30 years of discovery in the Vallée de Mai
It was with great pride that on Monday December 9, 2013 the Vallée de Mai celebrated thirty years as a Unesco World Heritage Site. In celebration of this achievement a ceremony was held at the Vallée de Mai visitor centre on Thursday December 12. This ceremony was honoured with the presence of Vice-President Danny Faure, Minister for Environment and Energy Prof. Rolph Payet and many other distinguished guests.
Home to the famed and much sought after coco de mer, the ancient Vallée de Mai is a reminder of a prehistoric era. The immense value of the Vallée de Mai and its biodiversity has been recognised since 1966 when it was declared a nature reserve.
Then listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1983 and under the management of SIF (Seychelles Islands Foundation) since 1989, this prehistoric forest’s secrets are starting to be unearthed with research uncovering many treasures. In 2009 a new species of frog was discovered which only occurs on Praslin.
A forgotten chameleon species, which was lost to science for nearly 200 years was re-discovered in 2009 in the Vallée de Mai.
In addition to this, many other plants and animals have been the subject of long and short-term studieswidening the knowledge of the many unique species and relationships that make this such a special palm forest. The achievements over the past 30 years have been many and more recently a dedicated education and outreach programme has been implemented to provide environmental education, and the site continues to grow as a world class tourist attraction.
In his keynote speech, SIF chairman Ambassador Maurice Loustau-Lalanne thanked all Seychellois and especially the government of Seychelles for their foresight in ensuring that the Vallée de Mai receives the protection it deserves and allowing the forest to become a place of education, discovery and experience.
Mr Loustau-Lalanne said that the “support has been unwavering and wholehearted even through times of economic difficulties”.
The chairman also drew attention to the importance of educating our “conservationists of tomorrow” and highlighted that SIF’s education and outreach programme and Friends of the Vallée de Mai club was making progress in “the environmental education of our nation”.
SIF had in fact conducted a competition in local schools on Praslin earlier in the year and the winners of both the public speaking and poem categories had the honour of performing at the celebration. It was inspiring to see the passion and enthusiasm that these young people had for the Vallée de Mai and its future.
In recognition of the dedication to the Vallée de Mai, Minister Payet on behalf of SIF presented a token of commitment to build two bus shelters on Praslin to Marc Volcère, Member of the National Assembly for Grande Anse, Praslin. Through this gesture SIF hopes that their relationship with the Praslin community will grow to another level.
The 30th anniversary celebration also featured a video message from the director of Unesco, Kishore Rao, who applauded SIF on “their long-standing commitment and effective management” of the Vallée de Mai.
He noted that “we are confident that the Vallée de Mai will continue its well established path in safeguarding a natural world heritage for future generations”.
The staff on Aldabra Atoll had sent a video message as well and theirs highlighted the importance of the Vallée de Mai to Aldabra and their research.
There was entertainment with the Vallée de Mai staff performing a new song on the Vallée de Mai that had been composed especially for the event, and the classic ‘Garden of Eden’ by Seychellois artist Regis Hoareau which had everyone singing!
During the ceremony a new electronic product that will soon be available as a smartphone application was launched. This new electronic brochure for the Vallée de Mai will be available to download for free to any smartphone. The brochure is a guide to the Vallée de Mai, from information about facilities and opening times, to 360 virtual tours and information on the many species of flora and fauna that can be encountered in the forest on your visit. Not only does the brochure help to promote SIF and their work, but it also enhances the visitor’s experience of the forest both before and during their visit.
But the highlight of the ceremony was surely the pledges given by various members of society who were involved in the Vallée de Mai both in the past and into the future. Pledges were given by Professor Peter Edwards (on behalf of the international scientific community), Marc Jean-Baptiste (on behalf of all the Vallée de Mai staff), Sharille Leon (on behalf of the Friends of Vallée de Mai club), Rose-Marie Hoareau (on behalf of the tourism industry), Lindsay Chong-Seng (on behalf of all the friends and supporters of the Vallée de Mai), and Dr Frauke Fleischer-Dogley (on behalf of the SIF board of trustees). These pledges were read and then given to Vice-President Faure who placed them in a time capsule that had been built into a wall of the visitor centre.
The pledges that were given were for the next 30 years when the time capsule that they were placed in will be opened once again.
The end of the ceremony was marked by the opening of an art exhibition by Marie-Laure Viebel. A French artist, Marie-Laure is inspired by the coco de mer nut and is passionate about this unique seed. The art pieces she displayed were all based on the form and symbolism of the coco de mer nut with pieces made from bronze, glass and gold. It was a privilege to host such an exhibition and Marie-Laure's work demonstrated the power of this nut and the inspiration it has given to artists for many generations and added a different value to the protection of the Vallée de Mai.
