1998. The Marine Conservation Society also monitors species like whale sharks and marine turtles.

Land Conservation

One of the biggest conservation NGOs in the Seychelles is Nature Seychelles, who aim to improve the plight of Seychelles wildlife and plantlife through education and research.

They have had many successes recently through protected area management projects on certain islands and hawksbill turtle monitoring programmes.

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