Recif island declared special reserve |22 December 2010

It was the Minister for Home Affairs, Environment and Transport Joel Morgan who signed the declaration documents yesterday in the presence of President James Michel, among other guests.

The signing, which took place in the foyer of the National Library, coincided with the Department of Environment’s open day.

Commenting on this milestone after the signing, Mr Michel said: “We are committed to preserving the biodiversity of our islands. With the declaration of this latest nature reserve, we are coming close to meeting our 50% target for making half of all Seychelles land area protected under law as nature reserve.”

Department of Environment officer Marie-May Jeremie explained that Recif is a small granitic island in the inner group east of Mahe, with a total land area of 13.2 hectares. With its flat, rocky strips and minimal elevation it provides an ideal habitat for ground-nesting seabirds and hosts important populations of such species as the sooty, fairy and bridled terns, lesser and brown noddies, and wedge-tailed and Audubon’s shearwaters.

“Currently there is no permanent human presence on the island to manage the resources and provide security to the seabird species that live there,” she said.

“Every year during the breeding season, between May and October, staff of the Department of Environment, with the support of the police, are deployed to protect the island against poachers.

“The strategy has its limitations, as for the rest of the year when there is nobody on the island poachers do as they please with the resident seabirds. Since Recif is currently not under any form of legal protection, poachers apprehended are often released with minimal sanctions.”

Miss Jeremie said designating Recif as a special reserve will give it the necessary legal protection it needs, ensuring that no form of illegal harvesting is allowed.

The protected area status will also provide a legal basis to prosecute poachers.

She said this year has been a remarkable milestone in Seychelles’ commitment to protect its environment, especially as 2010 was declared by the United Nations as International Year of Biodiversity.

“Seychelles has also been active in its endeavours to commemorate this year’s theme Biodiversity is Life, Biodiversity Is Our Life,” she said.

This year Silhouette island has been designated as a national park, a feat that has pushed Seychelles to the forefront in terms of biodiversity protection, she added.