Island Conservation Society-A new challenge for ICS |03 August 2009

Following the success of the centre opened on Alphonse Island two years ago, Island Conservation Society (ICS) has, in the last month, established itself on another of the islands in the Amirantes -- Desroches. The centre currently has four dedicated members of staff, all of whom have vital roles to play, from pest control, such as rat trapping, to scientific monitoring, with a fifth staff member on the way in August.

One of the main roles of ICS on all these islands is to promote and enhance the survival of the native life of the Seychelles. Like on Alphonse, the staff here are all enthusiastic and are already making new discoveries. These include a colony of wedge-tailed shearwaters, which is unusual in the presence of introduced predators such as rats and cats. The Amirantes only endemic species is also found only on Desroches, a type of cockroach! Then there are more unusual things such as recently a beached whale. As well as this, ICS staff are undertaking some of the more standard monitoring projects, such as the nesting sea turtles, or rehabilitation of the island’s vegetation. Not only are we out in the field checking to see what birds are living on the island, but also how many giant tortoise are found here, and the number of nesting sea turtles we may have coming up on the beaches of Desroches.

We have also got stuck in with working with the hotel that is established here, involving everything from advice and help on sorting rubbish and recycling, to meeting guests and giving them the best possible experience of what wildlife the island has to offer. Both the hotel (DIL – Desroches Island Lodge), and IDC (Islands Development Company), have also been very welcoming toward us and have shown the same enthusiasm as the ICS staff.

With their help we plan to put Desroches on the map as a “must go to” destination for eco-tourism. All the work we do here is aimed in the long term at the eradication of introduced species, such as the rats, and re-establishment of native Seychelles species, such as the turtle dove. It will be a long hard road, but the first steps are now being taken.

By Philip Summerton

The Island Conservation Society promotes the conservation and restoration of island ecosystems.