Cousin Island is a granitic island covering 27 hectares. It became the world’s first internationally owned-reserve in 1968 and it was afforded further protection when it was designated a Special Reserve in 1974. The reserve is managed by Nature Seychelles, a local conservation organization that employs local staff and brings benefits local communities through eco-tourism. Conservation activities include monitoring of the island’s biodiversity, research, re-introduction of endangered species such as the Seychelles Magpie Robin, ecotourism and education

I am the Science coordinator for Nature Seychelles and together with Eric Blais who is our new Conservation Officer on Cousin Island Special Reserve I undertake the supervision of all the monitoring and research we undertake. Eric and I decided to do this to tell you about the spectacular biodiversity here, and what we are doing to protect it.

There’s lots happening. The turtle nesting season has just started and this is special - today three of the seven existing species of marine turtles are critically endangered, three are endangered and the status of the seventh remains unknown. Cousin Island Special Reserve is the largest nesting site for the endangered Hawksbill turtle, Eretmochelys imbricata, in the Western Indian Ocean. We will tell you all about the breeding activities as well as topics of a wider context touching on other activities - when the turtles are not nesting on Cousin.

The island is really special. It supports populations of endangered land birds and large colonies of breeding seabirds, while the surrounding Marine Protected Area holds over 250 species of fish. I hope this blog encourages you to participate in conservation here on Cousin Island.

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