The successful conservation work being carried out on the Aldabra Atoll has received fresh international recognition, being named the Site of the Month in the launch issue of a Unesco newsletter for marine conservationists.

The atoll, managed by the Seychelles Islands Foundation (SIF), features twice in the first issue of the Unesco Marine World Heritage Site newsletter.

The first Aldabra article details the successful completion and operation of the Aldabra solar energy system, which has been providing over 95% of the atoll’s electricity requirements since May this year.

The second article reports on Aldabra’s inclusion in the Assessing Marine World Heritage from an Ecosystem Perspective report, a World Heritage Convention document that looked at scientific approaches to identifying marine sites. The paper featured Aldabra and the iSimangaliso Wetland Park in South Africa, which are the only two marine World Heritage sites in the Western Indian Ocean. Lessons were drawn from the two sites to develop a strategy for the identification of possible future marine World Heritage sites in the region.

“We are delighted that our peers in marine World Heritage Site management have recognised the conservation and research work being done on Aldabra in the very first issue of the new Unesco Marine World Heritage Site newsletter,” said SIF chief executive, Dr Frauke Fleischer-Dogley.

“Sharing ideas and experience between organisations responsible for protected marine sites is one of the most efficient methods of achieving lasting conservation success.”

Aldabra was listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1982 and will celebrate its 30th anniversary later this year.

Forrás: www.nation.sc