STA student Annie taking the measurements of a nesting Hawksbill turtle
Nature Seychelles / Charlotte Bonne
Partnerships for conservation
Additional manpower was provided by students from two institutions - the Seychelles Maritime and Seychelles Tourism Academies - on work-based attachments. A total of 10 students came to the island. They were extremely useful, taking the place of paying volunteers from the Conservation Boot Camp, which also collapsed in the wake of Covid-19 restrictions for travel. One of the students was eventually employed. Another budding partnership was formed with the Seychelles Coast Guard to whom the staff reported illegal fishing boats. And finally, once the government allowed for a resumption of ecotourism, partnering tour operators began to bring visitors back to Cousin Island.
- Nature Seychelles’ training program already in place known as the “EnvironMentor” and a long-term relationship with the placing schools. Most of the staff on the island have come from these institutions
- A long-term relationship with tour operators who have been bringing visitors to the island for decades
Trust built with tour operators over the years played an important role in the resumption of ecotourism, but new tour practitioners (small scale) have begun to come to the island probably as a result of diversifying incomes during and after the pandemic.