Availability of donor funding for salaries
Staff retention was made possible through the availability of the Rapid Response Grant to fund salaries. Cousin Island has been self-sustaining for many years before the pandemic. The donor funding helped to rectify the shortfall in financing experienced by the reserve due to the collapse of the tourism industry in Seychelles
- A donor willing to fund salaries
- Dedicated staff
- The traditional sources of funding and other kinds of support dried out during Covid-19. This crisis was a red alert for the conservation of biodiversity. Conservationists must look for innovative kinds of support, learn many new things and do more with less, particularly by using disruptive technologies such as AI and drones or monetising virtual tourism experiences
- We need to look for avenues for unrestricted income for recurrent conservation budgets outside of tourism. Notably in 2021, we worked with IUCN and Porini Foundation to launch the Seychelles Magpie Robin as the first nature collectible, an NFT for conservation to raise funds to conserve the species