Moorhens, or poul do in Kreol, are funny looking birds that are well known in Seychelles. With conservation succeeding on several islands, the moorhen population has been exploding. On Cousin Island Special Reserve, Nature Seychelles noticed a decline in the Seychelles Magpie-Robin population, from 47 birds in December 2005 to 27 birds at the moment, in sharp contrast with the increasing moorhens’ population. Moorhens are medium-sized, ground-dwelling birds, which are usually found near water. They are not endemic to Seychelles but are considered native and can be found in all over the world. Nature Seychelles is now closely monitoring the population of moorhens and to see whether they are a threat to endemic species of Cousin Island. Eric Blais the Conservation Officer on Cousin is being assisted by students from the UK to undertake this work.

Nirmal Shah the award-winning CEO of Nature Seychelles, conservation biologist, coastal manager and science popularizer has been bitten by the blogging bug. Starting this June Nirmal is sharing incisive commentary on all things environment based on his experiences in the Seychelles and around the world. Shah has been passionate about using the media to advocate for science and conservation. He has been heard through his columns in newspapers and numerous appearances on the media including ones such as CNN, BBC, Reuters, PBS, NBC-Today Show, SABC, and CCTV.

In this opinion piece Nirmal Shah, Nature Seychelles CEO asks whether we need to make a mental Zen shift away from the media stories on piracy to see the problem as it really is.

[Roche Caiman, 4 June 2009] In an enthusiastic response to a worldwide call for responsible tourism, the Seychelles chapter of the Worldwide Day for Responsible Tourism was launched with a great deal of interest from sector players, government and conservationists alike on June 2, 2009.