IUCN GIVES ALDABRA MANAGEMENT THE THUMBS UP
(Posted 27th December 2014)
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has in its inaugural ranking of UNESCO World Heritage Sites given the two sites in the Seychelles, the Valle de Mai on the second largest island of Praslin, and the distant Aldabra Atoll, a sound thumbs up.
While some 37 percent of the sites inspected and assessed are now listed as critical or with serious concerns, does Aldabra fall into the category of the 63 percent classified as with a good outlook or subject to some concerns. Those concerns in the case of Aldabra are largely focused on global warming and climate change, which has contributed to rising sea levels and the warming of ocean temperatures. Mitigation here is a global issue and cannot be shouldered by the Seychelles alone, one of the reasons why President James Alix Michel lets no opportunity go by to remind the industrialized nations of their global responsibility to help fight climate change, now increasingly a matter of life or death for small island nations.
The Seychelles Island Foundation manages both of the UNESCO World Heritage sites and in fact dedicates a major portion of the income from entrance fees to the Valle de Mai on Praslin to the protection and scientific study of the Aldraba Atoll, which itself receives only about 1.000 visitors per annum. Permits for such visits must be obtained from the SIF offices in Victoria and visitors can only access the atoll during day time but need to sleep on their yachts or cruise ships at night. Only a small team of resident and visiting scientists are actually located on the island to carry out surveillance and monitor a range of crucial indicators. It was this team which earlier in the year reported that the Aldabra Snail in fact was not extinct as thought for the past decade as a member of the team first spotted one and then several others when bringing more eyes on site.
There have been extensive reports here in the past about Aldabra’s unique standing which can be accessed via
https://atcnews.org/2014/09/03/back-from-the-dead-the-aldabra-snail/
https://atcnews.org/2014/08/18/aldabra-goes-high-tech-to-reduce-carbon-footprint/
https://atcnews.org/2012/12/18/sif-announces-plans-for-aldabra-house/
Aldabra is famous for its bird life as well as its marine life and the number of giant tortoises exceeds by far those found on the Galapagos Islands, largely as a result of keeping access to the atoll strictly limited.
For more information about the work of the Seychelles Island Foundation click on www.sif.sc and for details on Destination Seychelles visit www.seychelles.travel
The full report about the 228 UNESCO World Heritage Sites status and ranking can be found via the IUCN website at www.iucn.org
