Located off the coast of Praslin, Cousin island has for many years been more than just another beautiful spot in our archipelago, with foreign scientists, researchers and students constantly travelling here to study this “living laboratory”.

Since 2006, students from Urbino University in Italy have been coming to Seychelles to study its ecology and biodiversity as part of their course, and Cousin has featured high on their list of must-see and gather-data-on places.

The latest group - which left Seychelles last week - had 11 students doing undergraduate and postgraduate courses, and the island was of special interest to them for various reasons.

They collected data on endemic and endangered species, led by trained wardens at the reserve.

Their visit was hosted in collaboration with local partner Nature Seychelles, whose chairman/chief executive Nirmal Jivan Shah said Cousin has been a model for ecotourism in protected areas.

“The island has become one of Seychelles’ most visited eco-tourism destinations, providing a unique experience to visitors. We get around 10,000 international tourists visiting every year and numbers are controlled,” he said.

Cousin has been involved in more than 400 scientific studies on endemic land birds, seabirds, marine turtles, coral reefs, giant tortoises, lizards and marine fish.

Mr Shah said the island has also been highly commended by British Airways’ Tourism for Tomorrow programme for being a role model in responsible tourism. It has also won a number of international awards such as the Eco-tourism Award for Best Destination by Condé Nast Traveller Magazine in 2004, and it was declared an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International.

“Cousin island aims to be acclaimed as the best-managed small island protected area in the world, and one of the best destinations for present and future generations of eco-tourists,” said Mr Shah.

 

COUSIN QUICK FACTFILE:

• One of the most important nesting sites for hawksbill turtles in the world

• 100% free of introduced predators

• Public liability insurance is in place

• To avoid invasion by alien species, only Cousin’s boats can land visitors

• A survey in 2000 revealed that 98% of visitors found the service of a very high standard,

and 99% found the guided tour interesting, informative and well organised

• Cousin’s waters are protected and provide a nursery ground for fish stocks that local fishermen rely on

• 100% of the eco-tourism revenue goes into reserve management, conservation and research activities, education and public awareness programmes, and training for wardens, practitioners and teachers

By Ivan Hollanda