SIF would like to once again offer its thanks to all of the people who helped make this celebration one to remember, and of course to all the friends, supporters, partners and many others who have made the past thirty years at the Vallée de Mai such a success.
Contributed
Home to the famed and much sought after coco de mer, the ancient Vallée de Mai is a reminder of a prehistoric era. The immense value of the Vallée de Mai and its biodiversity has been recognised since 1966 when it was declared a nature reserve.
Then listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1983 and under the management of SIF (Seychelles Islands Foundation) since 1989, this prehistoric forest’s secrets are starting to be unearthed with research uncovering many treasures. In 2009 a new species of frog was discovered which only occurs on Praslin.
A forgotten chameleon species, which was lost to science for nearly 200 years was re-discovered in 2009 in the Vallée de Mai.
In addition to this, many other plants and animals have been the subject of long and short-term studieswidening the knowledge of the many unique species and relationships that make this such a special palm forest. The achievements over the past 30 years have been many and more recently a dedicated education and outreach programme has been implemented to provide environmental education, and the site continues to grow as a world class tourist attraction.
In his keynote speech, SIF chairman Ambassador Maurice Loustau-Lalanne thanked all Seychellois and especially the government of Seychelles for their foresight in ensuring that the Vallée de Mai receives the protection it deserves and allowing the forest to become a place of education, discovery and experience.
Mr Loustau-Lalanne said that the “support has been unwavering and wholehearted even through times of economic difficulties”.
The chairman also drew attention to the importance of educating our “conservationists of tomorrow” and highlighted that SIF’s education and outreach programme and Friends of the Vallée de Mai club was making progress in “the environmental education of our nation”.
SIF had in fact conducted a competition in local schools on Praslin earlier in the year and the winners of both the public speaking and poem categories had the honour of performing at the celebration. It was inspiring to see the passion and enthusiasm that these young people had for the Vallée de Mai and its future.
In recognition of the dedication to the Vallée de Mai, Minister Payet on behalf of SIF presented a token of commitment to build two bus shelters on Praslin to Marc Volcère, Member of the National Assembly for Grande Anse, Praslin. Through this gesture SIF hopes that their relationship with the Praslin community will grow to another level.
The 30th anniversary celebration also featured a video message from the director of Unesco, Kishore Rao, who applauded SIF on “their long-standing commitment and effective management” of the Vallée de Mai.
He noted that “we are confident that the Vallée de Mai will continue its well established path in safeguarding a natural world heritage for future generations”.
The staff on Aldabra Atoll had sent a video message as well and theirs highlighted the importance of the Vallée de Mai to Aldabra and their research.
There was entertainment with the Vallée de Mai staff performing a new song on the Vallée de Mai that had been composed especially for the event, and the classic ‘Garden of Eden’ by Seychellois artist Regis Hoareau which had everyone singing!
During the ceremony a new electronic product that will soon be available as a smartphone application was launched. This new electronic brochure for the Vallée de Mai will be available to download for free to any smartphone. The brochure is a guide to the Vallée de Mai, from information about facilities and opening times, to 360 virtual tours and information on the many species of flora and fauna that can be encountered in the forest on your visit. Not only does the brochure help to promote SIF and their work, but it also enhances the visitor’s experience of the forest both before and during their visit.
But the highlight of the ceremony was surely the pledges given by various members of society who were involved in the Vallée de Mai both in the past and into the future. Pledges were given by Professor Peter Edwards (on behalf of the international scientific community), Marc Jean-Baptiste (on behalf of all the Vallée de Mai staff), Sharille Leon (on behalf of the Friends of Vallée de Mai club), Rose-Marie Hoareau (on behalf of the tourism industry), Lindsay Chong-Seng (on behalf of all the friends and supporters of the Vallée de Mai), and Dr Frauke Fleischer-Dogley (on behalf of the SIF board of trustees). These pledges were read and then given to Vice-President Faure who placed them in a time capsule that had been built into a wall of the visitor centre.
The pledges that were given were for the next 30 years when the time capsule that they were placed in will be opened once again.
The end of the ceremony was marked by the opening of an art exhibition by Marie-Laure Viebel. A French artist, Marie-Laure is inspired by the coco de mer nut and is passionate about this unique seed. The art pieces she displayed were all based on the form and symbolism of the coco de mer nut with pieces made from bronze, glass and gold. It was a privilege to host such an exhibition and Marie-Laure's work demonstrated the power of this nut and the inspiration it has given to artists for many generations and added a different value to the protection of the Vallée de Mai.
SIF would like to once again offer its thanks to all of the people who helped make this celebration one to remember, and of course to all the friends, supporters, partners and many others who have made the past thirty years at the Vallée de Mai such a success.
Contributed
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