It's been 10 years since Nature Seychelles made a splash in the local waters with the launch of its ground-breaking and game-changing Reef Rescuers project. Based on Praslin Island and working in the Cousin Island Special Reserve, the project sought to restore coral reefs damaged by climate-change induced coral bleaching.

(The Good Tourism Blog) Acclaimed environmentalist and sustainable development professional Dr Nirmal Shah has no problem admitting that he has no solution to conservation’s budget crisis in Seychelles. (How about you?) In a conversation with the “Good Tourism” Insight published on Tuesday last week, the Nature Seychelles chief offers a brief history of ecotourism in Africa’s most prosperous nation and lets us in on the quandary he’s facing.

Dailus Laurence, the Chief Warden of Cousin Island Special Reserve, has won the prestigious 2020 African Ranger Award promoted by the Alibaba Foundation and the Paradise Foundation. The award includes prize money of US$ 10,000.

At 52 years, Cousin Island is one of the longest established marine protected area (MPA) in the world. Although the coral reefs surrounding the island have undergone dramatic changes recently because of coral bleaching, which led to a drastic reduction in live coral cover, the MPA still holds an abundance of marine treasures. From sea cucumbers to the Bumphead parrotfish, to Eagle rays, Napoleon wrasse, and Giant stingrays.