ALDABRA RESEARCH STATION GOES GREEN WITH NEW SOLAR INSTALLATIONS
(Posted 18th August 2014)
The Aldabra Atoll, one of the Seychelles’ two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, has just completed work on the installation of state of the art electrical equipment and solar panels. The investment in the latest technology is aimed to use the abundant sunlight and reduce the use of diesel in generators, which for one reduces the carbon footprint of the research station and reduces the cost, as the fuel has to come by ship all the way from Port Victoria, over 1.100 kilometres distant. It was learned over the weekend from a regular source from Victoria that all old equipment, from fridges to air condition units, were replaced with the latest low energy use types. In particular the a/c units were of crucial importance and are now operating on inverter which can be run solely on the electricity generated by the solar panels installed near the research station.
Managed by the Seychelles Island Foundation, which is also managing the Seychelles’ other UNESCO site, the Vallee’ de Mai on the second largest island of Praslin, is Aldabra nearly untouched and according to available data visited by less than a thousand tourists a year, a last Garden of Eden for birds and marine life. All visitors to the island require permits from the SIF office in Victoria and have to abide by strict rules, as only day visits are presently allowed to explore the atoll. Visitors have to sleep on their yachts or cruisers anchored off the atoll from where they can then do their daily explorations, spot the bird life and see the amazing marine life, among them the giant sea tortoises of which nearly two thirds of the total remaining world population are found on and near the atoll.
The lagoon of the atoll is so large that the entire main island of Mahe could fit into it, in fact the second largest atoll in the world, giving readers an idea of the sheer size of Aldabra and the scope and challenges of ongoing research.
For more information about Aldabra click on www.sif.sc where links take you from the home page of the organization to the relevant Aldabra pages. Added details on Destination Seychelles can be accessed via www.aldabra.org and www.seychelles.travel
